UPDATED: January 23, 2015 at 2:41 a.m.

Michael J. Davidson, an assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and the director of endovascular cardiac surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is remembered by colleagues as a pioneer in his field and as deeply caring for his patients.

Davidson died Tuesday after he was shot at the Brigham. He was 44.

{shortcode-d199d63315afeda1722b006435a060a138582088}

An accomplished surgeon, Davidson graduated from Princeton in 1992 with a degree in philosophy and received his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine in 1996. He did his residencies at Duke University Medical Center and the Brigham, where he was a staff member until his death.

Davidson was one of the first surgeons to be cross-trained in surgery and catheter interventions, according to Prem Shekar, an assistant professor of surgery at the Medical School. Writing in an email, Shekar recalled Davidson as a “trail-blazing surgeon.”

“He built himself a phenomenal reputation while remaining extremely down-to-earth, pleasant, and hard-working,” Shekar wrote.

Davidson helped pioneer a hybrid surgical and interventional cardiology program at the Brigham. At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Davidson’s colleague, Pinak B. Shah, called Davidson “unique” for his skills as both a cardiac surgeon and an interventional cardiologist.

Shah, the interim director of the Brigham’s cardiac catheterization laboratory and an assistant professor at the Medical School, described Davidson as a “visionary” who foresaw the need for hybrid techniques to aid complex heart patients. He attributed the strength of the program to Davidson’s “innovative mind, his burning desire to push things along, and just an incredible skill set.”

{shortcode-8c7634d2e1079c7708a6a6019384157d5a9320ea}

At the press conference Wednesday, several of Davidson’s colleagues also commented on his kindness and care for his patients. Andrew C. Eisenhauer, an interventional cardiologist at the Brigham who was Davidson’s mentor when he entered the hospital’s training program, said Davidson’s “bottom line” was always, “What is best for the people we serve?”

Eisenhauer, who thought of Davidson as “almost always the smartest man in the room,” praised Davidson’s tendency to go above and beyond what was expected of a doctor. “He didn’t treat them just as patients,” Eisenhauer said. “He would treat them as people.”

Davidson was also an enthusiastic guitarist, according to his colleague and bandmate, Daniel C. Wiener, a surgeon at the Brigham. Along with other hospital colleagues, the two formed a band, named “Off Label”in light of medical humor, and mostly played classic rock. Davidson was also a fan of fly fishing, according to Medical School instructor Charles A. Morris, the Brigham’s associate director of primary care and Davidson’s classmate at Princeton.

He was also a loving father and husband, according to Eisenhauer, who recalled seeing “how love much there was between Mike and Terri and their children.”

Wiener said Davidson spoke passionately about his children during all their get-togethers. “I remember going to his house, and he had [son] Graham in his arms, and he was entertaining the girls,” Wiener said.