Paulo Fontes, MD, FACS

Dr. Paulo Fontes is a transplant surgeon, a scientist and an entrepreneur. He is Professor of Surgery, and Director, Surgical Innovation & Research, Department of Surgery, WVU Medicine, Morgantown, WV. He is the co-founder of 2 startup companies: 1) Virtech Bio (VTB) Inc., Natick, MA (Medical Advisory Board) and 2) LyGenesis, Pittsburgh, PA (Chief Medical Officer). Dr. Fontes is also the Director of VGS Foundation, Sao Paulo, Brazil, a life science foundation. He was a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh, Starzl Transplantation Institute, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) for 27 years. He was the Director of the Liver Transplant Program at the STI, UPMC, for almost a decade while performing and assisting with over 1,500 liver transplant procedures and managing over 10,000 patients. He was also a Deputy Director, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (MIRM), School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh for 4 years. He has been certified in transplant surgery by the American Society of Transplant Surgeons in 1998 and proudly accepted as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) in 2001. He has received over 30 awards and honors, including the Award for Commitment and Excellence in Service, UPMC; “America’s Best Physicians”, “America’s Best in Medicine”, the TechConnect Innovation Award, two University of Pittsburgh Innovation Awards and the Coulter Award. Dr. Fontes has contributed to over 250 publications (115 peer-review papers, 10 book chapters, and 126 published abstracts) and 5 patents. He has been directly involved in the training of more than 90 transplant surgeons and has continued to teach and mentor medical and bioengineer students. Dr. Fontes has given over 120 national and international lectures. He is a member of the Editorial Review Board of 24 scientific journals and grant agencies. He has received financial support for his ongoing research from 7 different funding agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD), the SBIR and the NIH. Dr. Fontes has been recently appointed as the Director for Surgical Innovation and Research, WVU Medicine, where he has collaborated and guided 9 senior investigators, 4 companies and 4 Universities while overseeing 18 research and entrepreneurial activities. He has recently started 2 new initiatives in digital healthcare involving face recognition, AI and implantable microchips. View a list of Dr. Fontes’ publications here.