Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: 5 changemakers in medicine

For generations, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been leaders in advancing the delivery of health care, from discovering new treatments to improving the care of vulnerable populations and more.

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we share the stories of five individuals whose achievements have made a lasting impact on the field of medicine and continue to inspire future generations of scientists, clinicians and health care professionals.*

*These stories include highlights from a variety of websites and other sources listed at the end of this article.

Peter Tsai, PhD

(1952–present)
Innovative materials scientist

Scientist Peter Tsai, PhD, invented a type of fabric in the 1990s that would go on to save countless lives during the COVID-19 pandemic: the N95 mask filter.

After immigrating to the U.S. from Taiwan in 1981, Tsai earned a doctorate in materials science, eventually becoming a professor at the University of Tennessee.

Over the course of a decade, he and his research team developed a material that could attract and trap 95 percent of particles in the air, such as dust, through an electrostatic charge. This material was then used to develop the N95 mask, originally intended to protect construction workers and other people in industrial settings from inhaling dangerous particles.

In 1996, a year after he patented his invention, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered that the N95 mask could also protect people from viruses.

Tsai’s invention was invaluable during the pandemic and continues to save lives all over the world today. Though he retired in 2018, he came out of his retirement during the early days of the pandemic — when masks were in short supply — to find a way to sterilize them for reuse.

Katherine Luzuriaga, MD

(1956-present)
Groundbreaking pediatric immunologist

Physician-scientist Katherine Luzuriaga, MD, has spent her career at the forefront of pediatric HIV/AIDS research. Raised in the Philippines, she attended college and received her medical degree in the U.S.

Dr. Luzuriaga is best known for leading the three-woman research team that “functionally cured” a newborn with HIV. (A functional cure refers to a state of permanent remission where the virus does not cause harm.)

The baby, whose mother had HIV, received antiretroviral treatment within hours of delivery. The team’s breakthrough — a significant leap forward in the treatment of HIV — was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In recognition of her contribution, Dr. Luzuriaga and her team were named to Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2013. Today, she serves as the vice provost for research, among other positions, at the University of Massachusetts, and has won several awards for her discoveries.

Margaret Chung, MD

(1889-1959)
Trailblazing physician

Margaret Chung, MD, broke barriers throughout her life and career, helping pave the way for women in both medicine and the military. When she graduated from medical school in 1916, she became the first known American-born Chinese female doctor.

Facing both racism and sexism, Dr. Chung was initially turned away from hospital residencies and internships. Eventually — after continuing her training at a women’s hospital in Chicago — she became an emergency surgeon, treating patients at the Santa Fe Railroad Hospital in Los Angeles.

During that time, she also started a private practice, providing care for actors and other artists in the burgeoning Hollywood entertainment industry.

In the 1920s, she helped establish one of the first Western medical clinics in San Francisco’s Chinatown, home to the largest Chinese American community in the U.S. at the time.

Decades later, during World War II, Dr. Chung was instrumental in the creation of a reserve corps for women in the Navy.

Richard Kekuni Akana Blaisdell, MD

(1925-2016)
Hematology researcher, champion for Native Hawaiian health 

Richard Kekuni Akana Blaisdell, MD, made important contributions to the health and well-being of Native Hawaiian communities. After graduating medical school, he specialized in hematology and pathology, eventually joining the U.S. military.

In 1959, Dr. Blaisdell was appointed to the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, where he studied blood-related diseases such as leukopenia and myelodysplasia in survivors of the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagaski, Japan.

During the 1960s, he became a founding chair of the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii. His research documented health disparities among Native Hawaiians.

Dr. Blaisdell’s work and advocacy helped secure legislation and federal funding for programs designed to improve the health of Native Hawaiians. These programs integrated Western medicine with traditional practices.

Tetsuzo Akutso, MD, PhD

(1922-2007)
International expert in artificial heart development

Tetsuzo Akutso, MD, PhD, was a surgeon who played a pivotal role in the development of the artificial heart — a device that can be placed in the chest to replace diseased valves and ventricles (chambers) responsible for pumping blood.

After graduating from the Nagoya Imperial University Medical School in Japan, he began conducting artificial heart-lung bypass research.

In 1957, Dr. Akutso moved to the United States to accept a research fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. Alongside Willem Kolff, MD, PhD, and their team, he made history by implanting an artificial heart in an animal.

It was the first successful experimental implant of a total artificial heart in the United States, according to an article published in the Journal of Artificial Organs.

He spent the rest of his career refining the development of the artificial heart at institutions across the U.S and Japan. Dr. Akutso’s research led to the second implantation of a total artificial heart in a human being in the 1980s and helped advance treatments for heart failure.

In 2007, the AbioCor total artificial heart, based on the concept developed by Dr. Akutso and his team at the Cleveland Clinic, became a commercial device that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Sources

• ‘Functional’ HIV cure offers real hope, UMass Chan Medical School News
• Hannah Gay, Katherine Luzuriaga and Deborah Persaud, AIDS researchers, TIME
• Notable Asian/Pacific American Physicians in U.S. History, American Board of Internal Medicine Blog
• Meet the U.S. scientist who invented the N95 mask filter, U.S. Embassy in Georgia
• The First American-Born Chinese Woman Doctor, PBS American Masters
• Margaret “Mom” Chung, National Park Service
• Pioneer Native Hawaiian Doctor and Sovereignty Activist Dies at 90, NBC News
• E Mau ke Ea, Kamehameha Publishing
• Honoring Richard Kekuni Akana Blaisdell, MD, University of Hawai’i Foundation
• In remembrance of Dr. Tetsuzo Akutsu, The Japanese Society for Artificial Organs
• In Memoriam, Tetsuzo Akutsu 1922–2007, National Library of Medicine