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Thomas Starzl (1926-present) was a pioneer in transplant surgery and has often been referred to as "the modern-day father of transplantation." He started his work at the University of Colorado and perfected his craft during his tenure at the University of Pittsburgh. Originally intending to become a priest in his teenage years, Starzl's motivations changed drastically upon the death of his mother from breast cancer. Inspired to 'cheat death' Starzl entered the then unknown field of organ transplantation and made an exceptional mark among the medical community creating surgical techniques that for a long time were only known to him. He reportedly worked up to three days straight on organ transplantation procedures as he was the only one who could perform them.
Dr. Starzl was born March 11, 1926 in LeMars, Iowa, the son of newspaper editor and science fiction writer Roman Frederick Starzl. He attended Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where he earned his bachelor's degree in biology. He went on to the Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, where in 1950 he received a master's degree in anatomy and in 1952 earned both a Ph.D. in neurophysiology and an M.D. with distinction.
Contributions to medical science
Dr. Starzl has authored or co-authored more than 2,130 scientific articles, four books and 292 chapters. According to the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), Dr. Starzl once averaged one paper every 7.3 days, making him one of the most prolific scientists in the world. In 1999, ISI identified Dr. Starzl as the most cited scientist in the field of clinical medicine, a measure of his work's lasting influence and utility.
Among his many contributions, several notable ones include:
- establishing the clinical utility of ciclosporin (cyclosporine) in 1982, and tacrolimus in 1991, both leading to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval;
- development of multiple technical advances in organ preservation, procurement and transplantation;
- delineating the indications and limitations of abdominal organ transplantation;
- defining the underlying basis for organ transplantation as a treatment of inherited metabolic diseases (thus providing the rationale for current-day gene therapy efforts);
- recognizing the causative role of immunosuppression in the development of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease and other opportunistic infections and the utility of reversing the immunosuppressed state as the principle treatment;
- proposing the paradigm of microchimerism in organ transplant tolerance.
Recognition
Among the more than 175 awards and honors bestowed to Dr. Starzl are: the 2004 Medal of Science presented by President George W. Bush at the White House in 2006*, the David M. Hume Memorial Award from the National Kidney Foundation for furthering the understanding of kidney diseases, kidney transplantation and the physiology of the kidney; the Brookdale Award in Medicine presented by the American Medical Association Board of Trustees and the Brookdale Foundation for significant contributions to the field of clinical medicine, teaching and research; the Bigelow Medal from the Boston Surgical Society; the City of Medicine Award; the 1991 Distinguished Service Award presented by the American Liver Foundation; the William Beaumont Prize from the American Gastroenterological Association for outstanding contributions to the field and practice of gastroenterology; the Peter Medawar Prize of The Transplant Society; the Jacobson Innovation Award of the American College of Surgeons; the 1998 Lannelongue International Medal which is awarded every five years by the Academie Nationale De Chirurgie (National Academy of Surgery, France); the 2001 King Faisal International Prize for Medicine; and 21 honorary doctorates from universities in the United States and abroad.
In 2006, at a celebration for his 80th birthday, the University of Pittsburgh renamed one its newest medical research building the Thomas E. Starzl Biomedical Science Tower in recognition of his achievements and contributions to his field. *
Retirement
Retired from clinical and surgical service since 1991, Dr. Starzl now devotes his time to research endeavors and remains active as professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s (UPMC) program named in his honor: the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute. Since his “retirement,” he has earned the additional distinctions of being one of the most prolific scientists in the world as well as the most cited scientist in the field of clinical medicine. (Source: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center)
See also
External links
- A more detailed biography of Dr Thomas Starzl
- Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
References
- "President gives Starzl highest prize" by Maeve Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 14, 2006, retrieved March 11, 2006
- "Pitt names tower after transplant pioneer" by Anita Srikameswaran, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 11, 2006, retrieved March 11, 2006
"Thomas Starzl"