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James S. T. Yao, MD, PhD, retired September 1, 2005, from the Department of Surgery at Northwestern University. Dr. Yao (a.k.a. Jimmy) was born in Canton, China, October 14, 1934. Fleeing communism, his family left China to settle in Hong Kong. He obtained his M.D. at National Taiwan University Medical School in 1961 and, wanting to pursue a career in surgery, Jimmy came to the United States. Here he completed a rotating internship and general surgery residency at Cook County Hospital in Illinois between the years 1961 and 1967. These were memorable years and an exciting time at Cook County Hospital with multiple university services participating in the care of patients. Unable to speak much English when he arrived, Jimmy rapidly learned the language and the culture, including American sports. At Cook County Hospital, he met his wife, Louise, whom he married in 1967. Together, they have had three children—Kathy, Pauline, and John.

Following his residency at Cook County Hospital, Jimmy pursued his interest in clinical research with Prof. W. T. Irvine at the Surgical Unit at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, England. Here, Jimmy began his famous career in the noninvasive measurement of peripheral vascular disease. Jimmy's thesis, which was completed in 1970, detailed his experiments using the Doppler in the clinical studies of patients with peripheral vascular disease. From this work came the commonly applied ankle-brachial index that is widely used.

In 1970, Jimmy returned to the United States to join the Department of Surgery at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He was subsequently recruited to Northwestern by Dr. John Bergan. The Bergan and Yao combination began the Northwestern December symposium as well as the vascular fellowship in 1975. Notably, the first fellow in vascular surgery at Northwestern was Dr. Richard Dean. Many of their trainees have gone on to lead divisions of vascular surgery, medical schools, and even universities. The cumulative contributions of the Bergan–Yao combination and their many vascular trainees have had enormous influence in American vascular surgery.

Jimmy has been a well-known force and friend in vascular surgery for many years. He helped established the Society for Noninvasive Vascular Technology, created formal protocols for noninvasive studies, and is one of the fathers of today's modern vascular laboratories. He has served on the editorial board or as an editor of many journals. Jimmy has been president of many of the prestigious vascular surgical societies, including the Society for Vascular Surgery, the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society, and American Venous Forum. He served as a member of the NIH Study Section and as a reviewer for VA Cooperative Studies. He has been the author of more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, 228 chapters, and 53 books (Fig. 1).

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• Fig. 1 

  Jimmy Yao with examples of his many publications.

Jimmy is also known for his passion for research and his work with the Lifeline Foundation to help establish endowments for many of the current programs in the American Vascular Association.

In recognition of his many contributions, the members of the Division of Vascular Surgery at Northwestern University held a festschrift on September 21, 2005, to celebrate his storied and illustrious 35-year career. In addition, Mayor Richard M. Daley dedicated the day to him (Fig. 2). Presented here are the works of his trainees, which were presented at the festschrift.

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• Fig. 2 

  Proclamation naming September 21, 2005, as James S. T. Yao Day in Chicago.

Jimmy's loyal friendship, dedication to excellence, untiring loyalty, and devotion to family will be remembered by all of who have worked and trained with him.