Calvin Johnson is an American anesthesiologist and professor of anesthesiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Born and raised in Egelston Township, Muskegon, Michigan, Johnson attended Oakridge High School, where he excelled in multiple sports and was a first-team Associated Press all-state basketball player. He went on to play point guard at Dartmouth College, earning Academic All-American honors and ranked second for assists in the Ivy League during his senior year.
After completing his undergraduate degree in biochemistry at Dartmouth in 1981, Johnson earned his medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in 1985. He completed his residency in anesthesiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in 1989. Following his residency, he became Chief of Obstetrical Anesthesia at Hutzel Hospital of Wayne State University in Detroit, a position he held for six years before being appointed Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at King/Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles in 1996. He served as Dean of the College of Medicine at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science from 2001–2002.
Johnson has been a staff anesthesiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center since 2000 and has contributed significantly to the field through research and clinical studies. He has studied clinical competence training for anesthesiology residents, particularly in fiberoptic laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation, and he has published research on the effectiveness of epidural anesthesia in improving labor outcomes. Additionally, his investigations into embolic phenomena during total hip arthroplasty have informed best practices in surgical techniques. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson was a member of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center COVID-19 Airway Team and Invasive Line Placement ICU Team. He has advocated for COVID-19 vaccine education, especially within the Black community, emphasizing the importance of combating vaccine hesitancy through outreach and education.