NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS • • • • • • • •
Houston Methodist launched the first transplant coordinator training program for nurses. The one-year curriculum covers the entire continuum of care, ensuring key skills are mastered by those who undertake the intricate task of managing transplant protocols and care. Houston Methodist is one of only a few facilities that performs bloodless lung transplants, due to the degree of difficulty associated with bloodless surgeries. The transplant center also performs bloodless kidney and kidney-pancreas transplants. Houston Methodist is the first center in the world to implant a total artificial heart for a patient with a cardiac malignancy. The Houston Methodist transplant team performed a domino liver transplant in September to save the life of a 31-year-old mother with liver cancer. She received a liver from a living donor with amyloidosis, who then received a donated liver to treat his disease. The Transplant Center celebrated 50 years of advances in organ failure and transplantation management at a three-day conference. Featured speakers: ° Dr. Alan Langus, president of the American Society of Transplant Surgery ° Dr. Dan Salomon, president of the American Society of Transplantation ° Dr. Bruce Molitoris, president of the American Society of Nephrology The Graham Guerrero Lecture in urology transplantation honored the physician’s 30 years of service. Featured speakers: ° Dr. Timothy Boon, chief of urology at Houston Methodist ° Dr. Stuart Flechner, professor of surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine The Optum Health Spotlight Series hosted Leading Innovative Care in Transplantation: A Spotlight on Houston Methodist J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center. ° 150+ referring physicians, nurses and allied health professionals attended. The Shared Care Summit targeted community-based medical professionals with sessions on the identification, treatment and management of advanced heart failure, highlighting LVAD care.
TRANSPLANT PATIENTS’ HOME •
Nora’s Home, honoring the memory of director Osama Gaber’s daughter, offers affordable lodging for transplant patients and their families who travel to the Texas Medical Center for treatment. Opened in 2013, it provides care, education and support in a loving, home-like environment. Visit norashome.org for more information.
NOTABLE AWARDS • • •
Xian C. Li, MD, director of the Immunobiology and Transplantation Research Center, was awarded two NIH grants totaling over $2 million to study the role of OX40 in T regulatory cell exhaustion, which impacts transplant tolerance. Houston Methodist and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) received a Roche Organ Transplantation Research Foundation award for a study titled, “Compositional Changes That Cause Weight Gain after Kidney Transplantation.” Houston Methodist, BCM and Rice University were awarded a $1.3 million research grant for decision making in VAD therapy.
TRANSPLANT LEADERSHIP A. Osama Gaber, MD, FACS Director, Houston Methodist J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center George P. Noon, MD
Director, Transplant Executive Council
RENAL & PANCREAS TRANSPLANT
BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT
Richard Knight, MD, FACS
Helen Heslop, MD
Juan Gonzalez, MD
George Carrum, MD
Surgical Director, Kidney & Pancreas
CARDIAC TRANSPLANT & ASSIST DEVICES
Horacio J. Adrogué, Sr., MD
Matthias Loebe, MD, PhD, FACC, FCCP
Ashish Saharia, MD
Surgical Director
Associate Director, Kidney & Pancreas
Director, Adult Outpatient Clinic for Cell & Gene Therapy; Director, NMDP Collection Program
Jerry D. Estep, MD, FACC
Elie Saber, MD
IMMUNOBIOLOGY RESEARCH CENTER
Medical Director
Brian Bruckner, MD
Associate Director, Mechanical Circulatory Support
HEART-LUNG TRANSPLANT
Co-Medical Director
Director, Center for Cell & Gene Therapy
Co-Medical Director
Living Donor Advocate
PROCUREMENT Hemangshu Podder, MD, PhD
David Bernard, MBA, MHA, FACHE
Medical Director
Co-Director, Living Donor Procurement
Thomas Kaleekal, MD
Richard E. Link, MD, PhD
Scott Scheinin, MD, FACS
Surgical Director
Thomas Kaleekal, MD
Medical Director
ECMO Brian Bruckner, MD
Surgical Director John Fetter, MD
Medical Director
INTESTINAL FAILURE PROGRAM Sherilyn Gordon Burroughs, MD, FACS
Director
Clinical Research
ADMINISTRATION
Jerry D. Estep, MD, FACC
PULMONARY TRANSPLANT
Linda Moore, RD
Dewei Ren, MD
Director, Thoracic
Medical Director
Director/Scientist Clinical Research
Director, Abdominal
Matthias Loebe, MD, PhD, FACC, FCCP
Surgical Director
Xian C. Li, MD
Brian James Dunkin, MD, FACS
Co-Director, Living Donor Procurement
LIVER TRANSPLANT R. Mark Ghobrial, MD, PhD, FACS, FRCS(Ed)
Vice President
Susan A. Zylicz, RN, BSN, MHA, CCTC
Transplant Administrator Anna Argyris
Research Administrator Julie Corkrean, RN, BSN, CCTC
Liver Transplant Manager Anthony Flores
Director, Houston Methodist Center for Liver Disease & Transplantation
Financial Manager
Victor Ankoma-Sey, MD
Recovery Operations Manager
Joseph S. Galati, MD, FACGT
Laurie Loza, RN, BSN, CCTC
Medical Director, Transplant Medical Director, Houston Methodist Center for Liver Disease & Transplantation
Howard P. Monsour, Jr., MD
Chief, Hepatology
Jordan Jeon, BA, CTBS, CPTC
Heart Transplant Manager Marty Martin, RN, BSN
Communication Center Manager
Lisa Yoder, RN, BSN, CCTC
Kidney & Pancreas Transplant Manager