Dr. Harmik Soukiasian

Get to Know Dr. Harmik Soukiasian 

Dr. Harmik J. Soukiasian is the Division of Thoracic Surgery director at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a firm believer in the multidisciplinary treatment of pleural mesothelioma cancer.

Soukiasian has affiliations with the Samuel Oschin Cancer Center, the Esophageal Center and the Women’s Guild Lung Institute, all part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System.

He also is the associate director of the cardiothoracic surgery residency program.

Soukiasian has played a leading role nationally in documenting the benefits of early intervention for non-small cell lung cancers, which has increased survival times in recent years.

He is the lead surgeon at Cedars-Sinai for patients with mesothelioma.

One of his subspecialties is minimally invasive, robotic lung and esophageal surgery. As an innovator, Soukiasian was part of the first surgical team on the West Coast to use a special implanted device to stimulate respiratory muscles in the chest for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

His clinical interests include photodynamic therapy, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and radiofrequency ablation. He also does lung volume reduction surgery.

Specialties of Dr. Harmik Soukiasian

• Thoracic surgery
• Robotic surgery
• Lung cancer
• Pleural mesothelioma
• Esophageal disease
• Digestive disease

Dr. Harmik Soukiasian’s Experience and Medical Education

• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
• UCLA Medical Center (Fellowship)
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Fellowship)
• University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Fellowship)
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Residency)
• University of Southern California School of Medicine (M.D.)

Awards and Certifications for Dr. Harmik Soukiasian

• American Board of Surgery
• American Board of Thoracic Surgery
• Longmire Surgical Society 
• Cardiothoracic Surgery Network
• Association for Academic Surgery

Publications of Dr. Harmik Soukiasian

• Yao, C. et al. (2020, September 29). Senescence of Alveolar Type 2 Cells Drives Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
• Soukiasian, H. (2020, June 7). Commentary: House calls, phone calls, or FaceTime! Postdischarge outcomes are improved by education and follow-up. Journal of Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery.
• Daskivich, T. et al. (2019, February 2). Association of Wearable Activity Monitors With Assessment of Daily Ambulation and Length of Stay Among Patients Undergoing Major Surgery. JAMA Network Open.
• Espinoza-Mercado, F. et al. (2019, February). Does the Approach Matter? Comparing Survival in Robotic, Minimally Invasive, and Open Esophagectomies. Annals of Thoracic Surgery.