1950s Champ Lyons , MD , and Tinsley R . Harrison , MD , begin the Cardiovascular Research and Training Program with a grant from the National Heart Lung Institute . |
1958 Leland C . Clark , PhD , is instrumental in establishing the first open-heart program made possible by his successful creation of a pump oxygenator system . |
1967 John W . Kirklin , MD , moves to UAB from the Mayo Clinic to develop a world-class cardiac surgery program that garners national and international recognition . He serves as the chairman of the department of surgery from 1966-1982 . |
1981 The first heart transplant in Alabama is performed by Robert Karp , MD . |
1988 The first heartlung transplant in the Southeast is performed by James K . Kirklin , MD , now the director of cardiothoracic surgery . |