John Taghavi started his undergraduate training at the University of Leeds graduating in 2005. Following his basic surgical training, he went on to train in cardiothoracic surgery at the Royal Papworth Hospital. During his time in training he spent 18 months completing a research project at Stanford University, investigating the feasibility of cardiac donation after circulatory death, and obtaining an MD from the University of Leeds. He undertook an advanced fellowship in pulmonary endarterectomy surgery and has since been appointed as a Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at Royal Papworth Hospital.