Melissa Levack, MD

Dr. Levack is a cardiothoracic surgeon with a clinical focus on complex aortic and valve disease, including thoracic aortic surgery and contemporary approaches to aortic valve pathology. Her areas of interest span less-invasive strategies for proximal aortic operations, bicuspid aortic valve and aortopathy, and structural heart therapies that bridge surgical and transcatheter care, with extensive involvement in multidisciplinary decision-making and quality improvement efforts.

Throughout her career, Dr. Levack has held key leadership positions and has remained deeply engaged in research, with a strong publication record across leading surgical and cardiovascular journals. Her work includes outcomes research in proximal aortic surgery, valve and annular biomechanics, advanced cardiac imaging and 3D echocardiography modeling, and clinical studies relevant to contemporary valve interventions, including TAVR-focused research and registry analyses. She has earned numerous honors for clinical excellence and investigation, including major society awards and poster finalist recognition, and has presented her work nationally and internationally at prominent surgical and cardiology meetings.

Dr. Levack graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College and earned her medical degree cum laude from Emory University School of Medicine. She completed rigorous postgraduate training through general surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, including service as chief resident, followed by a dedicated postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania’s Gorman Cardiovascular Research Laboratory. She then pursued advanced thoracic and cardiac surgery residency training at Cleveland Clinic, serving as chief cardiac surgery resident, before joining Vanderbilt’s faculty as an Assistant Professor of Cardiac Surgery and advancing into major educational, mentorship, and leadership roles across the institution and the broader cardiothoracic community.