Surgeon. Survivor. Humanitarian. Laurentian.

Dr. Montgomery has made a career out  of defying odds—first as a surgeon, then as a patient, and now as a force behind one of the most consequential breakthroughs in modern medicine: xenotransplantation, the transplantation of genetically modified pig organs into humans. 

This spring, Montgomery was named to TIME magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2025. Judging by the photo gallery on his office wall at New York University’s Langone Transplant Institute, brushes with celebrity are just part of the job. The xenotransplantation pioneer seems just as comfortable standing beside legends like  Paul McCartney and Robert De Niro as he is sitting at a patient’s bedside. But the TIME magazine honor was not something Montgomery had on his bingo card. “This was a total surprise,” he admits, smiling. “It’s been fun.”

Prior to becoming Director of New York University’s Langone Transplant Institute in 2016, where he remains today, Montgomery had spent 25 industrious years at Johns Hopkins Hospital, performing more than 2,000 kidney transplants. 

For all his successes, he became keenly aware of the overwhelming number of patients who died waiting for a transplant—the need for organs far exceeded the available supply. So, as he rose to chief of transplant surgery and director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center at Johns Hopkins, he made it his mission to close this gap—not only for his patients, but for himself. 

When the Doctor Becomes the Patient

Montgomery knew it was only a matter of time before his name would appear on that organ transplant list. After the death of his father at age 52 and his brother Richard ’74, who died suddenly at age 35 while waterskiing, he and his brother Larry ’78 were both diagnosed with a hereditary cardiomyopathy—a progressive disease that weakens the heart muscle and triggers deadly arrhythmias. Fortunately, Larry received a heart transplant at age 39 and is still going strong three decades later. But Montgomery’s case would prove more complicated.  

After enduring more than a decade of escalating symptoms and repeated cardiac arrests, Montgomery was finally considered “sick enough” to qualify for a heart transplant. Knowing that time was not on his side, he pushed for the opportunity to walk the talk, opting to be among the first patients to receive a heart infected with hepatitis C. His own lifesaving transplant surgery in 2018 was the culmination of many years of advocacy and research by Montgomery and his team to use hepatitis C-positive organs that were being discarded because of the deadly virus, despite new effective medications. It not only saved his life, but it also unlocked safe new options for thousands of patients. 

The fact that Montgomery has been a patient for as long as he’s been a doctor has continued to shape both his bedside manner and his innovative clinical approach. “Now, when I sit with a patient, and they ask me what it’s like—the medications, the recovery—I can tell them,” he says. “Not in theory, but from experience.” 

“Now, when I sit with a patient, and they ask me what it’s like—the medications, the recovery—I can tell them,” he says. “Not in theory, but from experience.” 
–Dr. Robert Montgomery ’82, P’14

 And he knows what it’s like to spend years getting sick enough to qualify for an organ transplant. “Because our allocation system for organs is based on severity of illness, you have to fly very close to the sun without getting burned up,” he says. “It became crystal clear to me that this paradigm that you have to wait for somebody to die in order to have a chance at living is really kind of broken.”  

Revolutionizing Organ Transplants

So, when Montgomery took the helm at the Langone Transplant Institute in 2016, he was more determined than ever to find another viable source of organs. Just five years later, armed with decades of research and testing, including transplants in primates, Montgomery led the world’s first successful pig-to-human kidney transplant into a brain-dead recipient. The breakthrough surgery generated enough promising data to shift the FDA’s historically risk-averse stance and pave the way for an imminent major clinical trial involving real transplant candidates. 

“We’re probably just a month away,” Montgomery says, proudly. “No one thought we’d move this fast.” 

Healing Beyond Borders

As if all that wasn’t enough lifesaving, world-changing work for one person, Montgomery’s advocacy extends far beyond U.S. borders. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Montgomery has made multiple trips to support Ukrainian medical teams, brought surgeons to New York for training, sent operating room equipment, and established ongoing virtual consults between U.S. and Ukrainian care providers. In recognition of his groundbreaking work, Montgomery received the Order of Merit medal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

“I’ve formed very personal connections there,” he says, adding, “I’ll be going back again soon.” 

Laurentian Roots, Human Connection

Montgomery’s belief in global service and deep human connection can be traced back to his roots, including his undergraduate years at St. Lawrence. 

“I was influenced by professors there who really pushed me toward medicine,” he says. “When my brother died, it was his St. Lawrence friends who helped launch the research foundation in his name. They became the board, including former President Bill Fox ’75—who we call ‘Foxy.’ That’s the kind of support that shows up when you need it most.”

His own son John ’14 is a fellow Laurentian, now working in humanitarian logistics using algorithmic modeling to deliver aid to global hotspots. His daughter Elizabeth works for a nonprofit fighting food insecurity. Their mother, Meg Friske ’79, P’14—Montgomery’s first wife—spent her career supporting students, first at St. Lawrence in Admissions and Financial Aid, and then for many years as a school counselor. “That impulse to serve—that’s in our family,” Montgomery says.  Asked what makes a Laurentian distinct, he doesn’t hesitate: “People skills. There’s a kind of empathy, a human grounding that comes from four years in Canton,” says Montgomery, who has mentored  St. Lawrence interns over the years. “I don’t know what the secret sauce is, but it’s there. And it matters.”

As someone who has not only helped redefine the edge of medical possibility but also endured personal loss and recovery, Montgomery hopes current students and young alumni lean into the richness of their liberal arts education. “It’s a great start,” he says. “You come out with an ability to connect, to think broadly. Take that gift and turn it into something meaningful.” 

From TIME magazine’s gala red carpet to the corridors of war-torn hospitals, Montgomery’s global influence is clear. But for him, the professional is personal. “I feel lucky to still be here,” he says. “That makes me want to spend the time I have making things better for the next person who comes through the system. That’s what keeps me going.”