Dr. Jorge Mallea, a pulmonologist and intensivist at Mayo Clinic Florida and medical director of Lung Bioengineering in Jacksonville, is driven by the courage of patients who enroll in clinical trials, the resilience of those awaiting lung transplants, and the memory of his colleague Dr. Luis Bonilla and two others who lost their lives in a 2011 helicopter accident while en route to recover a donor heart. These experiences fuel his commitment to advancing new therapies for end-stage lung disease
Mallea joined the Board of Directors of the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance (The Alliance) in 2025 as the representative of the American Society of Transplantation.
Additionally, he was a member of the planning committee and spoke and moderated several sessions at the March 2025 National Collaboration Forum on Organ Machine Perfusion and Preservation. The Alliance hosted the meeting in partnership with the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO), The American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), The American Society of Transplantation (AST), the Gift of Life Institute, and the North American Transplant Coordinators Organization (NATCO).
“The future of transplantation is looking more and more exciting,” says Mallea. “Things that we thought were going to take several decades we’re now seeing them within reach. In the next three to five years, we will see the possibilities of assessing more organs with perfusion machines, providing treatment to the organs and allowing their repair and or regeneration by modifying them during the machine perfusion procedure. There are opportunities in the genetic manipulation of the organs, xenotransplantation, and biofabrication of organs.”
“We have always dreamed about this, but now we’re seeing very tangible goals being met and research endeavors are going to be translated into the clinic.”
Heroism and Resilience of Patients and Doctors
Mallea says the heroism of patients who participate in clinic trials is one of the things that drives him. “Their heroism in allowing us to propose to them possible therapies that we are still experimenting with and trying to understand better is motivating,” says Mallea. “As much as we can we explain to them what the clinical trial involves and the possible risks and the consequences, particularly on end-stage lung disease. They’re the true heroes. They say, ‘Well, I’m going to try this, and we’ll see how it goes. I trust you enough that I’m going to pursue this.’
He goes on to emphasize his admiration for the resiliency of people who are waiting for a lung transplant. “I see them literally fight for their life, waiting for an organ to become available,” says Mallea. “Some of them are able to win that fight, but some of them are not. I always remember the people that we could not transplant, and they allow me to continue to pursue this work to look into the future where they will be no people waiting for a lung or dying while waiting for a lung, because we will have an unlimited supply of organs and they won’t have to go through those very difficult moments as they wait for an organ.”
Additionally, he says that he continues his work to honor the life of his friend and Mayo colleague thoracic surgeon Dr. Luis Bonilla who was one of three people who died in a 2011 helicopter crash while on a flight to retrieve a heart for transplant.
Mallea grew up in Peru and was influenced to become a physician by his uncle who is a cardiologist. When he was in high school, he had the opportunity to shadow his uncle at the hospital and that’s when he became enthusiastic about medicine. “I enjoyed seeing the opportunities to help people not only try to recover their health but to help them through difficult moments,” says Mallea.
Always a Bit of a Dreamer
Mallea says he always planned to come to U.S. because of the opportunities to expand his dreams and hopefully someday develop new cures. He was always interested in the cardiopulmonary system, and it was during his residency that brought him into critical care that then led him to the field of transplantation.
“Critically ill patients are very challenging and need a skillful committed professionals to diagnose and treat their unique conditions,” he says. “Being part of that team and apply the concepts you learned over the years to restore organs’ function and ultimately people health is what excites me of my work.”
“Shortly after I joined my fellowship in pulmonary and critical care at Saint Louis University, I was captivated by the complexities of organ transplantation and the passion of my mentors on giving persons with end-stage organ failure a new chance in life.”
Mallea’s mentors in St. Louis, Drs. Cesar Keller and Francisco Alvarez, were recruited to start the lung transplant program at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Later, they were joined by Dr. David Erasmus (now at Vanderbilt University) and Mallea. “A fantastic team, really a group of friends, that enjoyed working together,” says Mallea.
Mayo Clinic’s “Transforming Transplant” Initiative and Lung Bioengineering Partnership
In 2020, Mallea transitioned from his position as a transplant pulmonologist to become the medical director of Lung Bioengineering in Jacksonville, a strategic academic/industry partnership between the Mayo Clinic and United Therapeutics. Mallea highlights the positive experience of moving from one accomplished team to another. “I have the privilege to work alongside Brandi Zofkie and Sam Popa, on implementing clinical centralized organ perfusion in the US. Our team has grown, and I am proud of the passion and dedication of each one of them.” He is also grateful for the support and guidance of Drs. Keshavjee, Cypel, and Wadel from the Toronto General Hospital Lung Transplant Program during this transition period.
Lung Bioengineering provides ex-vivo lung perfusion to more than 20 lung transplant centers across the country. “With centralized EVLP, we have demonstrated that partnerships like ours between academia and industry can yield fast results with positive impact on the transplant community in general and on the outcomes of patients waiting for a lung transplant in particular.”
Mallea’s work is part of the Mayo Clinic’s Transforming Transplant Initiative, a collaboration between the Department of Transplantation and Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics. The Initiative focuses on innovative approaches not only to have more organs available for transplantation, but to have them last longer and ultimately prevent organ failure, says Mallea.
“Exploring interventions to extend the lives of patients with end-stage lung disease is one of the efforts through the Transforming Transplant initiative,” says Mallea. “We are looking into ways to identify organs that will better fit different recipients (biomarkers), and develop preservation and perfusion therapies that will improve the organ quality, leading to better patient outcomes.”
“Specifically, our team is studying the effects of different cell and cell-derived therapies on ischemia reperfusion injury which happens when organs lose their blood supply temporarily as they are transported from the donor to the recipient and then regain their blood supply.”
Dreams Continue
Mallea says that he dreams of a future where everyone who needs an organ will have access to one. “I’ve realized that the impossible becomes possible when a team of resolute people work together to achieve common goals. I am fortunate to be surrounded by mentors and colleagues who support and challenge each other, and are creating the future.”
