Christian Larsen, MD, PhD
Joseph Brown Whitehead Professor and Chairman, Department of Surgery
Emory University School of Medicine
Biography
Christian P. Larsen, MD, PhD, has made seminal contributions to the investigation of the immunologic mechanisms of transplant rejection and immunologic tolerance, and is an internationally recognized leader in kidney and pancreas transplantation. He has been funded continuously by the NIH since 1996. Dr. Larsen's achievements are distinguished by his talent to successfully drive a discovery from the bench to the bedside using the rigor of the scientific method.
Dr. Larsen received his medical degree magna cum laude from Emory University and his Doctor of Philosophy in transplantation immunology from the University of Oxford, England. After completing his general and transplantation surgery training at Stanford and Emory, where he was Chief Resident in Surgery and a fellow in transplantation surgery, he was appointed to the faculty of the Emory University Department of Surgery in 1991. Dr. Larsen rapidly established himself as a leading transplant surgeon and immunologist and, in 2001, became the first Carlos and Marguerite Mason Professor of Surgery and the founding director of the Emory Transplant Center, which is an umbrella organization that oversees and integrates all of Emory's academic, clinical and research resources in organ transplantation. Dr. Larsen began serving as executive director of the Emory Transplant Center in 2008 and was appointed Joseph Brown Whitehead Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Emory as well as surgeon-in-chief of Emory University Hospital and director of surgical services for Emory Healthcare in 2009. He served as dean of the Emory University School of Medicine from 2013 to 2016, at which time Dr. Larsen returned to full-time pursuit of his clinical practice and research endeavors at the Department of Surgery and Emory Transplant Center.
Dr. Larsen's clinical practice focuses on kidney, pancreas and islet transplantation. In 2003, he performed the first islet transplant in Georgia. In addition to maintaining this busy surgical and clinical schedule throughout his career, he has built one of the foremost transplantation immunology programs in the world. The Emory Transplant Center now includes 200 members who provide coordinated, patient-focused, multidisciplinary care and conduct multidisciplinary research.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) elected Dr. Larsen, to its 2014 class of 70 leading health scientists and 10 foreign associates. The IOM is unique in its structure as both an honorific membership organization and an advisory organization. Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, IOM has become recognized as a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on health issues. With their election, members make a commitment to volunteer their service on IOM committees, boards and other activities.