Biography

Dr. Buja is engaged in scholarly investigation, educational activities and clinical service while also serving in leadership roles.  His subspecialty interest is cardiovascular pathology with research interests in myocardial cell injury, myocardial ischemia, atherosclerosis and cardiomyopathies.  Dr. Buja teaches medical students, medical residents, clinical fellows, graduate students and research post-doctoral fellows.

He also conducts a clinical practice in cardiovascular and pulmonary pathology providing staffing of autopsy cases and surgical pathology consultation of cardiac and vascular cases and interpretation of myocardial biopsies from referrals.  He directs a cardiovascular pathology fellowship approved by the Texas Medical Board.   Since the establishment of an Advanced Heart Failure Center on campus, he has served as the cardiovascular pathologist for the Center and has provided staffing for over 100 heart transplants, numerous LVADs, and post-transplant myocardial biopsies for evaluation and grading of antibody-mediated and acute cellular rejection.  Dr. Buja serves as a consultant in cardiovascular pathology for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.  He serves as the Director of the DPALM Autopsy Service at the affiliated teaching hospitals and has been an advocate of the importance of the autopsy as a tool in medical research and quality control in healthcare.  He is the editor-in-chief of Cardiovascular Pathology, the official journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology.

Education

Fellowship
Senior Investigator, Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 1974
Residency
Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 1972
Staff Associate
Pathology, National Heart and Lung Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 1970
Internship
Mixed Medicine, Charity Hospital, New Orleans, LA
M.S.
Anatomy, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 1968
M.D., with Honors
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 1967
B.S.
Biology, Loyola University of the South, New Orleans, LA, 1964

Areas of Interest

Clinical Interests

My clinical interests are in autopsy and cardiovascular pathology.

Research Interests

My research interest is focused on the pathobiology of cardiovascular diseases, especially atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease and cardiomyopathies. I also have a broad interest in mechanisms of cell injury. I have experience in research in cell systems and experimental models as well as in clinicopathological studies.My current research is on the pathology of cardiac remodeling in patients with advanced heart failure based on studies of explanted hearts and LV core samples obtained at the time of LV assist device placement. I also am interested in the effects of cell-based therapy for heart failure.