Dr. McKellar is a native of Salt Lake City and received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Utah and his Doctor of Medicine from the George Washington University School of Medicine. He completed his General Surgical and Cardiothoracic Surgical training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in a combined, integrated training program. During his time at Mayo Clinic, he also received a Masters Degree of Biomedical Research from the Mayo Graduate School during a two-year research fellowship.
He is trained in all areas of adult cardiac and general thoracic surgery and has additional expertise in heart and lung failure and their treatment; specifically, mechanical circulatory support devices (left ventricular assist devices) and heart and lung transplantation.
He has published extensively in many areas of adult cardiothoracic surgery including valvular heart disease, ascending aortic aneurismal disease but has a particular research interest in mechanical circulatory support and surgical strategies for right ventricular failure.