Organ transplant pioneer Dr. Joseph E. Murray received the 1990 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on organ and cell transplantation. In December 1954, Murray performed the world's first successful kidney transplant from an adult to his identical twin. In 1959, he performed the world's first successful allograft and, in 1962, the world's first renal transplant from a deceased donor. Murray became an international leader in the study of transplantation biology, the use of immunosuppressive agents, and studies on the mechanisms of rejection.

Murray, who graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1943, headed the plastic surgery divisions of Boston’s Peter Bent Brigham Hospital from 1951-1986 and Children's Hospital Medical Center from 1972-1985. He retired as Professor of Surgery (Emeritus) of Harvard Medical School in 1986.