Fernando Torres, M.D.

Medical Director of Lung Transplantation; Head of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program

Transplant

Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease
Lung Transplant Medicine
Interstitial Lung Disease (Pulmonary Fibrosis)

Biography

Fernando Torres, M.D., is a Professor of Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Director of the Lung Transplant and Pulmonary Hypertension Programs at William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital.

His clinical interests include pulmonary hypertension, lung transplantation, lung volume reduction surgery for emphysema, viral infections in immunosuppressed patients, and clinical outcomes research in lung transplantation and pulmonary hypertension.

Dr. Torres has served as principal investigator or coinvestigator in many clinical trials, including multicenter clinical trials to improve the survival of lung transplant patients. In addition, he is working on testing new equipment to improve the donor organ supply.

Dr. Torres earned his medical degree at Cornell University Medical College in New York. He completed his internship and residency at UT Southwestern and a fellowship in pulmonary disease, critical care medicine, lung transplantation, and lung volume reduction at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver.

Since joining UT Southwestern in 2000, Dr. Torres developed the Pulmonary Hypertension Program, now the largest such program in the United States. In 2009 he assumed directorship of UT Southwestern's Lung Transplant Program, which is the eighth largest in the country.

Dr. Torres is board certified in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine. Among other honors, Texas Monthly named him a Super Doctor in 2018 and he was included in D Magazine's Best Doctors list for 2018.

In 2018, Dr. Torres received UT Southwestern's Program Development Award.

Meet Dr. Torres

Lung transplant specialist Fernando Torres, M.D., sees something magical happen when one of his patients receives a lung transplant: They can breathe again, without an oxygen tank.

"We give patients with advanced lung disease a new life.”

People who develop advanced lung disease see their quality of life deteriorate over time, but within two weeks after receiving a lung transplant, everything changes.

“They can start doing things they could only dream of up to that point,” Dr. Torres says.

A pulmonologist by training, Dr. Torres directs UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Lung Transplant Program, which has grown into one of the largest in the country. Thanks to the program’s development of donor management procedures, the wait time for a lung transplant has been shortened to only months.

He sees lung transplantation as the safety net for patients with pulmonary hypertension, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, and other advanced lung diseases.

When patients with advanced lung disease can no longer benefit from medical therapy, Dr. Torres steps in to explain lung transplantation, follow them through the transplant process, and help them recover after surgery.

Dr. Torres and his team of physicians have specialized training in lung transplantation. They work in tandem with the physicians in the advanced lung diseases programs to determine the best course of treatment for these patients. This specialization distinguishes them from other programs in the region.

He is also involved in clinical research. He is currently investigating increasing the supply of donor organs through improved technology that assesses the organs. In a separate clinical trial, he is part of a multicenter effort to improve survival in lung transplant patients using novel medications for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) viral infection.

Education & Training

Fellowship - University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (1997-2000), Pulmonary Diseases & Critical Care Medicine
Residency - UT Southwestern Medical Center (1995-1997), Internal Medicine
Internship - UT Southwestern Medical Center (1994-1995), Internal Medicine
Medical School - Weill Cornell Medical College (1990-1994)

Professional Associations & Affiliations

Texas Medical Association
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
American Thoracic Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation
American Medical Association
American College of Physicians

Honors & Awards

Program Development Award – UT Southwestern 2018
Incentive for Excellence 1988, Scholarship Prize from NSF: Physics-1988, Chemistry-1989
C.H. Ferguson Scholarship 1988
Golden Key National Honor Society 1990, Member
Cornell University - 1990 1990, Graduated with distinction in all subjects

Books & Publications

Publications
- Nesiritide for pulmonary arterial hypertension with decompensated cor pulmonale.
  Kingman MS, Thompson BS, Newkirk T, Torres F Progress in cardiovascular nursing 2005 20 4 168-72
- Ambrisentan for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension: results of the ambrisentan in pulmonary arterial hypertension, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, efficacy (ARIES) study 1 and 2.
  Galiè N, Olschewski H, Oudiz RJ, Torres F, Frost A, Ghofrani HA, Badesch DB, McGoon MD, McLaughlin VV, Roecker EB, Gerber MJ, Dufton C, Wiens BL, Rubin LJ Circulation 2008 Jun 117 23 3010-9
- International Classification of Diseases coding changes lead to profound declines in reported idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension mortality and hospitalizations: implications for database studies.
  Link J, Glazer C, Torres F, Chin K Chest 2011 Mar 139 3 497-504
- Management of pulmonary arterial hypertension during pregnancy: a retrospective, multicenter experience.
  Duarte AG, Thomas S, Safdar Z, Torres F, Pacheco LD, Feldman J, Deboisblanc B Chest 2012 Oct
- Imatinib Mesylate as Add-On Therapy for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Results of the Randomized IMPRES Study.
  Hoeper MM, Barst RJ, Bourge RC, Feldman J, Frost AE, Galié N, Gómez-Sánchez MA, Grimminger F, Grünig E, Hassoun PM, Morrell NW, Peacock AJ, Satoh T, Simonneau G, Tapson VF, Torres F, Lawrence D, Quinn DA, Ghofrani HA Circulation 2013 Feb
- Treprostinil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
  Torres F, Rubin LJ Expert review of cardiovascular therapy 2013 Jan 11 1 13-25
- Pharmacokinetics of Oral Treprostinil Sustained Release Tablets During Chronic Administration to Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.
  White RJ, Torres F, Allen R, Jerjes C, Pulido T, Yehle D, Howell M, Laliberte K, Marier J, Tapson VF Journal of cardiovascular pharmacology 2013 Jan
- Ambrisentan, an endothelin receptor type A-selective endothelin receptor antagonist, for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
  Kingman M, Ruggiero R, Torres F Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy 2009 Aug 10 11 1847-58
- Acute native lung hyperinflation is not associated with poor outcomes after single lung transplant for emphysema.
  Weill D, Torres F, Hodges TN, Olmos JJ, Zamora MR The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 1999 Nov 18 11 1080-7
- Secondary pulmonary hypertension does not adversely affect outcome after single lung transplantation.
  Huerd SS, Hodges TN, Grover FL, Mault JR, Mitchell MB, Campbell DN, Aziz S, Chetham P, Torres F, Zamora MR The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2000 Mar 119 3 458-65
- Mycobacterium marinum infection in a lung transplant recipient.
  Torres F, Hodges T, Zamora MR The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2001 Apr 20 4 486-9
- Community acquired respiratory viruses in lung transplant patients: incidence and outcomes.
  Hodges TN, Torres FP, Marqueson J, Diercks M, Zamora MR The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2001 Feb 20 2 169-170
- Treatment of respiratory syncytial viral and parainfluenza lower respiratory tract infection in lung transplant patients.
  Hodges TN, Torres FP, Zamora MR The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2001 Feb 20 2 170
- Monthly infusion of cytomegalovirus immune globulin (CMVIG) decreases the incidence of bacterial and fungal infections in the first year following lung transplantation.
  Zamora MR, Torres F, Marquesan J, Diercks M, Hodges T The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2001 Feb 20 2 200
- Endothelian Receptor Antagonists in Pulmonary Hyertension. Business Briefing
  F. Torres US Respiratory Care 2006 77-82
- Systematic review of randomised, double-blind clinical trials of oral agents conducted in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
  Torres F International journal of clinical practice 2007 Oct 61 10 1756-65
- Hemodynamics and epoprostenol use are associated with thrombocytopenia in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
  Chin KM, Channick RN, de Lemos JA, Kim NH, Torres F, Rubin LJ Chest 2009 Jan 135 1 130-6
- Genetic defects in surfactant protein A2 are associated with pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer.
  Wang Y, Kuan PJ, Xing C, Cronkhite JT, Torres F, Rosenblatt RL, DiMaio JM, Kinch LN, Grishin NV, Garcia CK American journal of human genetics 2009 Jan 84 1 52-9
- Long-term ambrisentan therapy for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
  Oudiz RJ, Galiè N, Olschewski H, Torres F, Frost A, Ghofrani HA, Badesch DB, McGoon MD, McLaughlin VV, Roecker EB, Harrison BC, Despain D, Dufton C, Rubin LJ Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2009 Nov 54 21 1971-81
- Prostacyclin administration errors in pulmonary arterial hypertension patients admitted to hospitals in the United States: a national survey.
  Kingman MS, Tankersley MA, Lombardi S, Spence S, Torres F, Chin KS The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2010 Aug 29 8 841-6
- Long-term outcomes with ambrisentan monotherapy in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
  Blalock SE, Matulevicius S, Mitchell LC, Reimold S, Warner J, Peshock R, Torres F, Chin KM Journal of cardiac failure 2010 Feb 16 2 121-7
- HLA mismatches influence lung transplant recipient survival, bronchiolitis obliterans and rejection: implications for donor lung allocation.
  Peltz M, Edwards LB, Jessen ME, Torres F, Meyer DM The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2011 Apr 30 4 426-34
- Oral treprostinil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension in patients on background endothelin receptor antagonist and/or phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor therapy (the FREEDOM-C study): a randomized controlled trial.
  Tapson VF, Torres F, Kermeen F, Keogh AM, Allen RP, Frantz RP, Badesch DB, Frost AE, Shapiro SM, Laliberte K, Sigman J, Arneson C, Galiè N Chest 2012 Dec 142 6 1383-90
- Pulmonary hypertension in parenchymal lung disease.
  Ruggiero RM, Bartolome S, Torres F Heart failure clinics 2012 Jul 8 3 461-74
- Managing the Critically Ill Patient by Translating Best-of-Care Principles into Clinical Practice
  R. Sulica, J. Klinger, R. Pearl PhD, F. Torres Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension Winter 2005 4(4) 31-5
- Both cell surface and internalized beta-adrenoceptors are reduced in the failing myocardium.
  Sullebarger JT, Fan TH, Torres F, Liang CS European journal of pharmacology 1991 Nov 205 2 165-9
- Incidence and variables associated with 30-day mortality after lung transplantation.
  Banga A, Mohanka M, Mullins J, Bollineni S, Kaza V, Huffman L, Peltz M, Bajona P, Wait M, Torres F Clinical transplantation 2019 Feb 33 2 e13468
- Ventilation perfusion pulmonary scintigraphy in the evaluation of pre-and post-lung transplant patients.
  Pinho DF, Banga A, Torres F, Mathews D Transplantation reviews (Orlando, Fla.) 2018 Oct
- Routine computed tomography screening of the chest in high-risk cardiac transplant recipients may improve survival.
  Rosenbaum DH, Bhojani RA, Dikmen E, Kaiser PA, Paul MC, Wait MA, Meyer DM, Jessen ME, Yancy CW, Rosenblatt RL, Torres F, Perkins S, Ring WS, DiMaio JM The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2005 Dec 24 12 2043-7
- Efficacy and safety of ralinepag, a novel oral IP agonist, in PAH patients on mono or dual background therapy Results from a Phase 2 randomized, parallel group, placebo-controlled trial.
  Torres F, Farber H, Ristic A, McLaughlin V, Adams J, Zhang J, Klassen P, Shanahan W, Grundy J, Hoffmann I, Cabell C, Escribano Subías P, Sood N, Keogh A, D'Souza G, Rubin L, The European respiratory journal 2019 Aug
- Genetic determinants of risk in pulmonary arterial hypertension: international genome-wide association studies and meta-analysis.
  Rhodes CJ, Batai K, Bleda M, Haimel M, Southgate L, Germain M, Pauciulo MW, Hadinnapola C, Aman J, Girerd B, Arora A, Knight J, Hanscombe KB, Karnes JH, Kaakinen M, Gall H, Ulrich A, Harbaum L, Cebola I, Ferrer J, Lutz K, Swietlik EM, Ahmad F, Amouyel P, Archer SL, Argula R, Austin ED, Badesch D, Bakshi S, Barnett C, Benza R, Bhatt N, Bogaard HJ, Burger CD, Chakinala M, Church C, Coghlan JG, Condliffe R, Corris PA, Danesino C, Debette S, Elliott CG, Elwing J, Eyries M, Fortin T, Franke A, Frantz RP, Frost A, Garcia JGN, Ghio S, Ghofrani HA, Gibbs JSR, Harley J, He H, Hill NS, Hirsch R, Houweling AC, Howard LS, Ivy D, Kiely DG, Klinger J, Kovacs G, Lahm T, Laudes M, Machado RD, Ross RVM, Marsolo K, Martin LJ, Moledina S, Montani D, Nathan SD, Newnham M, Olschewski A, Olschewski H, Oudiz RJ, Ouwehand WH, Peacock AJ, Pepke-Zaba J, Rehman Z, Robbins I, Roden DM, Rosenzweig EB, Saydain G, Scelsi L, Schilz R, Seeger W, Shaffer CM, Simms RW, Simon M, Sitbon O, Suntharalingam J, Tang H, Tchourbanov AY, Thenappan T, Torres F, Toshner MR, Treacy CM, Vonk Noordegraaf A, Waisfisz Q, Walsworth AK, Walter RE, Wharton J, White RJ, Wilt J, Wort SJ, Yung D, Lawrie A, Humbert M, Soubrier F, Trégouët DA, Prokopenko I, Kittles R, Gräf S, Nichols WC, Trembath RC, Desai AA, Morrell NW, Wilkins MR The Lancet. Respiratory medicine 2018 12
- Update of screening and diagnostic modalities for connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension.
  Young A, Nagaraja V, Basilious M, Habib M, Townsend W, Gladue H, Badesch D, Gibbs JSR, Gopalan D, Manes A, Oudiz R, Satoh T, Torbicki A, Torres F, McLaughlin V, Khanna D Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism 2018 Oct
- Impact of recipient age and procedure type on survival after lung transplantation for pulmonary fibrosis.
  Meyer DM, Edwards LB, Torres F, Jessen ME, Novick RJ The Annals of thoracic surgery 2005 Mar 79 3 950-7; discussion 957-8
- Diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension.
  Frost A, Badesch D, Gibbs JSR, Gopalan D, Khanna D, Manes A, Oudiz R, Satoh T, Torres F, Torbicki A The European respiratory journal 2019 Jan 53 1