Draft:Vivian C. McAlister
Irish-born Canadian surgeon and military physician
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Vivian C. McAlister (born 1956) is an Irish-born Canadian surgeon, military physician, and medical historian. He is professor emeritus in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University and an adjunct professor in the university's Department of History.[1] His clinical and research work has focused on transplantation surgery, military medicine, and the history of medicine. From 2013 to 2019, he served as co-editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Surgery.[1]
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McAlister was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2020 for contributions to transplantation surgery, health-care delivery, disaster preparedness, military surgery, and medical history.[2] In 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.[3]
Early life and education
McAlister was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1956. He entered medical school at Trinity College Dublin in 1973 and graduated in medicine in 1979.[4] He emigrated to Canada in 1981, initially practising medicine in Saskatchewan before returning to Ireland for postgraduate surgical training. In 1987, he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.[4]
Surgical career
From 1990 to 1992, McAlister completed a clinical fellowship in liver surgery and transplantation under William Wall in London, Ontario.[4] He subsequently joined the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he worked as a liver transplant and general surgeon. In 2001, The Canadian Press reported that his departure from Halifax contributed to a temporary suspension of liver transplant operations pending recruitment of another transplant surgeon.[5]
Later in 2001, McAlister joined the multi-organ transplant program at London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ontario.[4] His research in transplantation medicine included studies of immunosuppression following liver, kidney, and pancreas transplantation. He was first author of a 2000 report published in The Lancet on sirolimus–tacrolimus combination immunosuppression.[6] He also co-authored a 2006 Cochrane review comparing cyclosporin and tacrolimus following liver transplantation.[7]
McAlister also conducted experimental research on xenotransfusion. In 1998, The Sunday Times reported on preliminary work by his research group investigating methods of reducing immune rejection of pig red blood cells in humans.[8] In 2004, Der Spiegel reported on his studies into the potential use of bovine red blood cells for transfusion, while noting unresolved concerns regarding immune compatibility and safety.[9] He later co-authored an in vitro study on bovine erythrocyte xenotransfusion published in the journal Xenotransplantation.[10]
Military medicine
McAlister first served in Afghanistan in 2007 as a civilian surgeon. A contemporaneous report in the National Post described his work at Kandahar Air Field with Canadian and allied surgical teams treating casualties of improvised explosive devices.[11] He subsequently joined the Canadian Forces and completed basic training in 2008 at the age of 52.[4]
McAlister served with the Royal Canadian Medical Service and undertook deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Haiti.[1][4] According to Western University, he remained a regular force member of the Royal Canadian Medical Service until 2019 and was the founding director of Western's Office of Military Academic Medicine.[1]
His research in military medicine included studies of injury patterns associated with antipersonnel improvised explosive devices. He co-authored a 2017 prospective cohort study in BMJ Open comparing injuries caused by improvised explosive devices with those resulting from conventional antipersonnel mines.[12]
In 2015, he participated in simulated surgery experiments conducted in near-zero gravity aboard a Falcon 20 aircraft as part of research into trauma care in remote and austere environments.[13]
Later work
Following his retirement from clinical practice, McAlister became professor emeritus at Western University and adjunct professor in the university's Department of History. His later academic work has focused on biography and the history of medicine.[1]
Honours
McAlister was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada on 27 November 2020 and was invested on 14 December 2022.[2] In 2023, he received an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.[3] Additional honours listed by Western University include the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Canadian Medical Association John McCrae Memorial Medal, and a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Society of Transplantation.[1]