Transplant fellowship

Headshot of Mary Ann C. Lim, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Program Director

Thank you for your interest in the Transplant Nephrology Fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

The Penn Transplant Institute has been a national leader in the field of transplantation since our first kidney transplant in 1966. It is now one of the busiest transplant centers in the country, providing superior patient care and cutting-edge research.

Our program offers the opportunity to train with nationally and internationally recognized experts in transplantation, dedicated clinician-educators, and top-notch research physicians in a collaborative and intellectually stimulating environment.

Please contact us for any additional information.

Application to the program

Applicants must meet the following prerequisites:

  • Completion of an ACGME-accredited nephrology fellowship.
  • Completion of a three-year internal medicine residency in the US.
  • Applicants on a J-1 Visa are considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • Applicants on a H1B Visa will need approval prior to interviewing.

Please mail or email all documents to:

Email: HUPNephrologyTransplantFellowship@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Upon receipt of the entire application, documents will be reviewed and a response sent regarding the possibility of an interview. For questions, please email HUPNephrologyTransplantFellowship@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Program description

Previously accredited by the American Society of Transplantation, and currently accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the program offers advances one-year subspecialty training in kidney transplantation. This fellowship is designed for nephrology trainees who have successfully completed all ACGME general nephrology clinical training obligations.

The Penn Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Program is a fully integrated service of transplant surgery and transplant nephrology. Fellows gain comprehensive clinical and academic exposure that satisfies the requirements set forth by the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN), qualifying graduates to serve as the approved transplant physician at a kidney transplant program.

Transplant candidate evaluation is done by a multidisciplinary team which reports to the multidisciplinary Transplant Evaluation Committee. All fresh and early transplant patients are hospitalized in one nursing unit largely devoted to abdominal organ transplantation. All recipients are followed after transplantation, especially early after transplantation, in a clinic devoted to abdominal organ transplantation. Long-term transplant recipients are hospitalized in the medical unit with the Transplant Medicine Service being the consultant.

The Kidney Transplant Fellowship year will comprise the following:

  1. Six-month Clinical Experience including:
    • The management of at least 30 kidney transplant recipients continuously as the primary transplant caregiver in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. In the early postoperative period, trainees will be expected to co-manage transplant recipients with the transplant surgeons and to take the lead role in the management of issues related to anti-infective prophylaxis, fluid-electrolyte balance, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, anemia and dialysis. Fellows will participate in the decisions regarding selection and dosing of immunosuppressive therapy from the time of transplantation.
    • Observation of three kidney transplants
    • Observation of three procurements
    • Training in the performance of renal transplant biopsies, including a) the indications for; b) the performance of and c) interpretation of, renal transplant biopsies. The trainee will be expected to perform a minimum of 10 documented transplant biopsies during the training period
    • Didactic pathological experience with the trainee reviewing renal transplant biopsies with an experienced renal transplant pathologist
    • Twice-weekly pre-transplant recipient evaluations and reevaluations, with time spent with each attending transplant nephrologist
    • Participation in the weekly Patient Selection Committee Meeting
    • Donor evaluation and presentation at Donor Selection Committee
  2. The Fellow will be expected to review a topic each week with transplant nephrology team, 20 to 30 minutes, topics suggested below (alternatives would be to review a current journal article).
  3. Six-month Elective and Research Experience will include:
    • At least one week on Transplant Infectious Diseases Service (fellow to arrange well in advance directly with Transplant ID attending) (required)
    • Two weeks in the HLA laboratory, fellow to arrange well in advance with Dr. Kamoun (required)
    • Rotation through pediatric program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and HLA laboratory (optional)
    • Experience on another organ transplant service at UPenn (liver, heart, lung) (optional)
    • CKD clinics for non-kidney solid organ transplant recipients (optional)
    • Trainees will be expected to participate in clinical or basic transplant research projects and present and/or publish the resultant data. Trainees may have the opportunity to extend their research experience for longer contingent upon alternative sources of funding being available.
  4. Conference Schedule:
    • Weekly Renal Division conferences to include Journal Club, Grand Rounds, and Research conference
    • Weekly Multidisciplinary Patient Selection Committee Meeting
    • Weekly Transplant Surgery Conference
    • Weekly Transplant Nephrology Conference

Transplant Nephrology Faculty