RAPAPORT HONORED FOR ADVANCING TRANSPLANTATION

On July 11, 1997, Felix T. Rapaport, MD, SUNY distinguished professor (surgery), was one of four recipients of the first Founders Award of the International Society for Organ Sharing. This honor was bestowed upon Dr. Rapaport for "his unending dedication to the Society and his tireless support of transplantation medicine." The presentation of the award took place during Transplantation Congress Week in Washington, DC.

The award citation highlights Dr. Rapaport's numerous scientific and clinical contributions to transplantation. The citation concludes: "The very diversity of Rapaport's contributions may have obscured recognition of their individual importance. That is like saying that it is easier to watch the stars than to gaze at the sun."

Dr. Rapaport is the honorary president and co-founder of the International Society for Organ Sharing. The three other recipients of the Founders Award—also distinguished contributors to the Society and to transplantation medicine—are Drs. Raffaello Cortesini, Thomas E. Starzl, and Luis H. Toledo-Pereyra.

Long recognized as a leading force in the field of organ transplantation, Dr. Rapaport provided the original demonstration of tissue types in man by skin-grafting experiments. He collaborated closely with Professor Jean Dausset of the University of Paris in a 17-year-long series of experiments which culminated in the discovery of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system of human histocompatibility. For this discovery which laid the scientific foundation for organ transplantation in humans, Dr. Dausset was awarded the 1980 Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology.

Dr. Rapaport's distinguished career began at New York University where he graduated in 1954, did his surgical residency and subsequently joined the faculty, rising to the rank of professor and director of the transplantation and immunology division in the surgery department. In 1977, he joined the faculty of the surgery department of the University at Stony Brook, and founded its transplantation service.

Dr. Rapaport is founding officer of the Transplantation Society, having served as president of the Society from 1978 to 1980. Since 1968, he has been editor-in-chief of Transplantation Proceedings, one of the most influential journals in surgery. Its main editorial office is located in the Department of Surgery.

Dr. Rapaport is currently in charge of the Society's Permanent International Secretariat which, based at Stony Brook, serves as its central coordinating offices. This professional society has more than 2,000 members representing 49 countries, and is the highest-prestige worldwide organization of experts and leaders in transplantation biology and medicine.

Dr. Rapaport has served as president of the New York Regional Transplant Program and as a member of the board of directors of the United Network of Organ Sharing. On numerous occasions he has served as a consultant to national scientific organizations and to federal and state agencies on matters pertaining to organ transplantation.