Jefferson Names Endowed Professorship in Transplant Surgery
Cataldo Doria, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S.,
director, Division of Transplant Surgery, in the Department of Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University
Hospital, has been named the Nicoletti Family Professor of Transplant
Surgery. This endowed professorship is a generous gift of Robert and Beatrice
Nicoletti and their family. The family cited the care they received at
Jefferson when Robert received a new kidney donated by his own daughter, as the
reason for their donation.
“It is my honor to be the first physician
named as the recipient of this Professorship,” said Dr. Doria. “It is very
gratifying to accept this honor named after a family with such strong ties and
devotion to one another. Their strength and determination as a family
reinforces my educational and professional pursuits in researching how
transplantation surgery can be improved through traditional and non-traditional
techniques such as artificial devices.”
Cataldo Doria, M.D., Ph.D.,
F.A.C.S.
Dr. Doria is a multi-organ transplant surgeon with extensive
expertise in liver and kidney transplantation, as well as numerous other
hepato-biliary surgical procedures. He also organized and participated in the
first ever laparoscopic nephrectomy with ureterectomy for living related kidney
transplantation performed in Sicily, Italy.
His research interests include issues in
liver transplantation, transplant immunology, usage of artificial liver, and
surgical treatment of liver cancer without usage of blood. Dr. Doria has been
listed in Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare, Who's Who in Finance and
Industry, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in America and
Guide to America’s Top Physicians. In 2008, he was named “Transplant
Surgeon of the Year” by the Delaware Valley Chapter of the American Liver
Foundation. Dr. Doria was instrumental in making Jefferson the fastest growing
liver transplant program in the region, with the highest patient and graft
survival and the lowest mortality rate of those patients on the transplant
waiting list. He recently secured the authorization to proceed with live donor
liver transplantation.
He is a member of numerous professional
and scientific societies including the Cell Transplant Society, the Academy of
Surgical Research, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, AIPAC Associazione
Italiana Professori a Contratto (Italian Association Professors of Surgery), the
Transplantation Society, the Italian Society of Surgery, the International Liver
Transplantation Society, the European Society for Organ Transplantation, the
American Society of Transplantation, and the International College of Surgeons
(United States Section), American Society of Transplant Surgeons, American
Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association, The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary
Tract, American College of Surgeons, Society For The Advancement Of Blood
Management and The Society of University Surgeons.
Dr. Doria completed a clinical fellowship
in multi-organ transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh and a research
fellowship in transplantation at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation
Institute. He earned his Ph.D. in Immunology in 2006 from the University of
Catania School of Medicine in Catania, Italy. He received a doctor of medicine
degree in 1990 from the University of Perugia School of Medicine in Perugia,
Italy, graduating magna cum laude, where he also completed his residency in
general surgery. Dr. Doria received a bachelor of arts degree in 1983 from F.S.
Cabrini in Italy. He hasperformed more than 450 organ transplants, and authored
more than 170 publications, including 58peer-reviewedarticles and 5 book
chapters.
Robert and Beatrice
Nicoletti
For four years, Robert Nicoletti’s kidneys were
progressively failing him – the result of hypertension. He initially concealed
his worsening condition from his close-knit family. In early 2006, however, the
team at Jefferson determined that he needed a transplant and Robert told his
family.
According to the National Kidney
Foundation, more than 95,000 United States patients are currently waiting for an
organ transplant. Many patients are unable to have a transplant because of
organ shortages. Aware of the statistics, seven members of the Nicoletti family
volunteered to donate a kidney. Ultimately, only one family member was deemed
compatible: Robert’s daughter, Lori N. Peruto, Esq. She recalls, “When we
learned of Dad’s condition, we knew what we had to do. There was no question,
no hesitation.”
On June 6th, 2006, Robert and
Lori arrived at Jefferson for the life-changing procedure. After a few anxious
hours, the other members of the Nicoletti family were delighted to learn that
the transplant was a success and both patients were doing well.
Robert’s wife, Beatrice, was truly
impressed with her family’s experience at Jefferson. “When something like this
happens, you’re scared,” she says. “The staff at Jefferson kept us informed
every step of the way and that helped ease our fears.”
Robert and Lori quickly regained their
strength and returned to their normal lifestyle in a few weeks. Both remain in
good health today.
Media Only Contact:
Ed Federico
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Phone: (215) 955-6300
Published: 8/4/2009