I am an Associate Professor of Surgery and Population Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and the Director of the Center for Surgical and Transplant Applied Research Qualitative Core at the NYU Langone Transplant Institute.
I have authored 120+ publications in top medical and scientific journals, and my team is comprised of renowned world experts with millions in NIH research funding.
While tenure-track faculty at Johns Hopkins, I served as the Director of Policy and External Affairs for our $100M grant-funded transplant research enterprise, which we grew to be the largest and most prolific in the world.
My experience and expertise includes governance at the federal level, where I served as an elected Director of the national transplant system U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I also was elected to the Executive Committee, and the Nominating Committee, and have served multiple organ specific committees and policy workgroups including Data Advisory, Kidney, Living Donor, and Patient Affairs, and was Vice President of Patient and Donor Affairs.
Our research impacts decision making about national organ allocation and transplant system performance, and calls for transparency and accountability with federal transplant policy. We find evidence based ways to support patients and donor families, work with hospital leadership, community groups, and national professional societies to develop and evaluate new programs and policies to reduce disparities.
Our team’s science is law and life changing. We've figured out how to help people living with HIV get kidney transplants, wounded warriors to have life-changing hand and face transplants, and people who donate a kidney or liver get the best care after saving a life. We work with organ donor families in their grief journey and how to talk about new types of donation and transplant realities (like xenotransplantation) to patients, and the American public.
I find great joy in mentoring young people in STEM and focus on helping them elevate their strengths and understand weaknesses to become their best selves driven by purpose. I teach in the MHA program at Purdue University, and remain adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins.
I am a former fellow of the Maryland New Leaders Council that recruits, trains and promotes young leaders ranging from elected officials and civically engaged leaders in business, and industry. I also serve on the Mass Media Committee for the National Physical Activity Plan.
Toward a patient-centered definition of success in kidney xenotransplantation: A qualitative study of two long-term recipients
Macey Levan1,2, Rhiannon D. Reed1,2, Jayme Locke1,3, Carolyn N. Sidoti1, Towana Looney2, Timothy Andrews4, Dorry L. Segev1,2, Elaina Weldon1,2, Brendan Parent1,2, Jeffery Stern1,2, Karen Kahili1,2, Adam Griesemer1,2, Aprajita Mattoo1,2, Allan Massie1,2, Vasishta Tapapudi1,2, Tatsu Kawai4,5, Winfred W. Williams 4,5, Harsimar Kaur Ahuja 5, Robert Montgomery1,2, Leonardo Riella 4,5.
1Surgery, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; 2Transplant Institute , NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, United States; 3United Therapeutics , Research Triangle Park, NC, United States; 4Transplant Center, Massachusetts General Hospital , Boston, MA, United States; 5Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
Background: With Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of clinical trials of kidney xenotransplantation (XTx) in living humans, understanding the patient experience is critical for defining success beyond graft and patient survival. We explored patient perspectives by interviewing the two longest-living kidney xenograft recipients.
Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews on patient-defined success, quality of life (QOL), fears about XTx, and healthcare team communication and support. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by two qualitative researchers using an inductive thematic approach.
Results: Both recipients (53-year-old female; 66-year-old male) described a restoration of hope and return to normal life, contrasting with desperation pre-transplant due to sensitization and waning participation in daily life activities. Both recipients found purpose in supporting the broader kidney disease and transplant community and took comfort in their faith. They emphasized that access to transplantation and graft survival requires mutual confidence and commitment between recipients and healthcare teams, as well as trust despite fear and family concerns. To contextualize findings, we mapped themes onto the Wilson and Cleary model for health-related QOL, a validated framework integrating biological, social, and psychological determinants of patient-reported outcomes.
Conclusions: Reassuringly, these XTx recipients define success and QOL similarly to allotransplant recipients. Their insights provide a framework for guiding patient expectations and informing trial design. Ongoing engagement with current and future recipients will further reinforce the role of XTx in restoring QOL for end-stage patients with limited options.
[1] patient experience
[2] quality of life
[3] qualitative research
[4] kidney xenotransplantation