UAB Synopsis, Vol. 25, No. 14, June 26, 2006
Professor of Surgery and Director of UAB Cardiothoracic Transplantation, James K. Kirklin, MD, succeeds Albert D. Pacifico, MD, as director of the UAB Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, effective July 1, 2006.
“Dr. Kirklin is eminently qualified as a world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon,” says Kirby I. Bland, MD, chair of the UAB Department of Surgery. “We are proud and fortunate that he will guide the division and maintain its tradition of excellence in this new millennium.”
Dr. Kirklin joined the UAB faculty in 1981 after receiving his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and his surgical training at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and UAB. Known for his expertise in congenital and adult cardiothoracic surgery, he also established and directs the UAB Cardiothoracic Transplant Program. More than 700 transplants have been performed since the program’s founding in 1983.
Horizons for the Heart
To help predict the outcomes of treatment and develop tailored therapies for end-stage heart disease, Dr. Kirklin was instrumental in forming the Cardiac Transplant Research Database and the Pediatric Heart Transplant Study. UAB is coordinating center for both programs, through which clinical information from major transplant centers is collected and analyzed to better guide patient management and treatment.
He also was instrumental in UAB’s designation as a Destination Therapy Facility for end-stage heart disease patients who are not candidates for transplantation and is principal investigator of a $6.3 million, 5-year National Institutes of Health contract to establish a national registry for patients who receive mechanical circulatory support devices. “The registry will provide scientific direction for the evolution of mechanical circulatory support from a ‘bridge’ to cardiac transplant to permanent therapy,” Dr. Kirklin says.
Dr. Kirklin is serving his second 5-year term as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, and has authored or coauthored more than 300 scientific publications on heart surgery and transplantation.
Dr. Kirklin’s father, the late cardiothoracic surgeon John W. Kirklin, MD, was Department of Surgery chair and UAB Hospital surgeon-in-chief and most renowned for revolutionizing cardiovascular surgery with his work on the heart-lung bypass machine. His mother also was a physician and director of the UAB surgeon’s assistant program.
Pacifico Passes Torch
Dr. Pacifico came to UAB in 1967 as a protégé of the late Dr. Kirklin, joining the UAB faculty in 1970. In 1983, he was named John W. Kirklin Professor of Surgery and, in 1984, director of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery. He also serves as vice chair of the UAB Department of Surgery.
Legendary for his surgical dexterity and ability to eliminate wasted motion in the operating room, Dr. Pacifico averaged an extraordinary 8 cases a day or some 1200 procedures a year. He is internationally recognized for expertise in repairing congenital cardiovascular disorders and complex conditions of the heart and great vessels. Through the UAB Heart-to-Heart program, he volunteered countless hours to repair congenital defects in children from countries unable to provide this life-saving surgery.
Dr. Pacifico’s numerous awards and honors include the Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award and the UAB President’s Award. He has authored more than 200 medical publications and serves on the editorial board of several journals including the American Journal of Cardiology, the Journal of Cardiac Surgery, and Progress in Pediatric Cardiology.
“UAB is a world-class medical center, and has provided an excellent environment not only for patient care, but also for development of knowledge in medicine and surgery,” Dr. Pacifico says. “I am very proud of my colleagues in cardiac and thoracic surgery, as well as the nurses and many specialists in different areas of medicine and surgery who support us. I am deeply grateful for the opportunities I have had here.”
Both Drs. Kirklin and Pacifico are consistently recognized among the “Best Doctors in America,” and have been ranked among the top physicians in America by U.S. News & World Report.