Callistus Ditah, MD, has been named has been named assistant professor of surgery at Upstate Medical University. 

Ditah joins Upstate from the University of Washington—Seattle Hospital, where he served as cardiothoracic and advanced aortic surgery fellow . 

As a cardiothoracic and aortic surgeon, Ditah specializes in the following procedures: coronary artery bypass grafting, mitral valve repair and replacement, the David procedure (to treat aortic root aneurysms and prevent aortic dissection), Ross procedure (to replace diseased aortic valves with a patient’s own pulmonary valve), among others. He has a strong interest in treating patients with connective tissue disorders (Marfan’s, Ehlers Danlos, and Loeys Dietz).

His research work has been published in numerous journals including the Journal of Hospital Medicine, the Journal of Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery and others. 

His honors include membership in Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society, Best Trauma Surgery chief resident, and selection as a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar. 

He received his medical degree from University of Michigan Medical School (2015), and his undergraduate degrees from University of Oxford in England and the University of Minnesota. 

Among his research experiences was his work on a project with the Mayo Clinic, University of Minnesota and MinnesotaCare to identify the barriers that prevented low-income families from accessing medical services. 

In addition to his education and medical pursuits, Ditah created the Mankon Forum Scholarship Initiative, an organization that provides scholarships to children from Mankon, a city center in Cameroon, Africa, to attend secondary school.