Dr. Peter Reese Awarded Samuel Martin Health Evaluation Sciences Research Award

Congratulations to Associate Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy Peter P. Reese, MD, MSCE, who has won Penn Medicine's Samuel Martin Health Evaluation Sciences Research Award.

Dr. Reese is also an Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Perelman School of Medicine and a CHIBE-affiliated faculty member.

“This is the highest award for the type of research that faculty in our department do, and reflects his outstanding contributions to extending the benefits of organ transplantation to ever-wider circles of patients who might not have benefited in the past,” Interim Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy Steve Joffe, MD, MPH, said.

Penn Medicine’s Awards of Excellence statement noted:

“Dr. Reese is an internationally-recognized leader in the areas of transplantation and nephrology. His research paved the way for the transplant field to make use of the thousands of discarded organs from donors infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Dr. Reese’s team recognized that new direct-acting antiviral medications created opportunities to offer these organs from deceased opioid epidemic victims to well-informed patients without HCV. His trials in the areas of kidney (THINKER), heart, and lung transplantation designed with Penn colleagues led to outstanding results, including 100% HCV cure rates, good allograft function, and manageable side effects. Through his collaboration with French researchers, Dr. Reese also paved the way for the use of organs from older and comorbid donors. He developed a widely-cited ethical model of how centers should separate the interests of donors and transplant candidates and focus on donors with risk factors for kidney disease. He also made important contributions to health behavior change in transplantation and nephrology in the area of medication non-adherence.

“A winner of multiple awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, in 2020, he and his team received the Innovation Award from the American Society of Transplantation for the THINKER trial. In summary, a colleague said, ‘Dr. Peter Reese is a superlative researcher with the rare ability to rapidly translate scientific insights into tangible benefits for patient care and better public policy.’”