Teodor Grantcharov, MD, PhD, FACS, Professor of Surgery at Stanford University

Dr. Teodor Grantcharov completed his surgical training at the University of Copenhagen, and a doctoral degree in Medical Sciences at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. Dr. Grantcharov is currently a Professor of Surgery at Stanford University and Associate Chief Quality Officer for Innovation and Safety at Stanford Healthcare. Prior to joining Stanford, Dr. Grantcharov was a Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto and Keenan Chair in Surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. He was the Founder of the International Centre for Surgical Safety – a multidisciplinary group of visionary scientists with expertise in design, human factors, computer- and data science, and healthcare research. He previously held Canada Research Chair in Simulation and Surgical Safety and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II diamond jubilee medal for his contributions to clinical research and patient safety in Canada. Dr. Grantcharov was awarded the honorary fellowship of the Imperial College in London, the honorary fellowships of the Bulgarian, Danish and Brazilian surgical societies, the Spinoza Chair in Surgery from the University of Amsterdam and multiple national and international awards for his contributions to surgical education and surgical safety. Dr. Grantcharov’s clinical interest is the area of minimally invasive surgery, while his academic focus is in the field of surgical innovation and patient safety. He has become internationally recognized as a leader in this area with his work on curriculum design, assessment of competence and impact of surgical performance on clinical outcomes. Dr. Grantcharov developed the surgical Black Box concept, which aims to transform the safety culture in medicine and introduce modern safety management systems in the high-risk operating room environment. Dr. Grantcharov has more than 220 peer-reviewed publications and more than 200 invited presentations in Europe, South- and North America. He holds several patents and is the Founder of Surgical Safety Technologies Inc – an academic startup that commercializes the OR Black Box platform. He sits on numerous committees with Surgical Professional Societies in North America and Europe.