“He’s our hero,” says Rachel Grossman when asked about John E. Wagner, MD, and the successful blood and marrow transplant (BMT) he performed on her son, Jacob, in 2004. “We are so grateful to Dr. Wagner for the treatment and care our son received.

” A hero to many patients and families at University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital, Fairview, Wagner’s accomplishments were recognized by Twin Cities Business magazine and Medica which recently selected him as the 2008 Health Care Hero for innovation in health care.

Wagner, pediatric BMT physician and director of University of Minnesota’s Department of Pediatrics Division of Hematology-Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, is internationally recognized as an expert in the field of stem cells and use of unrelated stem cell transplant. He was selected for the honor for his outstanding patient care and leadership in hospital patient services. “Dr. Wagner’s research and the clinical programs at our hospital continue to expand the applicability of cord blood transplants and improve success rates,” says Kathie Taranto, chief operating officer at the children’s hospital and senior vice president of patient and family services at University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview. “He has helped create one of the top umbilical cord research programs in the country.”

He earned a medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and is board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology/oncology. He holds the Variety Club Chair in Molecular and Cellular Therapy, the McKnight Presidential Chair in Hematology and Oncology and is the first recipient of the Children’s Cancer Research Fund Hageboeck Chair in Pediatric Oncology. Wagner has authored more than 180 articles and book chapters on stem cell transplantation.

Wagner and other “heroes,” including Cathy Garvey, lead nurse coordinator for the living organ donor program at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, are featured in the June issue of Twin Cities Business.