Pescovitz Tector Indiana transplant history was made this summer with the successful completion of a first adult four-organ transplant at IU Hospital.

Dr. Mark Pescovitz was named vice chair of research for the IU Department of Surgery and Dr. Joseph Tector is directing the IU Division of Organ Transplant Surgery and the Clarian Transplant Center at IU Hospital and the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children.

In his new role, Pescovitz will focus on coordinating the expansion of the Surgical Research Program and serve in an administrative role for all clinical and basic science research activity. He also will assist with the development of the IU School of Medicine’s new Center of Immunobiology, which reflects his research interests in T-cell and B-cell immunology and clinical transplant immunosuppression. He will remain an active member of the IU clinical transplant group and continue in his position as professor of surgery and of microbiology and immunology and director of the Transplant Immunology Laboratory. Tector joined the IU faculty in 2000 and has been instrumental in developing the hepatic transplantation program, which now is one of the top three most active programs in the country. His research interests include improving the clinical results of liver transplantation, organ preservation and xenotransplantation.

In July, Tector and fellow IU transplant surgeon, Dr. Rodrigo Vianna, made Indiana transplant history with the successful completion of a first adult four-organ transplant at IU Hospital. The 25-year-old patient received a stomach, pancreas, small intestine and liver. Other faculty members of the IU Division of Transplant Surgery are Drs. Martin Milgrom, Jonathan Fridell and William Goggins.

As one of the top transplant centers in the country, Clarian ranked fourth nationally in 2003 in number of solid organ transplants performed. It performs more transplants than all other Indiana transplant centers combined, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Additionally, the transplant center is the only health system in the state to perform heart, lung, kidney, liver, pancreas and intestine transplants.

Future transplant recipients and other patients at high risk for immune system complications will benefit from research conducted at the newly established Center of Immunobiology at the IU School of Medicine. Dr. David Wilkes is the director. Immunobiology is an interdisciplinary science that studies the immune factors that affect growth, development and the health of the human body. For example, transplant recipients currently receive a battery of anti-rejection drugs to thwart organ rejection. At the same time, these drugs suppress the body’s immune system, which can cause life-threatening infections.