Dr. David Tom Cooke is an Associate Professor of General Thoracic Surgery at UC Davis. He is an Healthcare expert, including patient engagement and public medical communication. He developed the UC Davis Section of General Thoracic Surgery and is a Co-founder of #LCSM Chat, the bi-monthly lung cancer social media Twitter chat and patient engagement network.

Dr. Cooke's research focuses on patient-centered outcomes. Patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) seeks to help stakeholders (patients, their family members/friends and care providers) communicate and make informed healthcare decisions, allowing multiple voices to be heard in assessing the value and effectiveness of healthcare options. PCOR answers patient-centered questions such as: “What can I do to improve the outcomes that are most important to me?” and “How can clinicians and the care delivery systems they work in help me make the best decisions about my health?” He is bringing the concept of PCOR to thoracic surgery research to improve outcomes after surgery.