Professor Wallwork was appointed as Chairman in February 2014. He returned to Royal Papworth Hospital as Chairman after spending 30 years at the forefront of transplant surgery and research at the Trust.
Professor Wallwork is Emeritus Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He was a consultant based at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge until his retirement in July 2011.
Before being appointed as a Consultant in 1981, he was Chief Resident at Stanford University Hospital in California for nearly 2 years, where he first became involved in heart and heart-lung transplantation and played a major role in the development of heart-lung transplantation at Papworth Hospital. He performed Europe’s first successful heart-lung transplant in 1984, and in 1986 he performed the world’s first heart-lung and liver transplant with Professor Sir Roy Calne.
During this period he and his colleague, Professor Tim Higenbottam, were first to introduce the use of long-term Prostacycline for Primary Pulmonary Hypertension.
In the mid 1980s he established, with Dr David White, a research bio-tech company (Imutran) to develop transgenic animals for the use of xenotransplantation in an attempt to alleviate the persistent donor organ shortage.
In 1996 he gave evidence on xenotransplantation both to the Kennedy Committee and to the United States Senate Subcommittee on Public Health and Safety.
He succeeded Sir Terence English as Director of the Transplant Service from 1989 to 2006, chaired the UK Transplant Cardiothoracic Advisory Group from 1994 to 2006 and was Medical Director of Papworth Hospital from 1997 to 2002. He was also Director of Research and Development at Papworth Hospital until his retirement.
On 1 October 2002 the University of Cambridge awarded him an honorary Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery.
In January 2012 Professor Wallwork was recognised in Her Majesty the Queen's New Year's Honours list and was awarded a CBE for services to health.
