Dr. Nicholas Andreas Kolaitis is a specialist in pulmonary and critical care medicine, with a focus on lung transplantation and pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs). He directs the bronchoscopy service for the Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine Program. In the hospital, he cares for patients with advanced lung disease before and after lung transplantation. In the clinic, he cares for patients who have received lung transplants and patients with pulmonary hypertension or pulmonary embolism (a blood clot blocking an artery in the lungs). He also supervises fellows in pulmonary medicine as they care for patients with other conditions related to the lungs.
Kolaitis' research focuses on ways to improve quality of life for patients with advanced lung disease.
Kolaitis earned his medical degree at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. He completed a residency in internal medicine at UCLA Health, followed by a fellowship in lung transplantation and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at UCSF. He also has a master of advanced studies degree in clinical research from UCSF.
Kolaitis has been recognized with a number of awards, including the Jeffrey Golden Outstanding Clinical Fellow Award, Michael Stulbarg Outstanding Teaching Award and California Thoracic Society's Outstanding Clinician Award.
In addition to caring for patients, Kolaitis is active in efforts to improve the field of pulmonology. He serves as vice chair of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry and as an editorial board member for CHEST Journal (official publication of the American College of Chest Physicians) and JHLT (Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation) Open. He is a member of the California Thoracic Society's executive board and one of two representatives on the Council of Chapter Representatives of the American Thoracic Society (ATS). In addition, he is involved in health policy reform, serving as vice chair for the ATS Health Policy Committee and as a member of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) Advocacy Committee. He also serves as a member of the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute's lung transplantation task force, ISHLT's standards and guidelines committee, and Pulmonary Hypertension Association's committee on patient and caregiver education.
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