A physician internationally known for his surgical solutions for emphysema will deliver the keynote address at the 25th Annual Rollin A. Daniel, Jr. Lecture Oct. 31.
Dr. Joel D. Cooper, Evarts Graham Professor of Surgery and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, will honor distinguished alumnus Daniel at 4 p.m., in 208 Light Hall.
Daniel, a 1933 graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, achieved excellence in all three roles of academic medicine as a medical educator, investigator and as a practitioner. Daniel influenced the careers of legions of medical students, house officers, and colleagues in academic medicine and in practice. He exemplified the best of American medicine. For that reason, a lecture series was named for Daniel upon his retirement in 1977.
Cooper graduated from Harvard College Summa cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa and he graduated with honors from Harvard Medical School.
Cooper’s current research focuses on new surgical treatments for emphysema and he is the principal investigator for one NIH grant and co-investigator on a second NIH grant — both related to emphysema research.
In 1983, a team headed by Cooper, performed the world’s first successful lung transplant in Toronto. In 1996, Cooper received the Jacobson Innovation Award from the American College of Surgeons in recognition of his innovations in the field of lung transplantation and emphysema surgery.