Thomas M. Krummel, MD, FACS, FAAP, a pediatric surgeon who pioneered life-saving advances in newborn life support and championed simulation and virtual reality in surgical education, is the recipient of this year’s ACS Jacobson Innovation Award.
Dr. Krummel, the Emile Holman Professor Emeritus of Surgery and co-director for 15 years of Stanford Biodesign at Stanford University in California, received the award at a June 9 banquet in Chicago, Illinois.
The international surgical award from the ACS honors living surgeons who are innovators of a new development or technique in any field of surgery. It is made possible through a gift from Julius H. Jacobson II, MD, FACS, a general vascular surgeon known for his pioneering work in the development of microsurgery, and his wife, Joan.
In becoming the 29th recipient of the award, Dr. Krummel noted that he is humbled to join a long list of innovators.
“To join a group of remarkable innovators is an awesome career capstone,” he said. “There are many recognitions of basic science advancements, but I think recognition of clinical innovation is responsible for most of the way surgeons practice today. It’s a real tribute to the Jacobson Family that they thought it was worthy to recognize surgeon innovators with this award.”
Career highlights
Dr. Krummel’s career-long focus on innovation began in residency when he formed the world’s second-ever program focused on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a then-novel form of advanced life support designed to keep blood moving through the body in newborns with life-threatening cardiac or respiratory conditions. The team’s research in infants helped establish ECMO as an effective intervention, and the approach has since saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide.
Following his residency, while at the Medical College of Virginia he received funding from the ACS and other entities for research in fetal tissue repair—a pioneering effort.
Dr. Krummel continued his research on understanding the biochemical and cellular mechanisms of scarring and tissue damage for more than two decades, eventually serving at Stanford University, during part of his tenure as the Emile Holman Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery.
In 2004, Dr. Krummel founded the Stanford Surgical Innovation Program, and a year later merged with the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. He served as co-director of Stanford Biodesign until 2021. Graduates and participants of these programs have made significant contributions to the field of surgery.
Throughout his career, Dr. Krummel held numerous leadership positions at the ACS, including serving on the Research and Development Committee of the ACS Consortium of Accredited Education Institutes and the ACS Committee on Emerging Surgical Technology & Education.
Read more about Dr. Krummel, including his advice for aspiring surgeon-scientists.
