Medical C.A.R.E., Inc.

• Transplantation Immunology Branch (TIB)
• Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation (DAIT)
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Dr. Odim graduated from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1977 and received a Medical Degree in 1981 from Yale University School of Medicine. He completed an internship and general surgery residency at University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics and subspecialty training in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He was selected as a Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Fellow (1990-1992) and received the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Research Award from Miles, Inc. as the highest rated fellow in clinical research during this period. He subsequently completed the Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) from McGill University in 1995.

After research training, Dr. Odim spent a year at Boston Children’s Hospital as a fellow in pediatric cardiac surgery and congenital heart disease and was an Instructor in Surgery at Harvard Medical School 1993-1994. He was Head of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at the Health Science Center and Associate Professor of Surgery, Pediatrics and Child Health, and Physiology at University of Manitoba, Canada 1994-1996. He was also an Affiliate Scientist with the Biosystems Group, Institute for Biodiagnostics National Research Council, Canada.

In 1997 he was a visiting Assistant Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA where he trained in heart and lung transplantation and use of mechanical assist devices. In 2001, he completed the MBA at the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Irvine. He was promoted to Associate Professor of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (2006). He is Board Certified (and recertified) in General Surgery, Surgical Critical Care and Thoracic Surgery. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and is a member of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American Heart Association and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) certifies him as a heart and lung transplant surgeon.

The latest outcome studies from the scientific registry at UNOS demonstrate excellent patient survivals for heart and lung recipients at UCLA reflecting the group’s hard work during all phases of the transplantation process from organ procurement, the use of marginal allografts, and organ preservation to postoperative care and discharge. Patient survival rates for the UCLA adult heart recipients are well above the national averages.

Dr. Odim also served as Director of the UCLA Cardiac Surgical Intensive Unit and provided oversight for critical care management of all children and adults undergoing cardiac surgery, mechanical circulatory assistance (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, short and long-term ventricular assist device support) and heart and lung transplantation. This unit is one of a few remaining self-contained large academic ICU units in the country that cares for both pediatric and adult patients with cardiopulmonary disease.

Dr. Odim’s clinical career has been enhanced by important basic, translational and outcome-based clinical research activities. He was named a Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Fellow (1990-1992) for conducting translational research that manipulated the phenotypic expression of skeletal muscle for cardiovascular assistance in patients suffering from end stage heat failure. As a co-investigator, clinical trials were conducted in dynamic cardiomyoplasty for heart failure at Montreal General Hospital (MGH: McGill University). These dynamic cardiomyoplasty trials were the forerunner of present day ACORN and Cor-Cap on-going heart failure trials using a synthetic cup to support the failing heart.

Teaching and education of physicians and graduate students are integral components of his career. He has served as advisor, mentor, and teacher, and has received the highest acclaim from students. In 2001, was honored as the most outstanding physician at UCLA Medical Center. The award was in part due to his sole leadership of the UCLA cardiac intensive care unit without support from pediatric cardiology or dedicated intensive care specialists.

Dr. Odim has published 40 peer-reviewed papers and more than 100 abstracts, book chapters and case reports. He is currently a reviewer for several biomedical journals including American Journal of Transplantation, Annals of Thoracic Surgery and Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. He serves as a Medical Editor of eMedicine - the first online peer-reviewed medical reference and was a former editor of the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. Dr. Odim has received national and international recognition for expertise in congenital heart disease, pediatric cardiac surgery, heart failure management and transplantation. He has been an invited speaker at numerous professional societies and scientific sessions. He has provided his surgical expertise to medical teams in South America, Asia, Africa and Russia.

Dr. Jonah Odim joined DAIT/NIAID in June, 2006 with extensive experience in transplant, cardiovascular, and thoracic surgery.

DAIT is responsible for national and international extramural research programs in basic immunology, and in the etiology, treatment, and prevention of immune-mediated diseases, including rejection of transplanted organs, tissues, and cells; autoimmune diseases; asthma and allergic diseases; and primary immunodeficiency diseases. Capitalizing on major advances in understanding the mechanisms underlying these diseases, DAIT supports preclinical and clinical development of new tolerogenic and immunomodulatory approaches for the treatment and prevention of many immune-mediated diseases, and is the lead NIH component for research on transplantation.

The Transplantation Immunobiology Branch (TIB) oversees investigator-initiated and solicited research programs whose goals are to: understand the mechanisms by which the immune system recognizes and either accepts or rejects transplanted organs, tissues, and cells; develop preclinical models to evaluate promising therapeutic strategies to prevent and treat graft rejection; conduct clinical trials of new strategies and therapies to improve short-term and long-term graft survival and function; and understand the pathogenesis of chronic graft failure. The CTS is the cornerstone of the applied transplantation immunobiology program, where the translation of basic research to clinical applications occurs.

The Senior Medical and Scientific Officer CTS, transplantation research endeavors include the programs and networks that conduct clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of novel strategies for immune tolerance induction involving solid organ, tissue, and cell transplantation in adults and children and mechanistic studies to understand the action of the therapies and perform assays to monitor the induction, maintenance, and loss of tolerance. The Senior Medical and Scientific Officer, CTS is responsible for multi-million dollar contracts to clinical research organizations (CROs) that support the transplantation clinical trials networks. The position involves the supervision of project managers (health specialists and/or nurse consultants) who are responsible for working with NIAID-funded clinical trial sites to develop protocols and ensure compliance in many areas.