Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship

About the Fellowship

The Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School (HMS) Abdominal Organ Transplant Fellowship is an American Society of Transplant Surgery-accredited, two-year fellowship seeking applicants with mature clinical judgment, demonstrated operative independence, and a desire to advance the field of transplant surgery. The fellowship offers extensive clinical experience and research opportunities tailored to each fellow’s individual goals.

Requirements

Fellows will be selected through the Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship Match operated by the National Resident Matching Program. All applicants must have:

• Completed a general surgery residency or urology residency program by the fellowship start date
• Obtained or be eligible for a Massachusetts medical license
• Passed the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) for steps one, two and three

Formal interviews for fellowship positions will be held virtually in March in the year prior to the anticipated start date.

Curriculum

The American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) Academic Universe provides an educational guide for trainees as they progress through their fellowship. All fellows are expected to complete the required curriculum modules to complement their clinical activities. In addition to the ASTS curriculum, there is a monthly Transplant Fellows Conference with guest speakers, organ offer reviews, and topics specifically focused on fellow-level education.  Quarterly Regional Fellows conferences bring together all the Transplant fellows in Region 1 virtually to expand the educational experience of the fellows. 

In the MGH Transplant Center, there are numerous weekly educational conferences available including Russell Rounds on Wednesdays, Transplant Conference on Fridays, and Transplant Grand Rounds. Several Imaging and Listing conferences also occur on a weekly basis.

Clinical Experience

The fellowship program emphasizes the following clinical aspects of organ transplantation: 

Organ Procurement 

• Back table organ preparation including complex reconstruction 
• Donation after brain death 
• Donation after cardiac death 
• Normothermic perfusion of liver grafts 
• Donor/recipient matching 
• Robotic and Laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy 

Organ Transplantation (adult and pediatric recipients) 

• Kidney transplant (deceased and living donor) 
• Liver transplant (deceased and living donor) 

Non-Transplant Operations 

• Hepatobiliary surgery (pre- and post- transplant patients) 
• General surgery (pre- and post-transplant patients) 
• Peritoneal dialysis access (open and laparoscopic) 
• Vascular dialysis access (fistula and grafts) 

Post-Operative Management 

• Immunosuppression (for induction, maintenance or rejection) 
• Infectious disease prophylaxis and complications 
• Post-transplant medical and surgical complications 
• Post-transplant weight and alcohol use disorder management 

Fellows will obtain additional proficiency in the areas of outpatient clinic management, selection conference, histocompatibility and crossmatching, and transplant pathology. 

The transplant surgical fellow is responsible for leading the clinical team under the direct guidance of the surgical and medical transplant attending staff. Multidisciplinary rounds are led by the transplant surgical fellow and attended by pharmacy, consulting services (transplant infectious diseases, nephrology, and hepatology), case management, social work, advanced practice providers, and general surgery residents. The fellow also supervises and assists in the education of the Mass General residents and HMS students.

Research Experience

Mass General, Harvard Medical School, and the greater Boston area provide a rich environment to pursue basic science or clinical transplant research. Through the Center for Transplantation Sciences fellows have the opportunity to pursue research in basic, translational, and clinical research, transplant outcomes research, and health services research. Resources to assist with grant writing, research, and manuscript preparation are available through the Mass General and Harvard Medical School.

Salary & Managed Time Policy

Fellows are appointed as clinical fellows in surgery at Harvard Medical School. Salary is commensurate with level of training. Benefits include malpractice, access to health and disability insurance, as well as a cell phone, office, and attendance at an annual conference. Additionally, all fellows attend the ASTS Fellows Symposium in their second year of fellowship. 

The Mass General Transplant Fellowship abides by the ASTS Managed Time Policy. Fellows receive two weeks of vacation annually in addition to the time for academic meetings. Fellows are free from clinical responsibilities at least one weekend (48 hours) and at least two additional 24-hour periods every month.

Our Transplant Community 

The Mass General Transplant Center is a supportive community. Although this is a rigorous transplant training program, fellows are able to balance with their personal lives through the support of the Transplant Center community. We will work with fellows to accommodate to the best of our ability any family or medical need for leave of absence. Also, our abdominal transplantation team has an excellent relationship with the OR team, our inpatient transplant floor nurses, the transplant clinic staff, and the general surgery residency.

Commitment to Diversity

The Division of Transplantation is committed to recruiting fellow candidates from diverse backgrounds. The  Mass General Center for Diversity and Inclusion  (CDI) works closely with all departments, and residency and fellowship training programs to advance diversity, equity and inclusion for trainees and physicians at Mass General. Additionally, our Equity in Kidney Transplantation Initiative (EqKT) is focused on increasing the number of minority patients who are waitlisted and transplanted at Mass General every year. 

How to Apply

To apply, please submit an application through the SF Match website.  

Applications are accepted beginning in January. Applications will be reviewed and interviews offered in February. Interviews will take place virtually in March. The Mass General rank list will be finalized by end of April. Applicants are welcome to visit our program on an informal basis at their convenience in May, but these visits will not influence our rank list.