Thoracic Surgeon
2016-present, American Board of Thoracic Surgery - Active
2013-present, American Board of Surgery
2005, M.D., Doctor of Medicine, Magna Cum Laude, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
2000, B.A., Chemistry and Music, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
2012-2015, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
2011-2012, Chief, General Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
2006-2011, General Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
2005-2006, General Surgery Intern, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
2023-present, Associate Professor, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte and South Pasadena, CA
2019-2023, Assistant Professor, Division of Health Equities, Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope, CA
2015-present, Assistant Professor, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte and South Pasadena, CA
Loretta Erhunmwunsee, M.D., is a thoracic surgeon and an associate professor in City of Hope's Division of Thoracic Surgery. She was among 21 women selected nationwide to participate in the Carol Emmott Fellowship Class of 2023. The fellowship is for exceptional, innovative women leaders who are making an impact in their communities and institutions and serving as advocates for equity in health care. She specializes in minimally invasive lung and esophageal surgery with focus on robotic assisted resections.
Dr. Erhunmwunsee graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Emory University in Atlanta and received her medical doctorate from Harvard Medical School in Boston, graduating magna cum laude. She continued her postgraduate training at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, completing a general surgery internship, followed by a residency in general surgery. This was followed by a residency in cardiothoracic surgery, also at Duke.
Board-certified in general and thoracic surgery, Dr. Erhunmwunsee has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including being appointed Vice Chair of the NCCN DEI Directors Forum in 2023 and co-leading the NCCN Measuring and Addressing Health-Related Social Needs on Cancer Working Group. Additionally, in 2023 she was named a "Cancer Health 25 - Champions of Health Equity" in Cancer Health magazine. In 2021, she received the William C. Rippe Award for Distinguished Research in Lung Cancer from the Lung Cancer Research Foundation as well as the Songs of Hope Beverly & Ben Horowitz Legacy Award for inspiring work at City of Hope.
She sees patients with lung cancer, esophageal cancer and mediastinal tumors. Dr. Erhunmwunsee's research program focuses on investigating the impact of adverse multilevel social determinants of health and structural racism on lung cancer risk, biology and screening behaviors, and is funded by the NIH and multiple foundation grants.