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William V. Pitts Endowed Chair in the Heart Institute

School of Medicine

Established in 2020 by the Estate of William V. Pitts

The ESTATE OF WILLIAM V. PITTS is a true testament to not only the power of philanthropy but the power that a planned gift has in helping to transform an organization such as Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Johns Hopkins All Children’s was a contingent beneficiary for this estate and in 2019 the contingencies were met and the gift was able to benefit Johns Hopkins All Children’s. The unrestricted gift was placed under the guidance of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Foundation, which determined the most impactful and enduring way to honor the donation was to align it with an endowed chair, as both serve as lasting legacies. The estate of William V. Pitts, in partnership with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Foundation, established the William V. Pitts Endowed Chair in the Heart Institute. The creation of an endowed chair has the potential to change the future of pediatric medicine and serve as a renewable resource for physicians who are leaders in their respective fields.  

The excellence of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital is impacted by endowed chairs and professorships – these positions empower us to attract and retain the finest faculty and academic leaders and support their work as teachers, scholars, researchers, and clinicians in perpetuity. The Foundation primarily raises and stewards charitable donations, making this partnership significant as it marks the second time in Johns Hopkins All Children’s Foundation’s history that it has directly invested in an endowed position.  

The legacy of William V. Pitts will continue through the innovative work facilitated through this endowed position. 

Held by James A. Quintessenza

JAMES A. QUINTESSENZA, M.D., FACS, is the co-director of the Heart Institute and chief of cardiovascular surgery at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. He originally joined the hospital staff in 1988, where he developed and refined complex neonatal heart surgery and led the congenital heart program for many years. He was one of the cardiothoracic surgeons who performed the hospital’s first pediatric heart transplant in 1995. He previously served as medical director of the Heart Institute from 2012-2015.

Dr. Quintessenza returned to Johns Hopkins All Children’s in 2020 after three years as chief and professor of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at Kentucky Children’s Hospital and the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and as professor of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati. 

In the 2022 Johns Hopkins Medicine Clinical Awards, Dr. Quintessenza, Dr. Ashish Shah, and the Heart Institute Flight Plan won the Innovations in Clinical Care Award for Johns Hopkins All Children’s. 

After receiving his medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine through the Junior Honors Medical Program, Dr. Quintessenza completed a five-year general surgery residency at University of Florida and also served as general surgery chief resident. He spent an additional two years completing a residency in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at the University of California, San Diego, where he received the Chairman’s Prize in the Department of Surgery. 

In addition to an extended pediatric cardiac surgery fellowship experience under George Daicoff, M.D., Dr. Quintessenza studied pediatric cardiac surgery at a number of well-known international centers including Boston Children’s Hospital, Hospital Marie-Lanelonge (Paris, France), UCLA Medical Center, USC Medical Center and Loma Linda Medical Center. 

Dr. Quintessenza is a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, with certification in congenital heart surgery. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), The Southern Thoracic Surgical Association (STSA) and The Congenital Heart Surgeons’ Society (CHSS). 

Dr. Quintessenza enjoys teaching and has mentored many early career congenital heart surgeons. He has varied research interests that include the development of innovative surgical techniques, as exemplified by his design of a novel pulmonary valve that is now used in multiple institutions. 

In addition to his clinical activities, Dr. Quintessenza has expertise and interest in health care leadership and alignment between medical institutions and physicians. 

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