Dr. Kawanishi is a native of St. Louis where he was honored as a National Merit Scholarship Finalist. He attended the University of Chicago, graduating with honors with his B.A. in 1972. He received his medical training at Yale University, graduating with his M.D. degree in 1976 and receiving the Miriam and William Horowitz Essay Prize. He performed his internship and residency at LA County – USC Medical Center serving an additional year as Chief Medical Resident. He then served as a cardiology fellow for three years under Dr. S.H. Rahimtoola at the University of Southern California ultimately joining the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Medicine. He was promoted to Associate Professor of Medicine in 1988. While at USC he directed the USC Pacemaker Center and served as Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at the LA County – USC Medical Center from 1990-97.

He joined the Cardiology Division of the Mission Internal Medical Group in 1997. He continues to be actively involved in clinical research, serving as the Director of the Multispecialty Research Department at MIMG and remains a Clinical Associate Professorship at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Kawanishi is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the Subspecialty Board of Cardiovascular Diseases. He also has particular expertise in placement and management of pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD’s).

Dr. Kawanishi has research interests in catheter balloon valvuloplasty for treatment of mitral stenosis, use of the Excimer laser for intracoronary plaque ablation and for removal of chronically implanted pacemaker and defibrillator leads, drug treatment of angina, ischemia, and hypertension, and new designs for permanent pacemaker leads. He is an Instructor and Proctor for the use of Excimer Laser Use in the cardiac catheterization laboratories throughout the world. Dr. Kawanishi serves as a reviewer for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, PACE, and Catheterization and Cardiovascular Diagnosis.