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Lin possesses passion for life, healing by Cindy Abole Public Relations Whether his focus is on the pediatric transplant patient or his part in a choir singing Baroque opera, transplant surgeon Angello Lin enjoys life.    Lin is the newest member of MUSC's surgical transplant team. So far, his life story, at age 35, is a personal odyssey built on faith, respect and determination. They are the same qualities that attracted his father into medicine more than 50 years ago in his native Taiwan.    A graduate of Emory University School of Medicine, Lin specializes in kidney, pancreas and liver transplantation. His father was a successful surgeon and chief of staff at a south Taiwanese missionary hospital. But like others with talent and a dream, he had bigger plans for his family. In 1982, he and his family immigrated to the United States, settling in coastal Georgia.    “At the time, there weren't very many Chinese people living in Savannah,” said Lin, the middle of three children. But blind faith in a local attorney regarding immigration issues almost cost the elder Lin his life savings and the family's dream for success in their adopted country. Yet, the family rebounded, investing in a convenience store business which ultimately helped to educate Lin, his sister Ann, and brother Ankao.    At age 14, Lin was enrolled in Benedictine College, an all-male military high school run by Benedictine monks. With his limited English, Lin's first challenge was to learn the school's required language, Latin.    “I remember having to translate Latin to English to Chinese to learn my Latin,” recalls Lin. “I carried an English dictionary everywhere I went. I had a great learning experience in a smaller setting. The teachers were aware of my language barrier and were very patient and helpful with me.”    As the eldest son in a model Chinese family, Lin was expected to follow in his father's footsteps and study medicine. But he resisted at first, following his own direction before returning to medicine. “I always left that door open,” Lin said. “I looked around and tried other things but finally realized that medicine was a profession that would make me happy.”          Lin remembers seeing the passionate side of medicine at an early age. His father often treated poor country farmers who couldn't afford medical services at a traditional facility. Lin fondly remembers his family's house being  filled with gifts in the form of live chickens, baskets of fruit, fresh eggs and other farm products during Chinese festivals and celebrations. These products were gifts given to his father by former patients.     “I was very impressed with that,” recalled Lin. “I realized that these people were genuinely appreciative for what my father did for them. These farmers wouldn't have received any care at all, if the hospital and people like my father were not there.”     Following the completion of his general surgery residency in 1997, Lin was introduced to the field of transplant surgery and was eventually offered a spot on Emory's solid organ transplant team. He worked under some of the country's most talented transplant specialists: Thomas Pearson, M.D., Ph.D., Andre Stieber, M.D., Thomas Heffron, M.D., and overall transplant division chief Christian P. Larsen, M.D., Ph.D. The team became important role models for Lin during the next three years. He spent his first year of fellowship conducting bench side research in the field of transplant immunology, specifically in tolerance induction—the ability to modulate the immune system to accept a new transplant organ so that a patient will not need chronic immuno-suppressive medication.    “Everyone's looking for that silver bullet: a way for tolerance induction,” Lin said. “In research, you ask questions and oftentimes, the answer may not be to the original question. But it can lead you to ask the next question and more answers. That's what research is all about. Sometimes you find the answers where you least expect it.”    But he has also discovered the compassionate side of transplant work which includes the ability to maintain life-long patient-doctor relationships with his patients.     “Working with patients within the transplant clinic is a totally different and rewarding  experience,” Lin said. “During follow-up appointments, I'll see returning patients who are doing well and feel happy with their lives. For a transplant surgeon, you see the benefits of a transplant and feel good about what you've done. To me, that's very special.”    There's a good feeling camaraderie between everyone at the MUSC Transplant Center, he said. He also enjoys the other half of his work—seeing patients in clinic.     During his spare time, Lin is busy settling his small family in their Lowcountry surroundings or enjoys singing Chinese lullabies to his two-month old daughter, Jasmine and wife, I-pei. He also enjoys activities like tennis and choral music. He was previously a member of Emory's Community Choir. In March, the group joined the Savannah Symphony Choir to perform Carl Orff's grand baroque opera Carmena Burana. He's also happy to be a lot closer to his parents, who live nearby in Savannah.