Peter Reese, MD, PhD directs the STEEP lab. His research aims to improve access to transplant and the care of solid organ transplant recipients with tools from epidemiology, ethics and policy.
He is Professor of Surgery and the inaugural Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Surgical Science at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is a board-certified nephrologist with subspecialty training in kidney transplantation. His scientific work includes co-leading pioneering trials that demonstrated the safety and efficacy of transplanting organs from donors with hepatitis C virus infection into uninfected recipients. The positive results of these trials led to thousands of additional transplants of kidneys, hearts and lungs across North America. He has made important contributions to health equity through research and policy proposals to improve eligibility for kidney transplant and improve organ allocation. His original transplant epidemiology research has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and the American Journal of Transplantation, with additional publications related to developing effective policy to expand access to transplantation in the Lancet and PLOS Medicine.
Dr. Reese is past Chair of the Ethics Committee for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which oversees organ allocation and transplant regulation in the United States. In recognition of his contributions to transplant research, he received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in July 2012. The PECASE "recognizes and supports scientists and engineers who show exceptional promise for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge." He is also an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Hastings Center.
Dr. Reese’s mission encompasses energetic support of talented and motivated young researchers at all stages of training. This Lab’s success reflects their creativity and efforts. Their publications, awards, promotions and the new knowledge they create are a credit to their efforts. Our goal is for the Lab to be an inclusive environment in which we welcome diverse viewpoints, support professional growth, encourage high risk/high reward ideas, and take a forgiving attitude toward mistakes.
Multiple mentees of Dr. Reese have competed successfully for NIH funding, made major research contributions and published in excellent journals. Several now run their own independent research programs.