Frontier Issues in Organ Transplantation: New Approaches to Saving Lives & Securing Trust

John C. Magee, MD, is Jeremiah and Claire Turcotte Research Professor of Transplantation Surgery, Professor of Internal Medicine, Professor of Pediatrics, and Professor of Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School. In addition, Dr. Magee is the Head of the Transplantation Section and Director of the Pediatric Liver and Kidney Transplant Program for the University of Michigan Health System. His clinical interests include the care of adults and children requiring kidney, pancreas, and liver transplantation, as well as management of immunosuppressive therapy and its complications. His research focuses on transplantation immunology, gene therapy, endothelial cell biology, inflammation, and xenotransplantation. Dr. Magee currently serves as the elected President of the Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network (OPTN).

Anji Wall, MD, PhD, FACS, is an abdominal transplant surgeon and Clinical Professor at Texas A&M College of Medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center in Dallas. She is board-certified in General Surgery with fellowship training in abdominal transplant surgery. She has clinical interests in liver, kidney, and pancreas transplantation, as well as living liver and kidney donation. Dr. Wall’s research focuses on clinical ethical issues in surgical practice and transplantation, including how listing decisions are made and how organs are allocated. Her publications include articles in the American Journal of Transplantation, JAMA, and other leading journals and a book on Ethics for International Medicine (Dartmouth College Press, 2012). She is on the Board of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Andrew Adams, MD, PhD, is Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Division of Transplantation at the University of Minnesota where he holds the John S. Najarian Chair in Clinical Transplantation. He is also the Executive Medical Director of the Solid Organ Transplant Service Line at M Health Fairview. His research focuses on the development of novel strategies and therapeutics to promote transplantation tolerance. He has made important contributions to the understanding of the interplay between viral infection, immune memory, and the allo-immune response. He is also an internationally recognized expert on large animal models of xenotransplantation (from pig to non-human primate). His clinical practice is focused on abdominal organ transplantation with a focus on liver and kidney transplantation in both adult and pediatric patients. His clinical research interests include resource utilization following kidney transplantation and factors that drive increased burden of hospitalization and inferior outcomes.

Timothy L. Pruett, MD, is Professor of Surgery and Internal Medicine in the Division of Transplantation at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Pruett is past-President of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and past-President of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). He is Co-Director of the Ethics & Public Policy Component for the NSF Engineering Research Center for Advanced Technologies for the Preservation of Biological Systems (ATP-Bio).

Susan M. Wolf, JD is Regents Professor; McKnight Presidential Professor of Law, Medicine & Public Policy; Faegre Drinker Professor of Law; and Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. She is Chair of the University’s Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences. Prof. Wolf is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She is Director of the Ethics & Public Policy Component for the NSF Engineering Research Center for Advanced Technologies for the Preservation of Biological Systems (ATP-Bio). 

It is the policy of the University of Minnesota to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all of its sponsored educational activities. All participating faculty are required to disclose to the program audience any financial relationships related to the subject matter of this program. Disclosure information is reviewed in advance to manage and resolve any possible conflicts of interest. Specific disclosure information for each faculty member will be shared with the audience prior to the faculty’s presentation.

The following individuals have relevant disclosures.

• Anji Wall, MD, PhD, FACS, is the Medical Director for Regional Perfusion Services, LLC.

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