CHICAGO: William S. Pierce, MD, FACS, a thoracic surgeon and chemical engineer from Hershey, PA, is the recipient of the 2007 Jacobson Innovation Award of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Dr. Pierce was honored with the award in recognition of his pioneering work in the conception and development of mechanical circulatory support and the total artificial mechanical heart and his contributions to surgical bioengineering and patient care. His contributions to science, medicine, and education have benefited countless surgical patients with heart failure.
The 13th Jacobson Innovation Award was presented to Dr. Pierce at a dinner on June 8, 2007, at the John B. Murphy Memorial Auditorium. The purpose of the award is to honor living surgeons who have been innovators of a new development or technique in any field of surgery. The award is made possible through a gift from Julius H. Jacobson II, MD, FACS, and his wife Joan. Dr. Jacobson is a general vascular surgeon known for his pioneering work in the development of microsurgery.
In 1970, Dr. Pierce initiated a collaborative effort between the Penn State Colleges of Medicine and Engineering, Hershey, PA, and started an artificial heart and circulatory assist program. He led an interdisciplinary team of surgeons, physicians, engineers, materials scientists, fabrication specialists and machinists, veterinarians, and animal care technicians to design a mechanical circulatory assist pump for use in patients. Their ground-breaking research led to the development of the Penn State Heart-Assist Pump. The pump is the first extremely smooth, surgically implantable, seam-free, pulsatile blood pump to receive wide-spread clinical use with excellent results. The pump has now been used in over 3,000 patients and is available worldwide.
The heart-assist pump that Dr. Pierce helped develop can be used to support the main pumping chamber (left ventricle) or lung pumping chamber (right ventricle) or both in heart transplant candidates who develop severe ventricular failure before a suitable donor heart is found. The heart-assist pump has become a valuable adjuvant to cardiac transplantation programs. The pumps also benefit open-heart surgery patients. Prior to the development of successful heart-assist pumps, open-heart surgery patients who could not be weaned from the heart-lung machine would die. Versions of the pump are now used as both a bridge to transplant and after open-heart surgery.
The Penn State heart-assist pump design and operating principles are now applied to many current blood-pump designs. In addition, the pump pioneered the application of fluid-mechanics principles in blood-pump development and the use of segmented polyurethane as the blood-contacting material.
Dr. Pierce is the Evan Pugh Emeritus Professor of Surgery at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA. He continues to contribute personally to the research activities of the division of artificial organs at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and to scholarly activities on a national level.
Dr. Pierce graduated with a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, (1962). After receiving his degree, Dr. Pierce interned at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (1962–1963), where he continued his residency first as assistant resident in surgery (1963–1965; 1967–1968); resident in surgery (1968–1969); and then as resident in thoracic surgery (1969–1970). During his years of residency training, Dr. Pierce served as clinical associate at the National Heart Institute of the National Institutes of Health (1965–1967). During that time he also served as lieutenant commander in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Pierce has remained actively involved as a member of many prominent academic, medical, surgical, and scientific societies. He holds membership in many of the major surgical organizations in the United States, including the American College of Surgeons, American Association for Thoracic Surgery, American Surgical Association, Association for Academic Surgery, Society for Vascular Surgery, Society of Clinical Surgery, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and Society of University Surgeons. Dr. Pierce is also a member of the Institute of Medicine; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; American Association for the Advancement of Science; American College of Cardiology; American Heart Association; American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering; American Medical Association; American Society for Artificial Internal Organs; Association of American Medical Colleges; International Cardiovascular Society; International Society for Artificial Organs; International Society for Heart Transplantation; Societe Internationale de Chirurgie; and Society for Biomaterials.
A prolific scientific researcher and writer, Dr. Pierce has authored or coauthored close to 300 publications; published over 150 abstracts; written more than 90 book chapters; authored two books; and served on the editorial boards of numerous medical, surgical, and scientific journals. Additionally, Dr. Pierce holds nine patents, including two for surgical gloves; one for an artificial heart; two for heart valves; and one for a blood pump. He also shares patents in 16 countries for a right ventricular assist device.
For his pioneering research in circulatory assist and artificial heart pumps, Dr. Pierce has been the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees, including the Dr. Barney Clark Exemplary Humanitarian Award (2005); Wilkes-Barre Distinguished Service Award (1995); Monroe J. Rathbone Chemical Engineering Alumni Award (1992); International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark (1990); an honorary doctor of science degree from Lehigh University (1988); Clemson Award for Applied Research (1985); Faculty Scholars Medal in Life and Health Sciences (1983); and AAMI Becton Dickinson Career Achievement Award (1977).
Since its establishment in 1994, the Jacobson Innovation Award—administered by the Honors Committee of the American College of Surgeons—has been awarded to 13 prestigious surgeons, including Dr. Pierce. Original thought combined with the first presentation of work that has led to a milestone in the advancement of surgical care is the main criterion for choosing a recipient of the Jacobson Innovation Award.
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 71,000 members and it is the largest organization of surgeons in the world.
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