Application Form
deadline November 30, 2007

Objectives

The Transplant Hepatology Fellowship is a 1 year training program for candidates who have already completed a 3 -year Gastroenterology fellowship.  The objective of the Transplant Hepatology Fellowship is to provide outstanding clinical and research training so that candidates become independent hepatology consultants, qualify for UNOS certification as a transplant hepatologist, and meet all criteria for the ABIM Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in transplant hepatology.  Upon completion of the program, the fellow will be competent in evaluating and managing liver transplant candidates with acute and chronic liver failure and in evaluating and managing transplant recipients during the peri-operative and post-transplant period.  The Fellow will also become competent in the care of patients with a variety of acute and chronic liver diseases including the management of acute liver failure, complications of portal hypertension and liver cancer. 

Clinical Training

Per ACGME requirements, Transplant Hepatology Fellowship candidates are required to have completed a 3 year categorical Gastroenterology fellowship prior to this additional year of advanced training.  Approximately, 70% of the Transplant Hepatology Fellowship will be devoted to clinical activities.  Rotations offered during the 1-year fellowship include inpatient hepatology ward and consultation services, outpatient transplant hepatology and general hepatology clinics, liver pathology, liver radiology, and pediatric hepatology.  In the multidisciplinary liver transplant clinics, the transplant hepatology fellow will become familiar with the evaluation of patients with advanced liver disease including management of ascites, encephalopathy, variceal bleeding and treatment options for liver cancer.  The Transplant Hepatology fellow will see patients in the clinic and follow them both pre- perioperatively and postoperatively under the supervision of Hepatology faculty.  The toxicity of immunosuppressive medications as well as the management of rejection and vascular, biliary, and infectious complications following transplantation will be emphasized.  In addition, fellows will be exposed to transplant immunology, pediatric liver transplantation, living donor liver transplantation, and research opportunities in transplant hepatology.

Conferences

The University of Michigan Transplant Hepatology program supports its educational mission with a variety of educational activities.  Liver conferences that are held on a weekly basis during the academic year include: Liver Pathology, Clinical Case Presentations, and Journal Club.  In addition, multidisciplinary liver transplant patient evaluation conferences are held weekly.   Multidisciplinary transplant conferences are held twice monthly including Morbidity and Mortality Conference as well as Transplant Grand Rounds.  In addition, many of the GI Division Grand Rounds presentations are dedicated to liver disease topics.  Both internal and external speakers present at these conferences with approximately twelve visiting professors per year.  The Transplant Hepatology Fellow will be expected to attend and participate in the monthly Hepatology Research Conference and attend the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases annual meeting. 

Past and Current Fellows

The University of Michigan Liver Transplant Program was established in 1986.  Over the past twenty years, many individuals have completed formal training in Gastroenterology with a focus in Transplant Hepatology including: Dr. Kim Brown-  Division Chief of Gastroenterology at Henry Ford Hospital; Dr. Michael Lucey- Division Chief of Gastroenterology at the University of Wisconsin; Dr. Mary Ann Sherbondy-  Transplant hepatologist at Henry Ford Hospital; Dr. Khozema Hussain-  Assistant Professor at Baylor University, Houston; Dr. Ryan Taylor-  Faculty member at the Kansas Medical Center; Dr. Hellan Kang – Transplant hepatologist at the University of Michigan. 

Transplant Hepatology Faculty

Anna S.F. Lok, MD.  Dr. Lok is a Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of Clinical Hepatology.  She oversees the clinical hepatology training of GI fellows.  Dr. Lok is an internationally renown expert in viral hepatitis.  She is currently the PI or Co-Investigator of five NIH funded research projects in viral hepatitis and liver transplantation.  During the last 12 years, Dr. Lok has mentored numerous fellows and junior faculty from the University of Michigan as well as other countries. 

Robert J. Fontana, MD.  Dr. Fontana is Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Medical Director of Liver Transplantation.  He is the Director of the Transplant Hepatology Fellowship.  Dr. Fontana is the PI or Co-Investigator of four NIH research projects in viral hepatitis, drug induced hepatotoxicity and acute liver failure.  Dr. Fontana has mentored several GI fellows and Transplant Hepatology fellows in their research projects over the past twelve years.

Grace Su, MD.  Dr. Su is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Medical Center.  Dr. Su’s research interests include inflammatory mechanisms in animal models of liver injury with an emphasis on the role of endotoxin and kupffer cell activation.

Jorge Marrero, MD, MS.  Dr. Marrero is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and the Medical Director of the Liver Cancer Clinic.  Dr. Marrero completed a Masters Degree in clinical studies design and biostatistics.  His research interests lie in the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer.  He is currently the Principal Investigator of a multi-center study of biomarkers in HCC diagnosis sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and recipient of an NIH K23 award.  Dr. Marrero has mentored several GI fellows over the past few years and has expertise in clinical study design and biostatistics. 

Fred Askari, MD, PhD.  Dr. Askari is a Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine with research interests in hereditary liver diseases.  He is the Co-Director of the Michigan Wilson’s Disease Program and participates in a multitude of research studies involving Wilson’s Disease and patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. 

Hellan Kang, MD.  Dr. Kang is a Lecturer in Internal Medicine and joined the faculty in 2007.  Dr. Kang has research interests in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, and clinical outcomes following liver transplantation.

Richard Moseley, MD.  Dr. Moseley is a Professor of Internal Medicine and Chief of the Medicine Service at the Ann Arbor Veterans Medical Center.  He recently completed a sabbatical and has an active laboratory investigating the physiological mechanisms of cholestasis and animal models of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Rebecca VanDyke, MD.  Dr. VanDyke is a Professor of Internal Medicine.  She supervises the liver clinic at the VA Medical Center and has an active practice at the University Hospital.

Application Form
deadline November 30, 2007