A competitive horseback rider growing up, William C. Chapman, M.D., thought he wanted to be a veterinarian. But when it came time to decide between treating animals or humans, Chapman was swayed by some sage advice.
“I was always frustrated by the notion that, for various reasons, veterinarians sometimes have to put an animal to sleep even though they have the capacity to intervene,” he explains. “My mom convinced me that beyond the frustration factor, at times, it would be a waste of my skills, talent and work.”
It’s fitting that Chapman, chief of the abdominal transplantation section, is now highly respected as a liver transplant specialist — a field responsible for treating some of the sickest, most dire patients with some of the most dramatic recoveries.
In fact, the opportunity to make such a remarkable impact on people’s lives is what initially drew him to surgery.
With several family members in the medical field, Chapman was exposed to medicine at an early age. By the end of high school, he had already spent one summer working in a research laboratory and another helping in the operating room. Though his father was an anesthesiologist, Chapman was awe-struck by the magic of surgery.
“I now realize anesthesiologists face as many challenges in the OR as surgeons,” he says, “but from my naïve, high-school perspective, I decided the action was on the surgery side.”
On the research track
From high school through medical training, Chapman’s interest in surgery never wavered. But there was one development he didn’t anticipate: a love for academia.
As part of his surgery residency training at Vanderbilt University, Chapman was required to complete at least one year of research. Having intended to go into private practice after finishing his residency, he, like many of his peers, first viewed the research requirement as a simple necessity for training. Instead, it ended up changing the course of his career.
“I found research to be exciting and challenging, and I loved having the ability to pose new questions with important clinical impact,” he says. “I also realized that I really enjoy the educational environment. The academic curiosity that house staff and students provide stimulates faculty.”
The then-young subspecialty of liver transplantation offered an ideal opportunity to satisfy his yearn for a challenge. The field was just beginning to blossom when Chapman finished his residency at Vanderbilt in 1991, and he went to King’s College Hospital in London for his fellowship. Liver transplants had been attempted since the 1960s, but few were successful until the mid-1980s, when the drug cyclosporine began helping prevent rejection of transplanted organs.
Chapman gained experience on a wide range of liver procedures in England, including transplantation. When he returned to Vanderbilt the following year, he was asked to join the newly formed transplant team. In addition to the allure of the field’s technical complexity, Chapman realized his expertise both in transplant and in non-transplant liver surgery would allow him to most effectively treat patients.
“It’s often not immediately clear whether you should treat a liver problem with transplant or non-transplant surgery,” he says. “So to me, one of the appeals to staying in the transplant side was having the ability to utilize all surgical options.”
A surgical success
Chapman’s appreciation for combining research, clinical care and education was fostered by 15 years as a trainee and then as a faculty member at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
He excelled at all three, according to James A. O’Neill Jr., M.D., the John C. Foshee Distinguished Professor of Surgery, emeritus chairman of the Section of Surgical Sciences at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and director of clinical and educational development at the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance.
“Will Chapman was clearly a superb surgeon, and before long he became one of the most popular and sought-after surgeons not only at Vanderbilt but also in the Nashville region,” O’Neill says. “He became the mainstay of the liver transplantation team and organized his extensive practice in such a fashion that virtually everything was able to be used for clinical research projects.
“He also had special talents in education and was recognized by our surgical residents with the highest education award our department offers.”
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William C. Chapman Family: Wife, Margaret; children, William, 17; Robert, 14; Maggie, 11. Hobbies: “We love the outdoors,” Chapman says. He plays tennis, runs in the American Liver Foundation’s annual race with his daughter, goes duck hunting with his two sons and enjoys camping with his family. Academic title: Professor of surgery and chief of the abdominal transplantation section. |
The merit of multidisciplinary medicine is also what ultimately convinced Chapman to accept the position of chief of abdominal transplantation at Washington University.
“The opportunity to join Washington University was too good to pass up,” he says. “This is one of the only institutions with such a broad spectrum of combined research and clinical excellence.”
Now in their third year in St. Louis, Chapman’s family has adapted to their new home. The move has even brought some unexpected benefits for him and his two sons, who were pleased to discover that this area is one of the best for their favorite pastime, duck hunting.
Enhancing the team
At the School of Medicine, Chapman already has established a productive clinical and basic science laboratory, continuing his research on image-guided liver surgery and on minimizing the effects of liver injury.
But some of his biggest strides have been in his role as head of abdominal transplantation, in which he’s focused on nurturing and enhancing the team’s cohesion and its multidisciplinary approach.
“What really impresses me about Will is what a great listener he is,” says Jeffery S. Crippin, M.D., medical director of liver transplantation and associate professor of medicine. “Some people forget you have two ears and one mouth so you can listen twice as much as you talk. Fortunately, he is one of those who recognizes that listening to the opinions of others is the key to being not only a leader, but also a great doctor and administrator.”
Chapman’s accomplishments span the medical school’s tripartite mission. On the clinical side, he initiated plans for a pancreas transplant program and recruited a new transplant surgeon, Niraj M. Desai, M.D., assistant professor of surgery, to direct the program. In addition, there has been significant growth in the abdominal transplantation section, with increases in liver and kidney transplants by about 25 percent each year.
He’s also boosted the program’s research efforts by formalizing the clinical research program and recruiting two full-time clinical research nurses. Additionally, he launched a focused clinical trials group in which experts from all areas involved in transplant research meet at least monthly to develop strategies for clinical trials.
On the training end, he resurrected the transplant fellowship program and helped secure fellows for the next three years.
“There’s no question we made the right decision in selecting Will Chapman as the head of transplant,” says Gregorio A. Sicard, M.D., vice chairman of the Department of Surgery and chief of the Division of General Surgery and the Section of Vascular Surgery.
“He’s a true leader — he approaches problems in a very calm and collected fashion and really gets results. He’s very bright and level-headed and is respected by everyone who comes in contact with him.”