James D. Fisher, MD, PhD

James Fisher was born and raised in Pittsburgh PA, with strong blue-collar ties to the region. Dr. Fisher completed his undergraduate degree in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering. During this time he gained his initial exposure to translational benchtop research while working in the laboratory of Dr. William J. Federspiel at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Upon completion of his undergraduate studies, Dr. Fisher enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), where he pursued both an MD in the School of Medicine and a PhD in the School of Engineering. Dr. Fisher completed his PhD thesis in the laboratory of Steven R. Little in the Department of Bioengineering and was co-mentored by Dr. Mario G. Solari in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The focus of Dr. Fisher’s thesis was on local enrichment of suppressive Regulator T Cells (Treg) using biomimetic microparticles in the context of Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation. Throughout his graduate studies, Dr. Fisher was able to secure a $1.25M dollar Department of Defense grant to study these therapies in preclinical studies. In addition to his scholastic pursuits, Dr. Fisher also worked part-time as a clinical bioengineer for UPMC’s Artificial Heart Program throughout medical school and graduate school. In addition to his clinical duties at the Artificial Heart Program Dr. Fisher served as an expert LVAD consultant for the UPMC spinout Procirca and was also Flight LVAD Engineer with STAT MedEvac serving the Pittsburgh region. Dr. Fisher is incredibly excited to continue his journey as a Surgeon-Scientist with the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Plastic Surgery as an integrated resident.