In a tribute to the late James S.T. Yao, MD, PhD, a luminary in the field of vascular surgery, the Yao family and the SVS Foundation announced the renaming of the Resident Research Award to the James S.T. Yao Resident Research Award.
The renaming of the award serves as a testament to Yao’s unwavering commitment to the advancement of vascular surgery, said Yao’s wife, Louise. The contribution from Louise and their three children—Kathy, a surgeon; John, a musician; and Pauline, a museum curator—ensures that his legacy continues to inspire future generations. Yao resided in Wilmette, Illinois, and had a longtime association with Northwestern University.
“He was a great believer in research and writing papers,” reminisced Louise. “I see other people like him and my daughter, who is also in medicine and has many of those traits.”
The award supports emerging medical professionals exploring vascular disease biology and innovative translational therapies. It recognizes unpublished, original scientific work in manuscript form that demonstrates publication quality. The recipient presents the research in a plenary session at the SVS Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM).
“The Resident Research Award was my first opportunity to present the work of our team to a large audience, including many of my heroes, including Dr. Yao, from papers I had read,” said Luke Brewster, MD, a 2005 recipient of the award.
Louise recalled her husband’s regard for the Foundation and how “he thought so highly of this organization and the things they did to help young people get into the field.”
Yao, known as Jimmy, passed away on Dec. 20, 2022. His career began with his medical education at the National Taiwan University Medical School in Taipei. He continued his journey with a surgical residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago and earned a doctorate in London, England. From 1988– 2007, he served as the Magerstadt Professor of Surgery and chief of vascular surgery at Northwestern University.
His work led to the development of the ankle-brachial index (ABI), a quick and simple test for peripheral arterial disease that is now standard practice. His contributions included formalizing protocols for noninvasive vascular studies and founding the Society for Noninvasive Vascular Technology in 1977. Throughout his career, Yao wrote 200 textbook chapters and 50 academic books. He established the first blood flow laboratory in Chicago, initiated a vascular fellowship training program and held various leadership positions in vascular surgery organizations, including serving as SVS president in 1993.
“[Dr. Yao] wrote over 300 manuscripts; he probably influenced every aspect of vascular surgery based on their case series,” said Michael C. Dalsing, MD, SVS Foundation chair and one of Yao’s former trainees. “But with all his success, he never forgot who he was—truthful, dedicated, humble and intellectually fearless.”
Through his leadership in the SVS History Project Work Group, Yao demonstrated his commitment to preserving the history of vascular surgery by conducting interviews with more than 85 prominent figures in the field. In 2007, he received the SVS Lifetime Achievement Award.
The recipient of the resident award renamed in his honor receives a $5,000 award and a one-year subscription to the Journal of Vascular Surgery.
“The award deals with research that looks at the basic mechanisms of how vascular disease pathophysiology presents, or an innovative spin on treatment and how it sets the basis of how we look at disease or vascular health. It’s an innovative process, which is always very important if science is going to move forward,” said Dalsing.
For more information on the award, visit vascular.org/YaoRRA. Submissions for 2024 are due Jan. 10, 2024.
