Aaron Abarbanell

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Dr. Abarbanell obtained a Bachelors of Arts in Romance Studies from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York prior to embarking on an almost six-year tour on active duty with the United States Navy. He served with Naval Support Force Antarctica, went to sea on the destroyer USS Caron (DD 970), and finished his last tour on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). He enjoyed traveling to points far and wide with the Navy as a surface warfare officer. After leaving the Navy, he worked for Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a Johnson & Johnson company, selling endo-mechanical and energy devices. He developed a love for surgery and completed his post-baccalaureate premedical requirements at Scripps College in Claremont, California.

While attending the University of Michigan Medical School, he led surgical mission teams to Honduras with the otolaryngology and anesthesia faculty. In his fourth year of medical school, he worked at Karolyn Kempton Memorial Hospital in Togo, West Africa on the general surgery team. At Michigan, he found his ultimate passion—congenital cardiac surgery. He proceeded to train in general surgery at Indiana University where he continued to work overseas in Togo and in Kenya on surgical mission teams. While at Indiana, he completed his Master of Science in Clinical Research and was in the inaugural class of the Indiana University resident global health program. He completed his adult cardiothoracic residency at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and his congenital cardiac surgery fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles/University of Southern California. He joined the faculty of Washington University as a pediatric heart surgeon 2017. He is partnering with the global health community and local initiatives to bridge disparities in access to health care.

Contact Dr. Abarbanell here.