Bo Yang, MD

Bo Yang, M.D., Ph.D., the Frankel Research Professor of Aortic Surgery, joined U-M’s Department of Cardiac Surgery in 2011. Today, he serves as the department’s director of research, aortic surgery, and advanced aortic fellowship. He is also executive director of the MI-AORTA Program.

Dr. Yang treats aortic conditions like familial thoracic aortic aneurysms, complications of Marfan and Loeys-Dietz syndromes, and more. His expertise expands from valve-sparing aortic root replacement using the David procedure, aortic valve repair and Bentall procedures, aortic dissection and thoracic and thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair. He invented Y-incision aortic annular/root enlargement (Y-AAE) to upsize the prosthetic valve by 3-4 valve sizes.

Valve sparing aortic root replacement (David procedure), aortic valve repair, thoracic aortic aneurysm and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic dissection repair, TEVAR, TAVR, Marfan disease, Loeys-Dietz disease, Bicuspid aortic valve, mitral valve repair, and coronary artery disease

University of Michigan Health participates with most health insurance plans.

Dr. Yang’s research has been supported by government grants including K08 and multiple active R01s from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Basic Science Research: His current lab research focuses on the mechanisms of thoracic aortic aneurysms, which is largely unknown, such as Loeys-Dietz Syndrome, Marfan syndrome, and developing novel therapies to prevent aortic aneurysms. He and his team generate patient specific induced pleuripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to model the thoracic aortic aneurysm to study the mechanisms of aneurysm formation in Loeys-Dietz Syndrome and Marfan syndrome. CRISPR Cas 9 technology is used to create and correct the mutations causing thoracic aortic aneurysms in both control and patients’ iPSCs. He’s also collaborating with bioengineers to create tissue engineered vascular graft with patients’ iPSCs.

Clinical Research: His clinical research focuses on the outcomes research on aortic and adult cardiac surgeries, such as outcomes of SAVR + Y-incision aortic annular/root enlargement (Y-AAE) vs TAVR alone, SAVR alone and traditional techniques of aortic root enlargement, suitability for TAV-in-SAVR after Y-AAE, long-term outcomes of aortic valve repair and David procedure, surgical treatment of acute type A aortic dissection, especially those with malperfusion syndrome, and aortic valve replacement in small roots.

Dr. Yang was an AHA Vivien Thomas Young Investigator Award finalist and he received the Young Investigator Award from the Loeys-Dietz Syndrome Foundation as well as the American Heart Association’s Sarns Innovative Excellence Award for his “courage to take on the unknown in search of new answers, better solutions, and resources significantly impacting our ability to live longer, healthier lives.”