Organ Transplantation: Department of Surgery: Feinberg School of Medicine: Northwestern University

Organ Transplantation

The Division of Organ Transplantation is on a mission to make discoveries through science and research, improve organ transplant surgical techniques and outcomes, educate future surgeons and scientists, and enhance the lives of our patients. Founded in 1964, Northwestern Medicine’s transplantation program is the longest-standing program in the Chicago area.

The Division of Organ Transplantation educates future leaders in intra-abdominal transplantation, conducts cutting-edge research that will help advance the field and provides exceptional care for patients.”

Joseph R. Leventhal, MD, PhD

What We Do

Education

McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University's Residency in General Surgery includes topics in organ transplantation as part of its core curriculum. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s Comprehensive Transplant Center supports fellowship opportunities related to the Department of Surgery’s Division of Organ Transplantation. See the Education section of the center site for full descriptions of the programs, including:

Research

Built on the strong foundation of clinical success, high-volume and funded research efforts, the Comprehensive Transplant Center is actively building a research infrastructure around four pillars (Immune Tolerance, Biomarker Discovery, Outcomes Research and Engineered Tissues) that will allow our faculty to accelerate innovation and define the future of transplantation. We have developed a collaborative model we call a Modular Approach to Transplant Research by Interdisciplinary eXperts (MATRIX). This model combines our experts in transplantation with scientists from seemingly unrelated disciplines and experts in research methodologies needed to answer transplantation’s most pressing questions. We strongly believe that it is at this intersection of diverse expertise that transformative innovation is mostly likely to occur, and we are committed to utilizing this approach to execute our plan and advance the field.

Patient Care

Our patients are referred to us by Nephrology, Endocrinology and Hepatology colleagues from Northwestern Medicine, communities in the greater Chicagoland area and worldwide. Every year, we transplant over 400 organs while placing emphasis on increasing living donor procedures, which we complete more of than any other program in the Chicagoland area. We are also experts in simultaneous organ transplants, dialysis access procedures and complex hepatobiliary surgeries.

Meet Our Team

Joseph R Leventhal

Professor of Surgery (Organ Transplantation)

I currently direct the kidney and pancreas transplant programs at Northwestern University. My clinical interests include Kidney / pancreas transplantation, Laparoscopic surgery, Living donor kidney transplant, Vascular access, and desensitization for kidney transplant recipients. My research interests include developing cell based therapies to achieve tolerance induction in solid organ transplant recipients.

Daniela P Ladner

Associate Professor of Surgery (Organ Transplantation) and Medical Social Sciences

My primary research presently focuses on the examination of safety vulnerabilities in kidney and liver transplantation. I have received a Dixon Innovation Award to study safety in kidney transplantation and am R01 funded to examine safety in living donor liver transplantation. Furthermore, I study geographic inequity in kidney organ allocation in close collaboration with NU Industrial Engineers. I serve as the Director of the Northwestern University Transplant Outcomes Research Collaborative (NU...