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Proclamation recognizing and commending Dr. Thomas E. Starzl, M.D., Ph.D., director emeritus of the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, for earning the 2004 National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific honor, and for his remarkable contributions in patient care, clinical research, clinical innovation and education.
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WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the United States of America and the world have been blessed with exemplary leadership throughout the history of our great nation, with visionaries of great knowledge and determination making invaluable contributions to our communities, our country and the world; and
WHEREAS, President Bush at the White House on February 13, 2006 presented the 2004 National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific honor, to Dr. Thomas E. Starzl, M.D., Ph.D.; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Starzl, a transplant pioneer, has dedicated his life to the advancement of clinical research and patient care, and he is the creator of groundbreaking work on organ transplantation and anti-rejection therapies. He shaped and developed the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's (UPMC) renowned and thriving organ transplantation programs, and trained many of the physicians who now lead organ transplantation programs world-wide; and
WHEREAS, also known as the “Father of Transplantation”, Dr. Starzl joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine as professor of surgery in 1981. Until 1991, he served as chief of transplantation services at Presbyterian University Hospital (now UPMC Presbyterian), Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Pittsburgh, overseeing the largest and busiest transplant program in the world, assuming the title of Director of the University of Pittsburgh Transplantation Institute, an Institute which was renamed in his honor in 1996; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Starzl, who is now director emeritus of the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, performed the world's first successful liver transplant in 1967 at the University of Colorado, joining the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in 1981. In the early 1980's, Dr. Starzl's innovations greatly improved the success rate of transplants and made them common practice; and
WHEREAS, from the beginning of his career to the present, his research has focused on developing anti-rejection medicines that have helped transplant patients live for decades. Dr. Starzl's focus in the last decade has been on increasing patients' tolerance for their transplant organs without the rigorous regimen of immunosuppressants that are necessary to prevent rejection of transplanted organs. Dr. Starzl and his colleagues are nearing a critical breakthrough in eliminating patients' dependency on anti-rejection drugs entirely; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Starzl has received more than 200 awards and honors and his national and international endeavors include membership in more than 60 professional and scientific organizations. The Institute for Scientific Information identified Dr. Starzl as one of the most prolific scientists in the world and he placed 213th in the book, 1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ranking the Men and Women Who Shaped the Millennium;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Allegheny County Council hereby recognizes and commends Dr. Thomas E. Starzl, M.D., Ph.D. for earning the 2004 National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific honor and for his remarkable contributions in patient care, clinical research, clinical innovation and education. His notable strides in research have improved the quality of life for many and his imagination, talent and resolve serve as an inspiration to us all.