Rakesh Arora, BA, MD, PhD, FRCSC, FACS

Dr. Arora was born in London, Ontario and obtained a baccalaureate of arts degree from the University of Western Ontario.

From there, he achieved his medical doctorate from the University of Toronto in 1996 before moving to Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia to undergo his cardiac surgery residency. During his time in his residency in Dalhousie, he completed a doctorate of philosophy in the department of anatomy/neurobiology in the field of neurocardiology.

After completing two further years of training at the University of Calgary, Dr. Arora became the first cardiac surgeon in Canada to also complete a fellowship in critical care medicine in 2006.

In 2009, Dr. Arora pioneered a national society, The CANadian CARdiovascular Critical Care (CANCARE) Society that aims to advance the care of critically-ill cardiovascular patients using interdisciplinary expertise in a cooperative model.

Furthermore, in 2012 Dr. Arora also co-founded and is current chair for the CANCARE investigators group (CSIG), representing cardiovascular researchers in Canada.

In 2019, Dr. Arora was appointed workforce chair on critical care for the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. 

He is also president elect for the Canadian Society of Cardiac Surgeons.

Dr. Arora was promoted to full professor in 2016 to the department of surgery, anesthesia and perioperative medicine, physiology and pathophysiology at UM, where he continues to contribute to the education of future physicians.

Dr. Arora has provided years of mentorship to well over 25 students throughout their academic and professional careers.

In 2017, Dr. Arora was appointed to the position of section head and regional lead for cardiac surgery with the WRHA’s cardiac sciences program where he continues to provide leadership, support and direction to the only cardiac surgery facility in Manitoba.

Education

• Fellow of The Royal College of Physicians of Canada (critical care medicine), University of Calgary (2006)
• Fellow of The Royal College of Physicians of Canada (cardiac surgery), Dalhousie University (2004)
• PhD (anatomy and neurobiology), Dalhousie University (2003)
• Doctor of medicine, University of Toronto (1996)
• Bachelor of arts (kinesiology), University of Western Ontario (1994)

Awards

• Top Performance Award of the Editorial Board – The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (2017)
• MHRC/MMSF F.W.
• DuVal Clinical Research Professorship (2011-2014)
• Most Outstanding Research Award – department of surgery, University of Manitoba (2010)
• Teacher of the Year – section of cardiac surgery, University of Manitoba (2009)
• Rudy Falk Clinician Scientist – University of Manitoba (2008-2011)