Born and raised in rural Louisiana, Dr. Brandon Lane Phillips was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect shortly after his birth. From an early age, he developed a desire to become a pediatric cardiologist because he so greatly admired his childhood physician.Dr. Phillips received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Louisiana Tech University in 2000 before pursuing his medical degree at Tulane Medical School. He completed his residency in general pediatrics at Texas Children's Hospital & Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and his fellowship in pediatric cardiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. A highlight of Dr. Phillips's medical education was receiving portions of his medical training from the physicians who had cared for him.Dr. Phillips worked as a pediatric cardiologist with two medical practices in South Texas before returning home to Louisiana in 2016 to accept a position with Ochsner Health in West Monroe.As a second-year medical student, Dr. Phillips had an essay about his chronic illness and the experience of having open-heart surgery between his first and second years of medical school published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Dr. Phillips considers it a great honor to have been invited back to Tulane Medical School several times to lecture to the medical students about pediatric cardiology and share his journey from patient to physician with them. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in Tulane's Department of Medicine.Among many of Dr. Phillips's awards and accomplishments, he is most proud of his Young Alumnus of the Year award from Louisiana Tech University in 2006 and the Robert C. Baird award from Tulane University School of Medicine in 2004, which recognizes a senior medical student each year who embodies Dr. Baird's ability to overcome hardship and exemplify excellence and achievement. He was also recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of Louisiana Tech University's College of Engineering and Science in 2014.He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Cardiology and American Society of Echocardiography, and is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in both general pediatrics and pediatric cardiology. In addition to his position on the Board of Trustees for Starlight Children's Foundation, Dr. Phillips has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.He has served many summers as a camp counselor at special camps for children with heart defects, and he has also worked with Samaritan's Purse on the Children's Heart Project, even traveling to Mongolia in 2009 to help support the organization's mission.In addition to writing a memoir When I Wished Upon A Star, Dr. Phillips has authored several medical journal articles and contributed to the book Common Cardiac Issues in Pediatrics. He currently resides in West Monroe, Louisiana.
