I am seeking the position of AST Board of Directors Councilor-at-Large to contribute my broad transplant perspective and extensive leadership experience to advance AST and the entire transplant community. Since joining AST as a trainee in 2008, I have gained immeasurable benefits from the transplant community, including leadership opportunities, skills, and experience directing interdisciplinary clinical programs, multidimensional research, and numerous AST initiatives. As a Professor of Medicine and transplant nephrologist at the University of Washington (UW) and Fred Hutch Cancer Center (FHCC) since 2013, my transplant career has benefitted from work in five geographically diverse academic health systems (Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Washington) while focusing on high-risk transplant conditions.
Clinical care is a cornerstone of my professional identity, and I seek to create programs that improve patient and provider experiences alike. My clinical leadership includes founding and directing the UW-Seattle Children's Kidney Transplant Transition of Care program and UW-FHCC Cancer and Organ Transplant Clinic. Since its inception in 2023, I have co-led the AST Transplant Oncology Workgroup, with projects and meetings focused on high-impact issues, including transplant-related management of checkpoint inhibitors, engineered cellular therapies, and plasma cell dyscrasias.
Research should continually improve humanity and remain a commitment. I was a founding member of the AST Transplant and Immunology Research Network (2013-2016) and Co-Chair of the Grants Review Committee (2014-2016). As founding director of the UW Center for Innovations in Cancer and Transplant in 2020, I study the risks, mechanisms, and outcomes of cancer and rejection in transplant recipients, with a focus on precision diagnostics and immunotherapies. Collaborations with other members of the Community of Transplant Scientists are catalyzing research to improve clinically meaningful outcomes.
Education and advocacy are fundamental to the AST mission. I have contributed to educational initiatives since my fellowship, including co-founding the Trainee and Young Faculty COP (2010) and chairing the Kidney Pancreas Advisory Council (2013-2014). Since 2014, I have been an AJT Associate Editor and established the AJT Editorial Fellowship in 2018, which offers mentored training in peer review and publication. I was recently a member of the AST Public Policy Committee (2019-2023) and remain engaged in transplant-related policy activities.
My commitment to transplantation is also deeply personal, shaped by my mother's journey through kidney disease and transplant. As a nurse and a patient, her life informs my patient-centered approach to work that has focused on high-risk transplant populations.
Driven by professional meaning and personal experience, my long-standing commitment to the AST positions me as a strong advocate for our collective future. I am committed to using all my skills, experience, and vision to serve you and the AST community and improve our shared future and the lives of our patients.
Advertisements
