Past Distinguished Service Award Recipients

Stuart Sweet, MD, PhD

ISHLT Past President Robert Kormos, MD, FRCS(C), FACS was presented with the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award on 25 April, 2026 at the ISHLT 46^rd Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions in Boston, MA USA.

Dr. Kormos is a global leader in mechanical circulatory support (MCS) and cardiothoracic transplantation. His record of service has touched nearly every facet of the Society’s work. As the 15th ISHLT President and a long-standing volunteer, Dr. Kormos has helped develop ISHLT’s scientific programs, guidelines, and registry efforts. He currently serves as an at-large member on the Membership & Outreach Oversight Committee.

Dr. Kormos is an emeritus professor of cardiothoracic surgery and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. His work has pioneered durable ventricular assist device (VAD) therapies and advanced both surgical techniques and patient outcomes.

Stuart Sweet, MD, PhD

ISHLT Past President Stuart Sweet, MD, PhD was presented with the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award on 30 April, 2025 at the ISHLT 45^rd Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions in Boston, MA USA.

Dr. Sweet currently serves as Chief of the Transplantation Branch at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Prior to that appointment, he served as Professor of Pediatrics at Washington University and Medical Director of the Pediatric Lung Transplant Program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. A pediatric pulmonologist by training, he has worked tirelessly to improve care for children with advanced heart and lung disease through clinical care, multicenter research, and national policy development.

Within ISHLT, Dr. Sweet’s record of service spans nearly every facet of the Society’s work. He has served as Program Chair, Treasurer, and President—guiding the organization through critical transitions, including a change in executive leadership and organizational structural reform. He served as the inaugural Chair of the ISHLT Advocacy Committee, where his vision and persistence have brought new focus to the Society’s efforts to influence access to care and transplant policy.

“Stuart Sweet is the ultimate volunteer leader,” said Lara Danziger-Isakov, MD, a Past President of ISHLT. “He leads by listening, thinks deeply, and acts decisively. Over more than two decades, his thoughtful leadership has helped shape ISHLT through times of transformation and growth.”

Amanda Rowe

The inaugural Amanda W. Rowe Distinguished Service Award was given to its namesake, Amanda W. Rowe.

Amanda presided over the Society as ISHLT Executive Director for 27 years before retiring in 2020. Under her leadership, the Society grew from a few hundred members to a global voice for the field, with nearly 4,000 members in 45 countries.

At the ISHLT2021 closing plenary, Rowe was honored by Stuart Sweet, MD, ISHLT Immediate Past President. “Under Amanda’s leadership,” Dr. Sweet said, “ISHLT grew to become the world’s premier scientific professional and educational organization for heart and lung transplantation and mechanical circulatory support.”

“It’s been an amazing job for 28 years, an amazing career, with unforgettable memories, a lot of hard work, and also—so much fun, and so many wonderful people,” Rowe said as she received the award. “I’ll never forget ISHLT.”

Dr. Sweet also shared that with the creation of the ISHLT Amanda W. Rowe Distinguished Service Award, the ISHLT Board of Directors hoped to create an award that embodies Amanda’s extraordinary service. Going forward, the Award will be given to individuals or organizations for sustained, significant, and outstanding service to ISHLT.