List of Accredited Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Programs

Our fellowship program consists of a comprehensive curriculum in pre-kidney transplant evaluations, care of patients’ post- kidney transplant (inpatient and outpatient setting). Our large volume kidney transplant program allows training in living donor evaluations and follow ups, along with skilled development in histocompatibility and immunosuppression management.

The Comprehensive Transplant Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is a nationally reputed, high volume program. It offers kidney, pancreas, liver, lung and heart transplants and in some cases dual organ transplants (e.g. kidney-pancreas, kidney-liver). The five full-time transplant nephrologists participate in all the steps of pre- and post-transplant management of transplant recipients and the living kidney donors. They co-manage all the transplant recipients along with the surgeons from post-op day-1. All recipients are transitioned to the transplant nephrology clinic at 3 months post-op.

The Transplant Nephrology Fellowship is a one-year intensive clinical program approved by the American Society of Transplantation. There is one position available each year. This fellowship is non-ACGME accredited and is available only to candidates who have completed two years of an ACGME-accredited (or equivalent) nephrology fellowship. Candidates completing this training are considered eligible for United Network for Organ Sharing-approved medical directorships for individual transplant programs.

Program Highlights:
The Transplant Nephrology Fellowship at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center provides extensive inpatient and outpatient clinical experience, as well as longitudinal didactic teaching. The program prepares fellows to:
• Manage kidney and pancreas transplant recipients at all stages of their care, including the pre-transplant evaluation, wait-list management and post-transplant care
• Become competent in managing immunosuppressive regimens and their adverse effects
• Diagnose and manage a variety of post-transplant complications including acute and chronic rejection, opportunistic infections, relapsing glomerular diseases and metabolic complications (e.g. new onset of diabetes after transplantation)
• Perform transplant kidney biopsies, both inpatient and outpatient
• Provide expert renal consultation for recipients of liver, lung and heart transplantation with AKI or CKD
• Manage dual organ transplant recipients – kidney-pancreas, kidney-liver, kidney-lung and kidney-heart
• be competent in the tissue-typing lab procedures and interpretation of the test results
• understand kidney transplant biopsy findings
• understand organ procurement and allocation procedures

The Transplant Nephrology fellow is expected to perform at the level of a junior faculty member since he or she has completed the traditional nephrology fellowship and is board eligible. Therefore, fellows are allowed a significant amount of input in all decisions regarding immunosuppression as well as patient management. Weekly didactic teaching includes CTC grand rounds, transplant pathology conference (reviewing all the week's biopsies) and a transplant nephrology conference. The transplant nephrology fellow is expected to attend all the administrative meetings such as the weekly Patient Selection Conference, QI/PS conferences, Renal Care Committee, high-risk patient discussion etc.

The Division of Nephrology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical (UHCMC), is currently seeking a qualified applicant for its American Society of Transplantation (AST)/American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) accredited transplant fellowship for the upcoming academic year. UHCMC provides an opportunity to pursue advanced training in clinical transplant nephrology and to undertake mentorship in research. Graduates may pursue a career in either academic medicine or private practice as a transplant physician and fulfill qualifications to be a transplant program medical director. Applicants must have completed at least two years of general nephrology fellowship training. The transplant fellowship involves one year of training that integrates the six core competencies (patient care, medical knowledge, practice based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems based learning). Each fellow will participate in clinical training, teaching and scholarly activities. Transplant fellowship training involves all aspects of pre-transplant care including list management, kidney donor evaluations and assessment and acceptance of deceased donor organs, as well as post-transplant care including performing biopsies and management of immunosuppression. Our fellows have firsthand experience in immunology through rotations in the HLA lab and transplant kidney biopsy assessments with pathology; they work closely with our surgical colleagues during multidisciplinary rounds. Our sites of practice include in-patient and continuity clinics at UHCMC. After one year of clinical training, our goal is for graduates to be capable and confidant in independently evaluating and managing patients with a wide variety of kidney transplant related issues.

The Division of Nephrology, Kidney C.A.R.E. Program at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center offers a one-year standard or two-year alternative pathway AST-accredited Transplant Nephrology Fellowship. The University of Cincinnati Transplant Program has been a national leader in organ transplantation for over 45 years with a very active kidney and kidney-pancreas transplant program. The Transplant Program is currently training two fellows and is staffed by 6 transplant Nephrologists, 6 Transplant Surgeons and a full complement of ancillary professionals including pharmacists, social workers and Transplant Immunology personnel. The one-year transplant fellowship will provide a broad-based experience in all aspects of kidney transplantation including inpatient (at least six months) and outpatient care of transplant patients, performance of renal allograft biopsies and mandatory training in pathology, immunology, tissue typing, and immunosuppressive protocols. The University of Cincinnati Transplant Program is a leader in clinical research protocols and the fellow will be expected to participate in ongoing clinical trials and develop a research project during the fellowship year.

The two-year transplant fellowship contains the same components of the one-year fellowship, with additional research related to transplantation. Our overall goal is to mold the Transplant Fellow into an outstanding clinician with experience that extends all the way from a strong clinical base to state of the art research protocols, especially in the context of antibody mediated rejection and desensitization.

Clinical Training and Education: The Transplant Fellowship provides a broad-based experience in all aspects of kidney transplantation, including inpatient (at least six months) and outpatient care of transplant patients, performance of renal allograft biopsies and mandatory training in pathology, immunology, tissue typing, and immunosuppressive protocols. The Transplant Fellow plays an integral part in the care of kidney and kidney-pancreas transplant recipients. We have an integrated Transplant Nephrology and Transplant Surgery Program, with multidisciplinary patient rounds every day. The Transplant Fellow is an essential part of every aspect of decision making and, more importantly, the learning process. In addition to bedside teaching, the fellow will participate in a year-long transplant-specific core curriculum series and also attend journal clubs and grand rounds presentations. The fellow will also be expected to develop a research project and actively participate in ongoing clinical trials.