Michael W. Bungo, MD, FACC, FACP, CPE

Biography

Dr. Bungo joined UTHealth in 2002 as Chief of Staff at the LBJ General Hospital. Prior positions were at UTMB in Galveston as Vice Chair, Department of Medicine, and the NASA Johnson Space Center as Chief Scientist of the Medical Sciences Division and Director of the Space Biomedical Research Institute. He received his medical degree from New Jersey Medical School and completed his residency and fellowship training at the New England Deaconess Hospital—Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bungo is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, and is a Certified Physician Executive.

While at UTHealth, Dr. Bungo has served in numerous administrative and managerial roles both within the University (including Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs and CEO of UT Physicians) and within the Harris County Hospital District. He has also served the Graduate Medical Education program as program director of the Transitional Residency Program and as a member of the Medical Foundation Board. He has repeatedly been a reviewer for several medical journals and a grant reviewer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Dr. Bungo has held several executive positions with the Harris County Medical Society. He has been listed in Who’s Who in America since 1990 and Who’s Who in the World since 2010.

Dr. Bungo’s clinical interests include all areas of general cardiology, systems for quality improvement, health care policy and the application of evidence based medicine. He initiated the MD-MBA dual degree program at the medical school and serves as its program director.

Dr. Bungo’s past research includes obtaining the first echocardiographic images of the human heart in space aboard an American spacecraft. He continues to have an active interest in determining the effects of spaceflight upon the human cardiovascular system. He was the recipient of a grant from NASA entitled “Cardiac Atrophy and Diastolic Dysfunction During and After Long Duration Spaceflight: Functional Consequences for Orthostatic Intolerance, Exercise Capacity, and Risk of Cardiac Arrhythmias” which studied astronauts’ cardiovascular responses onboard the International Space Station.

Dr. Bungo is the author of 47 manuscripts, 58 abstracts, 14 book chapters, 7 technical memoranda, and is the editor of 4 books.