David Lederman

David M. Lederman (May 26, 1944 – August 15, 2012) was an American aerospace engineer, entrepreneur, author and humanitarian. He is noted for founding Abiomed, the company that developed AbioCor, the first fully implantable artificial heart.

Biography Lederman was born in Bogotá, Colombia to Israel Joseph Lederman and Rifka Lederman on May 26, 1944. His parents were immigrants who escaped the Nazis in Poland. He went to Colegio Americano and Universidad de Los Andes before his family moved to the United States in 1964. He completed his bachelor's degree in engineering at Cornell University, where he also obtained his Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and Doctoral degree in Laser Physics and Aerospace Engineering. This produced a ventricular assist device (VAD) described as a sac-type assist machine called the AVCO LVAD. This would later become the ABIOMED BVS 5000. In 1981, he founded Applied Biomedical Corp. with the aim of developing the first artificial heart. The company went public in 1987. Lederman headed it as CEO until 2004, when he was replaced by Michael Minogue.

During the early 2000s, Lederman headed the research team that developed AbioCor, a completely implantable pump. Although pulsatile, the device had no air compressor and was capable of recharging itself wirelessly and sending messages through the skin. Prior to this development, its predecessor – the Jarvik-7 – was only partially implantable and required connections to external devices. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of AbioCor in 2009. Outside of medical experiments, this was the first time regulators allowed the mechanical replacement of hearts for human patients.

In 2005, after 24 years as CEO of Abiomed, Lederman retired as president and chairman of the board. He published his research and gave lectures around the world. He was also known for his humanitarian activities. He funded, for instance, an initiative that supported Israeli children from Sderot while the town sustained a missile attack coming from the Gaza Strip.