The Julian Johnson Professorship of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Established in 1992 through contributions from the Buckingham Mountain Foundation, the Benjamin and Mary Siddons Measey Foundation, and from certain friends in the Department of Surgery, the Professorship honors Dr. Johnson for his outstanding contributions as a clinician and teacher at the Perelman School of Medicine.

Julian Johnson, MD (1906–1987), an alumnus of the Perelman School of Medicine Class of 1931 who devoted his career to research, instruction, and practice at the University of Pennsylvania, trained many of the nation’s distinguished surgeons. He was one of the early physicians in the Cardiothoracic Surgery Program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and was President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Society of Vascular Surgeons, and the American Surgical Association.

William Maul Measey, a distinguished corporate attorney in Philadelphia, created the Benjamin and Mary Siddons Measey Foundation in 1958 to honor the memory of his parents. Since the Foundation supports several colleges, universities, schools of medicine, and hospitals in the Philadelphia area, the Measey name has become synonymous with the furtherance of medical education in the region.

Current Chairholder

Michael Acker

Michael Acker, MD is the Julian Johnson Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine. He also serves as Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery and Director of the Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular Center. Dr. Acker received his medical degree from the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and completed his general surgery residency at Penn and cardiothoracic residency at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Acker’s surgical practice focuses on patients with end-stage heart failure, coronary artery disease and valvular disease—with special expertise in mitral valve repair for advanced myxomatous disease or patients with end-stage heart failure. He is a leader in using mechanical assist devices as a bridge to transplantation or permanent therapy. At the Perelman School of Medicine, he has been recognized with the Louis Duhring Outstanding Clinical Specialist Award in 2002 and the Alfred Stengel Health System Champion Award in 2013.

Previous Chairholders

• L. Henry Edmunds, Jr., MD 1992–2015