Naunheim Named to New Chair Honoring Willmans

More than 200 former students, faculty, patients and friends of the Willmans contributed the funds necessary to create this endowed chair. The chair honors them and recognizes the lasting impact the Willmans have had on the lives of those they have touched, the greatest tribute being more than a generation of physicians who have had a desire to emulate both of them.

"This chair of surgery is valuable to Saint Louis University in many ways," Naunheim said. "First it honors Dr. Willman, a man who was one of the original founders and guiding lights for our department. In addition, it helps provide for the current faculty and those to come a sense of the surgical heritage at Saint Louis University. Finally, chairs such as this are critical to the future of our medical school; they provide financial support for the research and teaching efforts of the chair-holder and thus foster the academic goals of our institution. It is a great privilege to be the first recipient of the Vallee and Melba Willman Chair in Cardiovascular Surgery."

Willman became chairman of the department of surgery in 1969 and guided the department until his retirement in 1996. He was part of the team of physicians to perform the first open-heart operations in the Midwest during the 1950s.

As Willman pioneered heart transplant surgery at Saint Louis University during the mid 1970s, the Willmans' addressed the needs of surgical patients' families. Melba Willman was instrumental in creating a program that recruited and trained volunteers to minister to families in the surgical waiting room. This Intensive Care Waiting Room Project has served as a model for other hospitals throughout the country.

In addition, Melba Willman tackled the need for adequate low-cost temporary housing for out-of-town families of trauma patients and patients requiring specialized medical care. This project evolved into the Auxiliary Hospitality House that serves the needs of many families from outside St. Louis area.

Naunheim joined Saint Louis University in 1985 as an assistant professor of surgery and was promoted to professor in 1994. In 1999, he was appointed chief of the division of cardiothoracic surgery. After graduating with honors from The Johns Hopkins University, Naunheim earned his medical degree from the University of Chicago Priztker School of Medicine in 1978. He completed his training, including general and cardiothoracic surgery residencies, at the University of Chicago Hospitals. During this residency he received an American Cancer Society fellowship.

Naunheim has published more than 200 original articles, abstracts and book chapters. He has edited three major textbooks in the areas of cardiac surgery and surgical treatment of esophageal and lung diseases. Naunheim has acted as visiting professor at multiple teaching centers and lectured in numerous countries. He serves on the editorial boards of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Thorax and The International Journal of Surgical Investigation and as guest reviewer for 12 other cardiothoracic journals. He has successfully competed for grants, most recently receiving a grant from the NIH for participation in the National Emphysema Treatment Trial to study treatment of end-stage emphysema.

Naunhiem appeared on the ABC news program 20/20, was recognized in Best Doctors in America and was cited as a top cancer specialist for women by Good Housekeeping magazine. Naunheim is a member of 21 local, national and international medical societies. He has been president of the St. Louis Thoracic Surgical Society and currently serves on the councils of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the St. Louis Surgical Society. In 1999, Naunheim was named to a six-year term on the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

The cardiothoracic surgery faculty is renowned for its experience in video thoracoscopy, emphysema surgery and surgical expertise in benign and malignant diseases of the esophagus. The 2000 U.S. News & World Report ranking of top hospitals places Saint Louis University Hospital as the nation's 22nd best hospital for delivery of medical and surgical cardiovascular care.

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