The Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Pennsylvania is a premier program that is committed to excellence in patient care, education, and research. The training program, originally founded in 1929 by T. Grier Miller, MD, has played a major role in training academic gastroenterologists and hepatologists throughout the world. The Penn Transplant Institute is a world class transplant program which performs approximately 120 liver transplants per year, including living donor liver transplants, with outstanding transplant hepatologists, transplant surgeons, and associated faculty, fellows and house staff.

The University of Pennsylvania offers an ACGME certified training program in Transplant Hepatology. In addition to a strong clinical program in transplant hepatology, there are outstanding clinical research programs in epidemiology, liver oncology, viral hepatitis, chronic and advanced liver disease, and liver transplantation. The division has modern research facilities for state-of-the-art studies in molecular and cell biology, genetics, immunology, physiology, pharmacology and biochemistry for those who may have an interest in translational or basic science research opportunities.

The fundamental goal of the transplant hepatology fellowship program is to train fellows for eventual careers in academic medicine, who as transplant hepatologists are competent in all aspects of general hepatology end-stage liver disease and transplantation, and who will pursue careers to advance the field of hepatology and transplant medicine.

Program Leadership

Steven Solga, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
Director, Transplant Hepatology Fellowship Program

K. Rajender Reddy, MD
Professor of Medicine
Director, Hepatology
Medical Director, Liver Transplantation

Training Program

Fellowship applicants must have completed a three-year gastroenterology fellowship at the time of matriculation into the transplant hepatology program. The one year of clinical training encompasses management of general hepatology, end stage liver disease management, liver oncology in addition to extensive training in pre and post-transplant disease management. Dedicated subspecialty clinics within hepatology in addition to continuity clinics provide exposure that exceeds ACGME and UNOS requirements for training to qualify for the Hepatology CAQ boards. In addition, inpatient hepatology rotations are designed to allow for significant autonomy in decision making and leading inpatient rounds with appropriate faculty guidance to prepare trainees to be competent, confident, and independent clinicians. Exposure to a sizable transplant volume per year allows for the opportunity to follow a large number of patients throughout the course of transplant evaluation, transplant and post-transplant care.

The University of Pennsylvania participates is several NIH and non-NIH funded clinical trials and thus provides an ample opportunity for the fellow to participate in clinical trial design and implementation. The program is involved in several NIH consortia that include the Acute Liver failure Study Group (ALFSG), Drug Induced Liver Injury Network (DILIN), and Adult to Adult Live donor Liver Transplantation Network (A2ALL).

Faculty

The training program has several very well trained and accomplished general and transplant hepatologists. There are eight Transplant Hepatology CAQ certified Hepatologists; one of the largest in the country. In addition, the program has well qualified and trained Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistants. The Hepatology program leader is K.Rajender (Raj) Reddy MD who is the Director of Hepatology and the Medical Director of Liver Transplant. Dr. Maarouf Hoteit is the Director of the Fellowship Program. Dr. Ranjeeta Bahirwani is the Associate Director of the Advanced Transplant Hepatology Fellowship. Other faculty include Drs. Kyong-Mi Chang, Rotonya McCants-Carr, Kim Forde, David Goldberg, Maarouf Hoteit, Christine Hsu, David Kaplan, Vandara Khunger, Marina Serper, and Rebecca Wells.

The Transplant Surgery program has outstanding nationally and internationally recognized clinicians as well as clinical and basic science Investigators. Dr. Abraham Shaked is the Director of the Penn Transplant Institute and Dr. Kim Olthoff is the Surgical Director of Liver Transplant Program. Others include Drs. Peter Abt, Paige Porrett, and Matt Levine. There is a unique and vital synergy in the day to day clinical care between the Surgery and Medicine teams and the fellow will have an opportunity to interact and integrate care of transplant candidates and recipients effectively.

Core Curriculum

Fellowship training will occur at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine.

Inpatient training will include 12 weeks on the hepatology service, six weeks on the transplant surgery service and up to two weeks of electives (one week of Infectious Diseases and one week of Pediatrics).

Responsibilities on the hepatology service include evaluation and management of a spectrum of acute and chronic liver diseases. The fellow will be responsible for leading daily rounds with the attending and educating medical students, residents and gastroenterology fellows.

The transplant surgery service will provide opportunities to participate in management of post-op patients and observe transplants and harvests.

In addition to outpatient hepatology continuity clinic which will occur throughout the year, the fellow will be expected to participate in the following outpatient clinics when not on inpatient service: Transplant Evaluation Clinic on Mondays, Post-transplant Clinic on Tuesdays, Viral Hepatitis Center Clinic on Thursdays and Liver Tumor clinic on Fridays. In addition the fellow will participate in outpatient endoscopy time with hepatology faculty as well as management of immunosuppression for outpatients. The clinical training in the first year is supplemented by interrelated didactic conferences:

Hepatobiliary tumor conference
Liver Transplant Selection Meeting
GI/Hepatology Pathology Conference
GI/Hepatology Clinical Journal Club
GI/Hepatology Clinical Case Conference
GI/Hepatology Grand Rounds
Viral Hepatitis Grand Rounds
Hepatology Transplant Conference

To Apply:

INTERVIEWS FOR THE 2018-2019 POSITION WILL BE CONDUCTED ON A ROLLING BASIS DURING DECEMBER 2017 AND JANUARY, 2018.

Please have the following items sent to monica.rollerson@uphs.upenn.edu.

CV
Personal Statement
Three Letters of recommendation
USMLE Scores

Any questions in regards to the fellowship program or application can be addressed to steven.solga@uphs.upenn.edu

Fellowship Coordinator

Monica Rollerson
Fellowship Program Coordinator
Division of Gastroenterology
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
PCAM - South Pavilion, 7th Floor
3400 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4311
monica.rollerson@uphs.upenn.edu
Telephone: 215-662-4301
Fax: 215-349-5915