Christian P. Larsen, MD, DPhil, FACS, an Emory kidney and pancreas transplant surgeon and immunologist, internationally recognized for transforming organ rejection prevention, is the recipient of this year’s American College of Surgeons Jacobson Innovation Award. The award honors living surgeons who have innovated a new development or technique in any field of surgery.
“It’s a tremendous honor to win this award,” says Larsen. “The people who have won the award are icons, my role models and people I admire greatly. I am so appreciative of the American College of Surgeons for this recognition.”
For 35 years, Larsen has served on the Emory University School of Medicine faculty, caring for patients in need of and following kidney and pancreas transplants, conducting novel research to improve organ rejection medication and teaching the next generation of doctors. He is the Carlos and Marguerite Mason Professor of Surgery at Emory and chief scientific officer of Woodruff Health Sciences and Emory Healthcare. He is also executive director of Emory Transplant Center, building and directing one of the leading research and clinical transplantation programs in the nation. To date, the center has performed more than 14,000 organ transplants, with more than 520 transplants performed thus far in 2026.
Larsen’s most significant clinical achievement centers around the pivotal role he played in discovering a new class of immunosuppressive drugs known as co-stimulation blockers for kidney transplant patients. Working alongside long-time Emory collaborator Thomas Pearson, MD, DPhil, the Livingston Professor of Surgery, Larsen and Pearson’s research led to the development of belatacept, approved in June 2011 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for kidney transplant recipients. This was the first time a new class of drug had been approved for transplant since the 1990s. Unlike past medications called calcineurin inhibitors that could damage transplanted kidneys and lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes, belatacept acts as a co-stimulation blocker, inhibiting one of two signals T- cells needed to trigger an immune response. This action prevents organ rejection and reduces toxicity to the kidneys. With some medication refinements still needed, Larsen received a (National Institutes of Health) NIH grant for nearly $20 million in 2012 and another $12.6 million grant in 2017 to continue development of the anti-rejection medication.
“The 2012 study found kidney recipients taking belatacept experienced a rate of mortality and graft loss significantly lower than patients taking a calcineurin inhibitor-based regimen,” says Larsen. “Through data-driven adjustments and refinements, we were able to reduce rejection rates, save more kidneys, decrease the amount of medication needed and reduce the number of health care visits by patients.”
Belatacept remains a chosen therapy for kidney transplant recipients today. Larsen’s work continues today with a research focus on understanding alloimmunity, or how the body recognizes organs or tissues as foreign, which can lead to graft rejection. His driving motivation is to bring advances from the lab and from outcomes data to define personalized treatment regimens to deliver transplants that last a lifetime. He has been funded continuously by the NIH for his research since 1996. In his newest role as chief scientific officer at Emory, he will work to ensure that our scientific priorities continue to be closely aligned with patient care, education and discovery across Emory.
Larsen received his bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from Emory College, medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine, followed by a surgical residency and transplant fellowship at Emory. He received a doctorate degree in transplantation immunology from University of Oxford in England. He has been a fellow of the American College of Surgeons since 1994. Other notable recognitions include: the 2007 Thomas E. Starzl Prize in Surgery and Immunology, induction to the Institute of Medicine in 2014, the 2021 American Medical Association Scientific Achievement Award, a 2025 Pioneer Award from the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and multiple teaching, lecture and investigator awards from Emory University.
