2022 Top 25 Innovators Dr. Robert Montgomery

In September 2021, Montgomery and his team attached a genetically engineered pig kidney to a patient on life support, waiting 54 hours to monitor kidney function and looking for signs of rejection. The procedure marked a breakthrough in xenotransplantation and progress toward a more sustainable supply of organs for patients with kidney disease. Transplant surgeons at other universities have already drawn upon Montgomery’s pioneering work. Previously, Montgomery was chief of transplant surgery and director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center at Johns Hopkins University for more than a decade. He helped develop a laparoscopic procedure for live kidney donation.