Peter Hackett, MD

Peter Hackett, MD, an internationally recognized expert in altitude medicine, will give the opening address at ATS 2011. In 1981, Dr. Hackett, who is also a mountain climber, became the first person to climb alone from Mt. Everest’s high camp to its summit and survive. His address is entitled “High Science: Colorado, Everest and Beyond.”

ATS President Dean E. Schraufnagel, MD, will introduce Dr. Hackett and welcome attendees to ATS 2011 during the ceremony Saturday, May 14.

When he delivered the President’s Lecture at ATS 2001, Dr. Hackett recounted his historic climb. His talk at this year’s International Conference will focus more on the history of altitude research, recent developments in the field and the potential applications of a growing body of knowledge on the healthcare of people living at lower altitudes.

Today, he notes, other specialties beyond cardiopulmonary medicine are interested in hypoxia, including, unexpectedly, oncology. “Solid tumors outgrow their oxygen supply, and when they do, it turns out, they turn on the same genes we do when we move to Colorado from a place much nearer sea level,” he said.

In 1976, Dr. Hackett published his first paper on high altitude sickness in The Lancet — it was the lead article. At the time, only about 20 papers a year were published in the field. Now about 400 papers are published each year.

Dr. Hackett’s passion for climbing and for his research has taken him around the world and put him in leadership roles at several international organizations, including the International Society for Mountain Medicine and the International Relations Committee of the Wilderness Medical Society.

In 2007, he founded the Institute for Altitude Medicine, in Telluride, Colo., whose 2,200 residents live 8,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level. The institute provides care, conducts research and educates both medical professionals and the lay public about health issues related to high altitude.

“My hope is that I can contribute to helping people achieve the lifestyle they seek,” Dr. Hackett said, summing up his career. “If you want to live in the mountains, I believe there are ways to manage the health challenges and maintain your well-being so that you can live the life you want.”

Opening Ceremony
“High Science: Colorado, Everest and Beyond.”
4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 14