John Fung, M.D., Ph.D.

Department Chair

Department Chair

Director

John J. Fung, MD, PhD, is the Chairman of the Department of General Surgery at Cleveland Clinic and he was the former Chief of the Division of Transplant Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. With more than 25 years involvement in kidney, liver, pancreas, islet, and intestinal transplantation, he is also an accomplished immunologist.

Dr. Fung received his BA from the Johns Hopkins University in 1975, and a PhD in Immunology in 1980 and MD in 1982 from the University of Chicago. He completed his surgical residency at the University of Rochester, and a transplant surgery fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Starzl.
 
Between 1987 and 1988, he served as Director of Histocompatibility Testing at the University of Rochester. In 1989, he joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, and he held the tenured position as the inaugural Thomas E. Starzl Professor in Surgery. He is currently Professor of Surgery at the Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western University.

Dr. Fung is a member of numerous scientific and surgical societies and served as President of the International Liver Transplantation Society from 1997-1999. He has published more than 850 articles and book chapters and serves on the editorial board for several medical journals. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for Liver Transplantation, the highest impact factor specialty transplant journal.

His principal research interests are in transplantation immunology, immunosuppressive therapies, and liver related immunology. He has received funding from the NIH, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, as well as support from industry. In addition, he has received numerous prestigious lay and professional awards.

Dr. Fung is active in community affairs and has been a member of the Board of Directors at the Americans for Medical Progress, the LifeBanc Organ Procurement Organization and the American Liver Foundation. He received an honorable discharge from the United States Army Reserve Medical Corps with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, with his wife, Beth, and four children, Justin, Lauren, Brendan and Shannon.

• President, International Liver Transplantation Society
• Editor-in-Chief, Liver Transplantation
• Councilor, The Transplantation Society
• Thomas E. Starzl Professor of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh

Surgery

• New procedures to perform liver transplantation, e.g., use of the vascular stapler, devising the portocaval hemitransposition technique
• Developing intestinal transplantation
• Use of the TissueLink device for liver resections
• Use of new preservation solutions for transplantation

• American Liver Foundation Special Award for Leadership In Liver Transplantation, 1997
• American Society of Transplantation/Novartis Clinical Science Award, 2002
• Ronald W. Fish Humanitarian of the Year Award, 2003
• Hopeman Lecture – Grove City College, 2004
• John J. Fung Endowed Assistant Professorship in Transplant Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, 2005
• American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Achievement in Liver Transplantation Award, 2006
• University of Virginia – Rudolf Lecture in Surgery, 2006
• University of Rochester – Seymour Schwartz Lecture in Surgery, 2007
• American Society of Transplantation Surgery/Vanguard Committee Francis Moore Mentorship Award, 2008
• Chosen by fellow physicians to be listed in "The Best Doctors in America" and "America’s Top Doctors," 1991-present (inclusive)

• American Association Study of Liver Diseases
• International Liver Transplantation Society
• American Society of Transplant Surgeons
• American Surgical Association
• The Transplantation Society

• Astellas Pharma, US, Inc.