Adriana E Valverde Zuniga, MD

My name is Adriana Valverde Zúñiga, MD, and I am an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine. I’m a pulmonologist who specializes in lung transplantation and pulmonary vascular disease.

I earned my Doctor of Medicine and Bachelor of Medical Sciences degrees from the Universidad de Costa Rica. I completed my residency in internal medicine and pulmonology at Hospital Calderón Guardia, one of Costa Rica’s top academic hospitals. My interest in advanced lung disease led me to do a clinical fellowship in lung transplantation at the University of Toronto, which I completed in 2022. After that, I worked as a clinical associate in the Lung Transplant Program and helped lead training for new fellows.

In Costa Rica, I played a key role in building programs for pulmonary hypertension and lung transplantation. I also helped start the Right Heart Catheterization program at my home hospital. My research focuses on things like how certain immune system mismatches affect transplant outcomes and how COVID-19 has impacted lung transplant patients.

I’m an active member of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), where I serve on the Spanish Steering Committee and review articles for the Open Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. I also work with the Department of Transplantation in the Latin American Thoracic Association (ALAT), where I help lead educational efforts and support lung transplant development in the region.