TTS is pleased to announce Stefan Tullius as the incoming Editor-in Chief for the TTS journals, Transplantation and Transplantation Direct as of January 1, 2025.
Stefan will officially begin transitioning into the role in July 2024 and will be working closely with Jeremy Chapman who will retire from the post at the end of 2024.
Stefan will be resigning from his appointment of Vice President as of September 2024; therefore, we will be holding a by-election (at the close of the current elections) for a two year term, to fill the vacancy remaining from his four year term.
On behalf of the TTS Council and Executive, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Jeremy Chapman for his dedicated contributions to our journals. His strategic vision and unwavering commitment have been instrumental in elevating both publications that serve TTS and the transplantation community with excellence.
Stay tuned for messages from Jeremy and Stefan and in next week’s Tribune Pulse.
Medhat Askar, MD, PhD
Our discipline is young and has tremendous potential to alleviate human suffering. I will leverage everything learned in my decades of practice in different parts of the world to strengthen interdisciplinary and international exchange of best practices and innovations. I will promote opportunities to prepare the next generation of transplant thought leaders across the globe, while strengthening ethical transplant practices and collaboration between academia and industry to advance our field, as I strived during my presidency of The American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI). Currently I serve as the Associate Vice President for Clinical Affairs, a Professor of Immunology, College of Medicine, Qatar University and the Division Head of Clinical Immunology and Transplantation at Hamad General Hospital in Doha, Qatar. I have been active in TTS for almost two decades including serving as Chair of the TTS Education Committee, Councilor, and Treasurer. I am also a Board Member of the Worldwide Network for Blood & Marrow Transplantation. Previously, I served as the President of ASHI; President of The American College of the Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ACHI) and a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the United States’ United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and Board Member of The Arab Society of Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics (ARSHI). I published and lectured extensively on various topics of transplant Immunology, cell and gene therapy, quality systems and accreditation, health professions education and leadership in major transplant conferences and leading academic institutions across 6 continents.
Steve Chadban MD, PhD is a clinician scientist and Director of Renal Medicine and Urology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Professor of Medicine, University of Sydney. Chadban is past Councillor TTS, past-President of Transplantation Society Australia and New Zealand and past-Chair of the ANZDATA Registry. He Chairs the Transplant Advisory Group to the Commonwealth Government, Australia. Chadban leads research teams in transplant immunology, clinical trials, and transplant epidemiology and has published over 350 papers in journals including NEJM, Lancet, JAMA. He served as associate-editor Transplantation (2013-2023). As a clinician-scientist, his goal is to see best science translated into clinical practice. As KDIGO co-chair for transplant candidate assessment, he promotes evidence-based care. Chadban has world-wide collaborations in science and practice and is invested in maximising access to, and outcomes from, transplantation globally. He will pursue this as local organising committee co-chair for TTS 2026 in Sydney, and beyond.
Nadey has been a transplant surgeon for 35 years, has completed a Multiorgan Transplantation Fellowship at the University of Minnesota and GI Fellowship at Mayo. Professor of Transplantation Surgery at Imperial and Professor of General Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic London. Past President of the International College of Surgeons (ICS), Past President of the Transplantation Section of the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), Past VP of the RSM, and until recently VP of the British Red Cross (BRC). With over 250 peer-reviewed papers and 24 textbooks, he is a prolific author and sought-after speaker. An active member of TTS for 30 years and Councillor for Europe for the last four. Keen to help promote TTS by building bridges between international organizations. He aims to increase access to legal, ethical, and inclusive organ donation and transplantation worldwide and assist closing gaps in disparities. His efforts will be directed towards low-income countries where only few are offering transplantation. Fundraising has been his forte at institutions where he has worked (Imperial, RSM, ICS, WHO, BRC and Commonwealth) bringing in $millions of donations. Fundraising events help raise awareness, connecting with donors providing TTS extra funds to finance its objectives. Given his ability to work with cross-cultural teams and in different languages, he believes he can make a strong contribution to achieve the goals which were set by Sir Peter Medawar Past President of TTS (1966-67), advancing donation through science, developing professionals and inspiring networks supporting organ donation to improve organ transplantation worldwide.
Dr. Romina A. Danguilan is the Deputy Executive Director for Medical Services at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute – the largest tertiary referral center for kidney, allied, and urologic diseases and transplantation in the Philippines. She served as President of the Asian Society of Transplantation from 2017 to 2019. Currently, she is the Vice President of the Transplantation Society of the Philippines and an active member of the AST Council.
Dr. Danguilan received her medical degree from the University of the Philippines, Manila in 1985. After her medical internship and residency in internal medicine at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila, Philippines, she completed her fellowship training in nephrology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, United Kingdom. She received a diploma for Public Management Development Program-Senior Executive Class (PMDP-SEC) from the Development Academy of the Philippines in 2014, finishing as class valedictorian among scholars from various government agencies.
Dr. Danguilan’s research interests include immunosuppression in transplantation, organ donation, resource utilization of dialysis therapies, the economic and psychosocial impact of dialysis on the Filipino family, leptospirosis, and extracorporeal therapies. Her work has been published in scientific journals such as Kidney International Supplements, the American Journal of Transplantation, Peritoneal Dialysis International, and Transplantation Proceedings.
Katy, a Pulmonologist, pioneered the establishment of Iran’s first Lung transplant program in 2000. In 2004, she spearheaded organ donation initiatives at one of Tehran’s universities. Collaborating with her colleagues, they achieved an impressive 96% family consent rate and a PMP (per million population) of 32.4 at the center.
In 2014, Katy assumed the role of Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation within the Ministry of Health of Iran. With her team, they proposed and implemented several projects that significantly elevated organ donation rates across the country. Additionally, she founded the “Iranian Society of Organ Donation” (ISOD), an NGO dedicated to social awareness activities, donor family support, donor team education, and other essential activities aimed at enhancing organ donation in Iran.
ISOD successfully undertook critical projects, including the establishment of the “Organ Donation and Transplantation Registry of Iran” (OTRI) in 2018. Katy has been an active member of the ISODP council since 2017. As the head of the “developing donation group” within the council, she and her team are committed to advancing organ donation and transplantation practices globally. Their current priorities include:
Katy firmly believes that through their concerted efforts, these challenges can be overcome, making organ donation and transplantation accessible to people worldwide, regardless of ethnicity or geographic constraints.
Myself, Professor Arpita Ray Chaudhury, (Lahiri), part of postdoctoral teaching program in Nephrology and Transplantation for last 17 years in a renowned teaching Institute in Eastern India IPGMER, Kolkata. My academic career started with bright promises during my UG studies and postgraduate residency in Medicine, and the real work life balance struggle started when I took up my job as an internist and became mother of two children too. The deep desire to continue my study won the game, I pursued my career as a nephrologist and transplant physician, but the hardships I went through pushed me to become a founder member of Women in Nephrology, India (WIN-India) 5 years back. WIN-India is performing very well nationally and internationally showcasing young faces with bright future. My 17 years teaching career had given me the opportunity to train excellent students and earn good friends in fraternity and to achieve one of the best award in my life, 1st woman President Elect of Indian society of Organ transplantation for 24-25.My passion was to bridge the demand supply gap in Transplantation, I am happy and proud that in the Eastern part of India, I have been able to establish a strong deceased donor program. I am part of Mentor Mentee Program of ISN, and nurturing mentees, also working collaboratively With UK supportive center in ISN-TTS STC program for my institute. I am an avid learner and researcher, designed many trials and published original articles and reviews more than 65 in National and International journals, contributed to book chapters too.
My dreams are big, as TTS counsellor I want to voice the needs of my country and want to share my experiences with many others who are dreamers like me. I will be happy if things learnt during my journey may benefit other friends in developing countries, and will remain eager to learn from interactive international fraternity.
Currently holding following positions and served for few important responsibilities.
Professor, Department of Nephrology NBMCH, Darjeeling / IPGMER, Kolkata
Consultant Nephrologist and Transplant Physician
President Elect, Indian Society of Organ Transplantation,23-25
Ex Vice President, Indian Society of Nephrology, 21-22
Executive Council Member, WIN-India
Ex editorial board member, Indian Journal of Nephrology
Editorial Board Member, Indian Journal of Transplantation
Ex-Joint Director, Regional organ and tissue transplantation East Zone
Member, Apex Technical Committee, NOTTO
Expert Member, West Bengal Directorate of Science and Technology
Member, CKD National Task Force.
65 publications in national and international journals and author of multiple book chapters
Prof. Mohamed Rela is the Chairman of Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Chennai, India. He is a liver transplant surgeon with over 3 decades of experience in the field. His areas of expertise include adult and paediatric living donor liver transplantation. Niche areas of liver transplantation like auxiliary transplantation, split liver transplantation techniques were pioneered by him at the King's College Hospital, London, where he was the Professor of Liver Surgery. His name figures in the Guinness Book of Records for successfully performing a liver transplant on a 5-day old baby.
Prof. Rela has over 600 peer reviewed publications and 50 book chapters in the field of transplantation to his name. He also serves as the Deputy Editor for journal Transplantation. He is the immediate past-president of The International Liver Transplantation Society and is the current President of The Liver Transplant Society of India.
He aims to champion the cause of ethical expansion of transplantation across the globe, especially among the emerging nations. In this regard, he is one the founders of the ILTS-iLDLT sponsored LDLT registry which aims at transparency and oversight of living donations and transplantation worldwide. His vision also includes enhancing cooperation among the regional, national and international transplantation societies with an aim to improve transparency, outcomes and access to transplantation.
Prof. Kriengsak Vareesangthip, M.D., Ph.D., a leading Nephrology expert from Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand, earned his B.Sc. and M.D. degrees from Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, and holds board certifications in Internal Medicine and Nephrology from The Medical Council of Thailand. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.
As a distinguished member of The Renal Association (UK), International Society of Nephrology, and American Society of Nephrology, Prof. Vareesangthip has held influential leadership roles, including President of the Thai Transplantation Society and the Nephrology Society of Thailand. His leadership was evident as he chaired the organizing committee for the “TTS-New Key Opinion Leaders (nKOL)” Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand in 2016, fostering collaboration among transplantation professionals in Asia. He was a co-chair of the co-local host between Thailand and Hong Kong for the TTS Meeting in 2016 in Hong Kong. He was also a local organizing committee for the WCN 2023 meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. He is now a committee of the VITAL LINK committee of the AST.
Currently, he is the president and founder of the Thailand Society for Apheresis (TSFA), Recently, The International Society for Apheresis (ISFA) committee have voted for Thailand to host the 15th ISFA World Congress in 2025. Prof. Vareesangthip will be the Congress President of ISFA 2025 World Congress.
Prof. Vareesangthip drives advancements in medical practice and research. His nomination for Councilor-at-Large (South/Southeast Asia) reflects his esteemed reputation and unwavering dedication to advancing transplantation and nephrology globally.
Prof. Mirza Naqi Zafar, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Transplant Immunology, Head of Research and Publication. SIUT, Karachi.
I graduated from the University of London in 1975 and completed PhD in 1979. Currently, my research interests are living donor follow-up care where donors have been followed up yearly in a dedicated clinic, and transplant Immunology where the focus has been on HLA-driven immunosuppression and transplant outcomes. I have authored more than 100 publications and 4 book chapters. Currently, I am an Advisor to the Council of The International Society of Organ Donation and Procurement, Secretary General of the Transplantation Society of Pakistan, Secretary of the Nephrology Urology and Transplant Society of SAARC countries, member Ethics Committee, Asian Society of Transplantation, and member of the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. I was the organizer and Head of the Scientific Committee of the SIUT Conference in 2017 where over 150 invited foreign speakers participated along with 3000 delegates from abroad and Pakistan. In August 2022, I was invited to give TTS Masterclass on “HLA matching in living-related transplants. Is it justified?” Recently in August 2023, I was featured in the Member spotlight in the ASHI newsletter.
Lucino Bahena Carrera MD, is a military nephrologist, graduated from the University of the Mexican Army and Air Force. He was a transplant nephrology fellow (adult and pediatric) at Vall de Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain. He completed a master's degree in Clinical Research in Transplants at University of Barcelona in 2016, a master's degree in hospital administration and a Doctorate in Health Sciences in Mexico City. He is Head of Nephrology Department and kidney transplant program responsible at Central Military Hospital, Mexico City (historically 1,000 kidney transplants performed). He is a professor at the military medical school.
He has received national awards from the Mexican Ministry of Health for promoting kidney paired donation, as well as scientific awards from TTS and ISPD (International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis). His publications focus on paired kidney transplantation, ABOi, minimized immunosuppression, and post-transplant diabetes. Currently, he has an officer position in the Mexican Transplant Society (SMT).
Dr. Bahena's vision for TTS includes working with a deep commitment to continue strengthening transplant activities in developing countries, enhancing alliances to improve outcomes and access to transplant/registries; and help promote the mission and ethics of TTS in Latin America and globally.
Dr. Domingo Casadei, graduated as a Medical Doctor at the Buenos Aires University. He founded the Institute of Nephrology of Buenos Aires, Nephrology; a transplant institution that quickly achieved an important national and international reputation. Along his career, he trained more than 600 medical professionals and fellows in the transplant area and performed around 3,500 kidney transplants and 350 kidney-pancreatic transplants. He was President of the Argentine Transplant Society and of the Latin American and Caribbean Transplant Society (STALYC). In 2002, he chaired the World Transplant Congress held in Miami, USA. He received the TTS “Living Legend” award in 2022.Nowdays he is the president of a non-profit organization named “Fundacion Argentina de Trasplante de Organos y Tejidos, Tercer Milenio” at Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Dr. Gustavo Ferreira, a distinguished nephrologist, currently serves as the Director of the Transplant Program at Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Juiz de Fora. He graduated from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora in 2001 and completed residencies in Internal Medicine and Nephrology at the University of São Paulo (USP) in 2003 and 2006, respectively. Until 2011, he worked at the Renal Transplant Unit at the Hospital das Clínicas of the Medical School of USP.
In 2014, Dr. Ferreira earned his Doctorate in Medicine from USP, focusing on nephrology and transplantation. He served as President of the Brazilian Association of Organ Transplantation (ABTO) from 2022 to 2023 and advises the organization. Additionally, he was a board member of the Latin American and Caribbean Transplant Society (STALIC) from 2022 to 2023 and is now a full member of the Global Data Harmonization Committee of the Transplant Society (TTS).
Dr. Ferreira is actively involved in clinical research, with over 80 publications in national and international journals. He is a respected lecturer at universities in Brazil and abroad. Since 2012, he has coordinated the Nephrology Medical Residency Program at Santa Casa de Juiz de Fora. He has led its transplant program since 2014, demonstrating his extensive expertise in renal transplantation.
I would like to share with you my nomination for the position of Councilor for Latin America in the upcoming elections that will begin on March 18. My name is Paola Garcia-Padilla, internist nephrologist with more than 20 years of experience in renal transplantation, in the city of Bogota Colombia at the Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, and Associate Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
Currently, I am President of the Colombian Association of Organ Transplantation (ACTO), and a member of the Board of Directors for 8 years, North Vice President of the Latin American and Caribbean Society of Transplantation (STALYC) and previously a member of the Board of Directors of the Colombian Association of Nephrology (ASOCOLNEF). I have been very committed to the education of students, especially nephrologists being coordinator of the nephrology specialization program for more than 15 years. I am currently pursuing a master's degree in education for health professionals which strengthens my commitment to education.
I have actively participated in the development of transplant policies through the National Institute of Health and my interest is to work as a team with Latin American countries to improve access to transplantation and improve the quality of life of patients, while maintaining quality education.
Thanks to your support I will be able to represent you as a council for Latin America.
Oscar Imventarza was born and grew up in Buenos Aires Argentina. He graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) in 1982. He received his surgical training between 1983-1986 at the Hospital Argerich and the Hospital Finochietto.
In 1987 he began his training in Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation at the Transplant Division of the University of Pittsburgh under the supervision of Professor Thomas Starzl. He became Research fellow (1987), Clinical Fellow (1988), Instructor of Surgery (1989) and Assistant Professor of the same University in 1990.
Oscar Imventarza returned to Argentina at the end of 1992 and opened as Chairman the first two Public Liver Transplant Programs of Argentina in the Hospital Juan P Garrahan (children's) and Hospital Dr C Argerich (adult's). Both became the most important public HPB centers of Argentina. Also he developed the first Liver and Pancreas Transplant Program of the Litoral Region located in Formosa City.
Professor Imventarza has been an active member of different surgical societies. He was a founding member and President of the Argentine Society of Transplantation, Council Member of the Argentine Chapter of the IHPBA (CA-IHPBA) since 2007 and President of the same Chapter for 2013-2015 period. He is an Active Member of the Argentine Academy of Surgery. His practice is focused in liver surgery and transplantation for adult and pediatric patients.
Dr. Luis Eduardo Morales Buenrostro, MD, PhD. Is the head of the Transplant Nephrology Clinic (2008 to date) of the Nephrology Department at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán (INCMNSZ) in Mexico City. He completed his postgraduate Training in Internal Medicine (1996-2000) and Nephrology (2000-2003) at the same Institute. He is a productive clinical researcher with a Master Degree in Medical Sciences with focus in clinical epidemiology (2004-2006), at the National University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City; Ph.D. in Medical Sciences with focus in Transplant Immunology (2007-2009), UNAM; Research in Transplant Immunobiology at Terasaki Foundation (2007-2008), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Dr. Morales is a full professor of Transplant Nephrology, UNAM (2013 to date) and associate professor of Nephrology, UNAM (2005 to 2024).
Dr. Morales served as President of The Instituto Mexicano de Investigaciones Nefrológicas (2013), President of the Sociedad Mexicana de Trasplantes (2014-2015), General Secretary of the Sociedad Latinoamericana de Nefrología e Hipertensión (SLANH, 2017-2019), General Secretary of the Sociedad de Trasplantes de América Latina y el Caribe (STALYC, 2022-2028), and Past President of the Mexican Nephrology Board (2021-2022).
Dr. Morales has been honored as a Member of the National Academy of Medicine (2016 to date). His vision for his participation in TTS is to serve as a bridge of collaboration between TTS and Latin America, helping developing countries to have better access to quality training.
Alejandro Nino Murcia, M.D., FACS, is a distinguished transplant surgeon at Colombiana de Trasplantes and a revered surgery professor at the Universidad del Rosario in Bogota, Colombia. With a medical degree from the Universidad del Rosario, a General Surgeon certification from the Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, and an honorary transplant surgeon from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Nino-Murcia has dedicated his career to advancing transplantation medicine. Additionally, he has been a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) since 2002 and holds a Master of Public Health. His public health studies have been and still are crucial for developing laws, helping programs grow and consolidating transplantation not only in Colombia but also in Latin America. In 2017, the Latin American and the Caribbean Transplant Association presented an award in Montevideo, Uruguay praising this efforts.
His leadership roles include serving as President and then Executive Director of the Colombian Transplant Association (ACTO) and as President of the Latin American and the Caribbean Transplant Association (STALYC). Furthermore, he has played pivotal roles in global initiatives, such as being a member of the board for four years and them co-chairing the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group (DICG) 2018-2022 and in 2022-2023 honorary member of the board and acting as the Vice-Chair of the International Congress of The Transplantation Society TTS 2022 in Buenos Aires. Dr. Nino Murcia's unwavering commitment to international transplantation and surgical education underscores his profound impact on the field. If he is elected as councilor for the TTS he will try to join the efforts from different societies to help the developing countries to strengthen their transplant programs.
Ruben Omar Schiavelli, MD
Medical graduate from the University of Buenos Aires
Resident Physician in Internal Medicine at the San Isidro Hospital
Specialist in Nephrology. University of Buenos Aires
Renal Transplant Rotation at the Jackson Memorial Hospital – University of Miami
Chief of the Nephrology and Renal Transplantation Division at the Cosme Argerich Hospital. Government of the City of Buenos Aires
Associate Director of the Specialized Course in Nephrology. University of Buenos Aires
Independent Professor of the Course in Nephrology, University of Buenos Aires
Adjunct Professor of the Nephrology Course at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina
Coordinator of the first renal perfusion programme in Argentina
President of the Argentine Transplant Congress (2020)
Member of the Scientific Committee at the 19th International Congress of The Transplantation Society (2022)
Contributing author of 42 publications on renal transplant and organ procurement, and author of 200 presentations for congresses on these areas
Speaker in over 50 conferences on renal transplant and organ procurement,
President of the Argentine Transplant Society (2010)
Secretary General of the Transplantation Society of Latin America and the Caribbean (STALYC) (2017-2020)
Mario Vilatoba MD was born in Mexico City. After completing his medical training at the Universidad La Salle in Mexico City, he was admitted to the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran (National Medical Science and Nutrition Institute Salvador Zubiran) (INNSZ) as a resident in General Surgery in 1996. Between 2002 and 2005, he trained in multi-visceral transplantation at the University of Alabama, in Birmingham, USA. In 2007, he spent 5 months in Hong Kong at the Queen Mary Hospital, and in Seoul at Seoul National University, to conduct international fellowships in living donor liver transplantation and liver surgery. In 2008, he became the Director of the Liver Transplant Program at the INNSZ, and in 2012, he was named the Institute´s Head of the Transplant Department and Full Professor of Transplant Surgery.
He was vice president of STALYC (Transplant Society of Latin America and the Caribbean) from 2019 to 2020 , is currently Vice president of the Mexican Transplant Society from 2024-2025 and will be President of this society from 2026-2027.
He is also Chair of the Membership and Communication Committee of the ILTS (International Liver Transplantation Society) from May 2023 to May 2024.
Since 2005, Dr. Vilatoba has diligently worked to transform the INNSZ Liver Transplant program into the best program in Mexico. He was also the first liver transplant surgeon to train liver transplant surgeons for the first time in Mexico since previously, this training could only be obtained abroad.
Prof Steve Alexander MD MPH FRACP (Uni of Sydney) is a pediatric nephrologist and transplant researcher at Children’s Hospital at Westmead, in Sydney, Australia, where he has trained nephrologists and scientists from throughout Oceania. His transplant training was in Boston. He is a Past President of TSANZ introducing Organ Match and NIKTT the indigenous initiative to improve kidney transplantation in Australia. He has organised the TTS Basic Science meeting and been on the organisation committee of 3 TTS meetings, is a past Sec Treasurer for IPTA, and past pediatric editor for Transplantation. His research is on transplant tolerance and genetics.
His interest in Council is driven by the need to improve transplantation opportunities for patients throughout Oceania and translating the success of basic science research into clinical practice in a fair and equitable way. This includes improving the training and support of the multi-disciplinary transplant teams in a variety of countries and health systems.
P. Toby Coates, MD PhD, is the Director of Transplantation at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Professor of Medicine at the University of Adelaide. He is a translational clinician scientist, and transplant nephrologist. He was awarded a PhD in Transplantation Immunology from the University of Adelaide, Australia (2001). He undertook post-doctoral studies in Transplantation Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh, which was supported by a CJ Martin Fellowship from the NHMRC (2001-2003). He has over 200 peer-reviewed publications and has mentored and supervised 16 PhD students to completion. His research funding totals over $70 million, including local and international funding organisations such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International. He is a past President of the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand. He was listed on the Governor General’s Covid-19 Honour Roll for leadership during the pandemic. Prof Coates was the Transplantation and Immunology Associate Editor on Kidney International from 2012-2023. He is actively involved in ethical and leadership initiatives supported by The Transplantation Society, having served as a Councillor and on the Executive of the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group. He was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2021. He has a commitment to equity, translational research such as establishing Australia’s first steroid-free pancreas transplant program (2018) and pioneering development for alternative sites for islet cell transplantation. He continuously advocates for increased access to transplantation, with a particular interest in the transplantation of First Nations Peoples and addressing healthcare disparities globally.
Jay A. Fishman, M.D., FACP, FAST, FIDSA is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Transplant Infectious Diseases Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Associate Director of the MGH Transplant Center. Dr. Fishman completed medical school at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, internal medicine training and Infectious Disease Fellowship at MGH, and Fellowships in Molecular Biology and Genetics at MGH and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Fishman established the Transplant and Immunocompromised Host Program of the MGH, the first such training program worldwide which has trained many leaders in this field. He established Transplant Infectious Disease as an essential component of Transplant programs. His clinical expertise spans infectious diseases and immunology of solid organ and stem cell transplant recipients and has defined approaches to managing infectious risk in allo- and xenotransplantation. His research defined the use of ganciclovir for cytomegalovirus infection in transplant recipients. His background in immunology, virology and molecular biology led to the cloning of surface antigens of human Pneumocystis, and to studies of porcine cytomegalovirus and porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) in xenotransplantation. He has over 300 peer-reviewed publications and is internationally recognized as a clinician-educator and scientist. He is Past-President of the American Society of Transplantation and is President-elect of the International Xenotransplantation Association. He has received career achievement awards from AST and TTS. Jay’s vision for TTS Council would be to enhance educational initiatives and to advance the availability and safety of transplantation for underserved populations worldwide.
Atul Humar, MD, MSc, FRCPC is a Professor in the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto. Dr. Humar received his medical degree from the University of Ottawa. He completed his residency and did further training in Transplant Infectious Diseases in Toronto and Boston. Dr. Humar’s research interests are in Transplant Infections, with a focus on the prevention and treatment of Cytomegalovirus, and immunologic and virologic determinants of infection. Dr. Humar has over 300 publications in these areas. His work was integral to the development of internationally used guidelines related to the management of infections post-transplant. Dr. Humar has had significant contributions to the TTS. He previously served as Associate Editor for the Journal Transplantation. He is also senior author of the first, second, and third editions of the TTS sponsored International Guidelines for CMV. He previously served as vice-Chair for the TTS Transplant ID Section. Dr. Humar recently completed his terms as the Director of the Ajmera Transplant Centre at the University Health Network, and as the Director of the University of Toronto Transplant Institute. He is also the Past-President of the Canadian Society of Transplantation. If elected as councilor, Dr. Humar will work on behalf of TTS members to improve outreach, develop policy, enhance the value of membership, and improve access to transplantation globally.
Jayme Locke, MD, MPH, Professor of Surgery and Arnold G. Diethelm MD Endowed Chair in Transplant Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA, is a clinically active abdominal transplant surgeon specializing in innovative strategies for the transplantation of incompatible organs, disparities in access to and outcomes after solid organ transplantation, transplantation of HIV-infected end-stage patients, and xenotransplantation. She is a surgeon-scientist with NIH-funding in the areas of kidney and liver transplantation, living donation, and chronic disease in persons with HIV as well as industry-academic partnerships in xenotransplantation. Dr. Locke has served: TTS Young Members Committee (serving as co-chair; 2018-2021); American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) Diversity Issues Committee (2013-2021; serving as vice chair and chair); ASTS Councilor-at-large (2021-2024). As the US James IV Traveling Fellow (2016) with visits to Australia (Sydney), South Africa (Cape Town), Scotland (Edinburgh), and Japan (Tokyo) relationships were developed with transplant programs across the globe and perspectives gained that will further enrich the TTS mission and vision.
George V. Mazariegos, MD, is Chief of Pediatric Transplantation at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation and at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute. He is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh in the departments of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and holds the Jamie Lee Curtis Chair in Pediatric Transplantation Surgery. He is an active member of the American Surgical Association, the Society for University Surgeons and the International Intestinal Rehabilitation and Transplantation Association (IIRTA) and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Pediatric Committee in the International Liver Transplant Society (ILTS). In 2018, Dr. Mazariegos and colleagues founded the Starzl Network for Excellence in Pediatric Transplantation www.starzlnetwork.org - a consortium bringing innovation and tech partners together with patients, families and transplant centers to transform outcomes in children receiving transplantation. With active grants from PCORI, AHRQ, and NIH/SBIR, the network is actively leading investigations into improving patient engagement in transplant research, studying dissemination of quality-of-life surveys via mobile app technology and developing machine learning algorithms for transplantation decision support.
I am a Transplant Nephrologist with expertise in managing highly sensitized candidates, antibody-mediated rejection, desensitization and induction protocols, and transplant administration. I have served the TTS in different capacities as a member of the DICG, WTC program and education committees, Transplantation reviewer, and organizer of educational programs with Latin American Transplant Societies.
My participation in the DICG has been an enlightening experience. Historically, few cases of transplant commerce have been documented in North America. However, the porosity of both borders, critical illegal immigration of vulnerable subjects, and involvement of criminal networks in human trafficking increase the likelihood of illegal transplantation in our part of the world.
There is no surveillance mechanism to evaluate illegal transplantation in North America, whether real or not. Medical care and transplantation of illegal immigrants constitute a public health care crisis and will be the most significant challenges to transplant societies in the 21st century.
As Councilor, I propose creating a workgroup linked to the DICG with representation of the CST, AST, and Stalyc to formulate strategies and tools to investigate illegal transplantation, generate registries, and recommend to legislators and regulatory entities expedite legal immigration of law-abiding patients with end-organ failure while emphasizing the need for a rational immigration policy.
Other proposals include producing educational material in Spanish and Arabic about donation and transplantation at the high school and college levels and collaborating with Middle Eastern and African colleagues, to establish a workgroup for assessing the root cause of low levels of deceased donation among Muslims.
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