May 2, 2002
Cardiothoracic Surgery scholar visits next week
“Reperfusion Injury after Lung Transplantation” is the topic for the Cardiothoracic Surgery Division’s 11th annual visiting scholar lecture, set for 3:30 p.m., Friday, May 10, in room K-069, HSC. The presentation is open to everyone and will be followed by a reception. This year’s visiting scholar is Dr. Irving L. Kron, chair of the University of Virginia’s Department of Surgery and chief of the Division of thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. He is also William H. Muller Jr. professor of surgery. His practice focuses on congenital heart disease, transplantation, valvular heart disease and surgery for diseases of the heart muscle. He has recently been particularly interested in reperfusion injury, which occurs when a transplanted organ is reattached to a blood supply. He has also been working on techniques for transplantation of part of a lung, or lung lobe, from a related living person to a recipient, somewhat like the procedure now used for some liver transplants. Kron earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. After a general surgical residency at the Maine Medical Center in Portland, he went to the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, for training in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery. He joined the faculty there in 1982 and became chief of the division in 1993 and chair of the Department of Surgery this year. He maintains an active research program with two major National Institutes of Health research grants and an NIH training grant. Kron has also been a national and regional leader in professional organizations and is now a director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and a member of the American Board of Surgery. He has also been president of both the Virginia Surgical Society and the Virginia Vascular Society. At the UW, Kron will participate in teaching rounds and research presentations for the division on Friday morning, May 10, in addition to giving the Friday afternoon lecture. On Saturday morning, May 11, he will speak on “Surgical Alternatives to Heart Transplantation” at a breakfast meeting at the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel. For information on reservations for this event, call Margo Boyd at 206-685-8644. On Friday afternoon, a tribute to Dr. K. Alvin Merendino, chair of the UW Department of Surgery from 1964 until 1972, will precede the visiting scholar lecture. The Merendino Tribute will be from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in room K-069 of the Health Sciences Center. (See related story next column.)
