Start Your Fellowship at Iowa
Join a fellowship designed to prepare the next generation of transplant surgeons through hands-on operative experience, individualized mentorship, and multidisciplinary training.
With one fellow accepted each year, Iowa provides a highly personalized training experience in a collaborative academic environment.
Overview
The University of Iowa's Abdominal Multi-Organ Transplantation Fellowship is a two-year program accredited by the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.
The fellowship includes all aspects of adult and pediatric kidney transplantation, minimally invasive living donor nephrectomy, and multi-organ recovery. One fellow is accepted each year.
Why Iowa?
- More than 40 years of transplant experience
- Pioneer in pancreas transplantation
- Adult and pediatric transplant experience
- Training alongside internationally recognized experts in hepatobiliary surgery and liver transplantation
- Long-standing commitment to training future academic transplant surgeon
Curriculum
Fellows develop expertise through a combination of operative experience, multidisciplinary education, and progressive clinical responsibility.
Surgeries and procedures
Fellows participate in the following types of surgeries and procedures:
- Pancreas transplant
- Liver transplant
- Vascular access procedures
- Hepatobiliary surgery
The fellowship also provides extensive operative experience in the management of primary and metastatic hepatic and biliary malignancies, bile duct injury, and general surgery in transplant recipients.
Additional training opportunities
Fellows participate in a variety of educational experiences including our weekly Transplant Issues Conference including invited leaders in transplant medicine and surgery.
The Organ Transplant Center also directs the multidisciplinary hepatobiliary tumor board which meets weekly to develop plans for patients with primary and metastatic malignancy.
Additional training opportunities are available in the following areas:
- Transplant immunology
- Transplant infectious disease
- Pediatric transplantation
Rotations
All clinical rotations take place at University of Iowa Health Care and University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, providing experience across the full spectrum of adult and pediatric transplant care.
Fellows care for transplant recipients, hepatobiliary surgery patients, and individuals with complex liver disease while working as part of a multidisciplinary transplant team.
The first year focuses primarily on kidney transplantation, while the second year emphasizes minimally invasive living donor nephrectomy. Throughout both years, fellows gain experience in transplantation of all organs.
Conference and Teaching Program
Abdominal organ transplant surgical fellows actively participate in numerous weekly conferences including the following.
- Transplant Issues Conference
- A multidisciplinary weekly meeting, including invited speakers examining the key issues facing transplantation
- Transplant quality review
- Journal club
In addition, there are weekly kidney and liver evaluation meetings, multidisciplinary hepatobiliary conference, and team rounds.
Fellows also join the Department of Surgery grand rounds and morbidity/mortality conference. Finally, the fellows have dedicated teaching hours weekly with Organ Transplant Center staff physicians and complete the ASTS Academic Universe curriculum.
Fellows complete required ASTS required in-service examinations.
Fellow Duties
Abdominal multi-organ transplantation fellows are responsible for all aspects of inpatient care on the transplant and hepatobiliary service.
Our fellows work with residents, medical students, and physician extenders to cover patients in the intensive care unit and transplant ward. Fellows participate in all transplant procedures, multi-organ recoveries, and living donor procedures.
The fellows have 2 days of clinic weekly in which they evaluate pre-transplant candidates and manage post-transplant complications. Fellows also assess hospitalized patients with decompensated organ failure and patients with complex surgical conditions. Duties include the care of adult and pediatric transplant recipients.
Duty Hours
Abdominal multi-organ transplantation fellows are directly supervised by one of four full-time transplant surgical faculty and work collaboratively with medicine faculty and fellows.
Overnight and on weekends primary call for transplant patients is covered by night float residents. Fellows are “on service” two weeks per month during which time they direct daily rounds and supervise residents and medical students. No in-house call is required, although fellows are expected to be available to night float surgical residents for questions.
On non-service weeks, fellows alternate organ donor recovery call with surgical residents and are guaranteed one weekend per month free of all clinical responsibilities.
Please refer to the ASTS website for details on duty hours and vacation using the link below:
Fellowship Managed Time Policy
The fellows are encouraged to work with the Iowa Donor Network for procurement opportunities.
Research
The Organ Transplant Center at the University of Iowa has active research programs in kidney transplant, transplant health services research, transplant economics, and transplant immunology.
Fellows are encouraged to participate in clinical research projects and expected to prepare at least one clinical or review manuscript prior to graduation.
Fellows seeking a dedicated laboratory experience can be accommodated with an additional year of training.
Major areas of research
- Health services research
- Transplant economics
- Transplant immunology
- Genetic determinants of renal disease and risk of recurrence
- Cholangiocarcinoma and other primary hepatic malignancies
Honors and Recognition
Alan Reed, MD, MBA
Alan Reed, MD, MBA, professor and chief of the division of transplant and hepatobiliary surgery, serves on the American Society of Transplant Surgeons leadership counsel and was former chair of the Membership and Professional Standards Committee for UNOS