Transplant Surgeon Robert A. Montgomery, MD, DPhil, FACS, Honored with Jacobson Innovation Award

CHICAGO — Robert A. Montgomery, MD, DPhil, FACS, a distinguished transplant surgeon renowned for pioneering "domino" paired kidney donations and leading the world’s first successful pig-to-human kidney xenotransplant, is the recipient of this year’s American College of Surgeons (ACS) Jacobson Innovation Award.

Dr. Montgomery, the H. Leon Pachter, MD, Chair and Professor of Surgery at NYU Langone Health and Director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute in New York, New York, received the award at a banquet on June 14 in Chicago, Illinois.

“Dr. Montgomery is a visionary in transplantation surgery, revolutionizing the field with innovations that have saved countless lives,” said Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, Executive Director and CEO of ACS. “The Jacobson Innovation Award is a testament to his groundbreaking contributions and relentless pursuit of excellence in surgical science to benefit patients.”

Upon receiving the award, Dr. Montgomery expressed his deep gratitude and humility. “The College is the thing that connects all of us together. It’s our community,” Dr. Montgomery said. “So, to be recognized by that gigantic community—and there are so many luminaries in that community—is a really big deal.”

Pioneering Transplant Innovations

Dr. Montgomery’s career in transplantation surgery began with his education at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, followed by a doctorate in molecular immunology from Balliol College at the University of Oxford. His general surgical training, multi-organ transplantation fellowship, and postdoctoral fellowship in human molecular genetics at Johns Hopkins laid the foundation for his future contributions to the field.

In 2009, as director of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center, Baltimore, Dr. Montgomery led a four-hospital, 16-person “domino kidney transplant” procedure, in which eight incompatible familial donors gave their organs to strangers so their loved ones could receive compatible organs in return.

For more than twenty years at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Montgomery led teams that completed the first three-way paired donations and the first two-way, three-way, four-way, five-way, six-way, and eight-way domino-paired donations. He also co-led the first 10-way open-chain kidney donations and performed the first chain of transplants started by an altruistic donor.

One of Dr. Montgomery’s most significant achievements is the development of the laparoscopic procedure for live kidney donation, which is now the global standard. He also pioneered long-distance live-donor shipping of kidneys and the Hopkins protocol for desensitizing incompatible kidney transplant patients.

Historic Xenotransplantation Breakthroughs

In 2016, he moved to NYU Langone Health. There, he has vastly expanded transplant services and led the creation of new lung and heart transplant programs, pediatric kidney, heart, lung, and liver programs, and an expansion of the allogeneic bone marrow transplant program.

At NYU Langone, Dr. Montgomery led the team that performed the world’s first successful investigational pig-to-human kidney xenotransplant, a major step forward in addressing the critical shortage of transplantable organs.

In another groundbreaking procedure under Dr. Montgomery’s leadership at NYU Langone Health, surgeons performed the first combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant surgery on a 54-year-old woman with heart and kidney failure.

Recognitions and Personal Journey

Dr. Montgomery’s personal experiences, including a family history of genetic cardiomyopathy and his own heart transplant in 2018, have deepened his commitment to patient advocacy and innovation. His contributions to transplantation surgery exemplify the spirit of the prestigious Jacobson Innovation Award.

A Fellow of the ACS since 2003, Dr. Montgomery is a past ACS Scholar and recipient of the ACS Faculty Fellowship and the ACS George H. A. Clowes Jr., MD, FACS, Award.

About the Jacobson Innovation Award

Through the Jacobson Innovation Award, the ACS recognizes living surgeons who have innovated a new development or technique in any surgical discipline. It was established with a gift from Julius H. Jacobson II, MD, FACS, a vascular surgeon known for his innovations in microsurgery, and his wife, Joan.

For more information about Dr. Montgomery’s achievements and the Jacobson Innovation Award, visit the American College of Surgeons website.