José Osmar Medina de Abreu Pestana was born on June 18, 1953, in Ipaussu in the State of São Paulo.
As a young adult, he enrolled at the undergraduate medical program of the Federal University of São Paulo’s (Unifesp) Paulista School of Medicine and graduated in 1979, after having worked as a plumber from age 16 to 19 and also as a laboratory technician throughout his university studies.
Later on, even after successfully completing his Medical Residency in Nephrology at the Hospital São Paulo medical facility in 1983, Medina continued to work there as Chief of the Emergency Room as well as leading the institute’s kidney transplant group. Three years later, he obtained a Ph.D. in Medicine in the field of Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation, after which time he finished two Postdoctoral programs: the first one in the area of Kidney Transplantation at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States between 1987 and 1988; whereas the second certificate was in Experimental Transplantation at the University of Oxford, England, in 1989.
Upon returning to Brazil in 1990, Dr. Medina resumed his position as Head of the Federal University of São Paulo’s (Unifesp) Organ Transplant program and has, ever since, relentlessly worked towards helping to legalize and assist with organ transplant program-related planning in Brazil.
In 1998, he was responsible for initiating and subsequently running the clinical care and teaching activities provided by the Hospital do Rim kidney transplant center – Oswaldo Ramos Foundation, where he remains one of said institution’s leaders and managers. Fifteen years after its inauguration, the Hospital do Rim medical facility now boasts the status of being the world’s largest kidney transplant program, with over 10,000 transplants concluded and more than 600 professionals trained, several of which now hold distinguished positions in transplant programs in other Brazilian states.
Dr. Medina presided over the Brazilian Organ Transplant Association and the Latin American and Caribbean Transplant Society for two terms, in addition to chairing the Research Ethics Committee (CEP) of the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) since 1996. He is also a Member of the Transplantation Society’s Ethics Committee.
Furthermore, the lauded physician is a leader when it comes to transplant-related clinical and experimental research, with over 251 papers published in both domestic and foreign medical journals under his name. Additionally, he has been invited to give lectures at major Brazilian and foreign universities.
In 2004, in recognition of his outstanding work and dedication to organ transplant activities, Dr. Medina was appointed as a Fellow of England’s Royal College of Surgeons, whereas in 2012 he was awarded the title of Visiting Professor at Harvard University, where he met the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Professor Joseph Murray, who conducted the world’s first kidney transplant in 1954.
Dr. Medina further holds the titles of Full Professor of the Nephrology class taught at the Federal University of São Paulo’s (Unifesp) Paulista School of Medicine (EPM), Managing Director of the Hospital do Rim kidney transplant center, and Member of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP) Strategic Superior Council.
Other important activities undertaken by him include his volunteer work in several communities, which started out as a volunteer clinician caring for Brazil’s Xingu Indigenous peoples and was later followed by over 30 years of medical assistance rendered in his hometown of Iguassu. In addition, the doctor has helped to run organ transplant programs in Sub-Saharan African countries. His volunteer work has been acknowledged several times with the titles of Honorary Citizen of the State of São Paulo, city of Salvador, and the State of Bahia.
Last but certainly not least, the esteemed physician volunteers to tutor students admitted to undergraduate medical programs as affirmative action students, dedicating himself to help these students learn other languages and experience international exchange programs. In recognition of his academic contributions, Dr. José Osmar Medina de Abreu Pestana was appointed as Patron of the 2013 graduating class.
Academic number: 647
Chair: 50
Member: Holder
Section: Medicine
Election: 29/09/2011
Inauguration: 10/04/2012
President: Marcos Fernando de Oliveira Moraes
Greeted by: Rubens Belfort Mattos Junior
Academic number: 647
Chair: 50
Member: Holder
Section: Medicine
Election: 29/09/2011
Inauguration: 10/04/2012
President: Marcos Fernando de Oliveira Moraes
Greeted by: Rubens Belfort Mattos Junior
José Osmar Medina de Abreu Pestana was born on June 18, 1953, in Ipaussu in the State of São Paulo.
As a young adult, he enrolled at the undergraduate medical program of the Federal University of São Paulo’s (Unifesp) Paulista School of Medicine and graduated in 1979, after having worked as a plumber from age 16 to 19 and also as a laboratory technician throughout his university studies.
Later on, even after successfully completing his Medical Residency in Nephrology at the Hospital São Paulo medical facility in 1983, Medina continued to work there as Chief of the Emergency Room as well as leading the institute’s kidney transplant group. Three years later, he obtained a Ph.D. in Medicine in the field of Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation, after which time he finished two Postdoctoral programs: the first one in the area of Kidney Transplantation at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States between 1987 and 1988; whereas the second certificate was in Experimental Transplantation at the University of Oxford, England, in 1989.
Upon returning to Brazil in 1990, Dr. Medina resumed his position as Head of the Federal University of São Paulo’s (Unifesp) Organ Transplant program and has, ever since, relentlessly worked towards helping to legalize and assist with organ transplant program-related planning in Brazil.
In 1998, he was responsible for initiating and subsequently running the clinical care and teaching activities provided by the Hospital do Rim kidney transplant center – Oswaldo Ramos Foundation, where he remains one of said institution’s leaders and managers. Fifteen years after its inauguration, the Hospital do Rim medical facility now boasts the status of being the world’s largest kidney transplant program, with over 10,000 transplants concluded and more than 600 professionals trained, several of which now hold distinguished positions in transplant programs in other Brazilian states.
Dr. Medina presided over the Brazilian Organ Transplant Association and the Latin American and Caribbean Transplant Society for two terms, in addition to chairing the Research Ethics Committee (CEP) of the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) since 1996. He is also a Member of the Transplantation Society’s Ethics Committee.
Furthermore, the lauded physician is a leader when it comes to transplant-related clinical and experimental research, with over 251 papers published in both domestic and foreign medical journals under his name. Additionally, he has been invited to give lectures at major Brazilian and foreign universities.
In 2004, in recognition of his outstanding work and dedication to organ transplant activities, Dr. Medina was appointed as a Fellow of England’s Royal College of Surgeons, whereas in 2012 he was awarded the title of Visiting Professor at Harvard University, where he met the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Professor Joseph Murray, who conducted the world’s first kidney transplant in 1954.
Dr. Medina further holds the titles of Full Professor of the Nephrology class taught at the Federal University of São Paulo’s (Unifesp) Paulista School of Medicine (EPM), Managing Director of the Hospital do Rim kidney transplant center, and Member of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP) Strategic Superior Council.
Other important activities undertaken by him include his volunteer work in several communities, which started out as a volunteer clinician caring for Brazil’s Xingu Indigenous peoples and was later followed by over 30 years of medical assistance rendered in his hometown of Iguassu. In addition, the doctor has helped to run organ transplant programs in Sub-Saharan African countries. His volunteer work has been acknowledged several times with the titles of Honorary Citizen of the State of São Paulo, city of Salvador, and the State of Bahia.
Last but certainly not least, the esteemed physician volunteers to tutor students admitted to undergraduate medical programs as affirmative action students, dedicating himself to help these students learn other languages and experience international exchange programs. In recognition of his academic contributions, Dr. José Osmar Medina de Abreu Pestana was appointed as Patron of the 2013 graduating class.