Los Angeles,
17
January
2022
|
08:00 AM
America/Los_Angeles

Surgeon to Lead Comprehensive Transplant Center

Irene Kim, MD, Prominent Leader and Investigator in Transplant Medicine, Has Been Appointed Director of Cedars-Sinai’s Comprehensive Transplant Center

Irene Kim, MD, a prominent leader in liver, kidney and pediatric organ transplantation, has been named director of the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center.

Kim also currently serves as the surgical director of the Kidney Transplant Program and has previously served as the co-director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center with liver surgeon Andrew Klein, MD, MBA, who retired after more than 18 years with the organization.

“Together, Dr. Klein and Dr. Kim made great advances in the growth of the Comprehensive Transplant Center and in transplant patient care,” said Bruce Gewertz, MD, Cedars-Sinai’s surgeon-in-chief, vice dean of Academic Affairs and the H & S Nichols Distinguished Chair in Surgery. “We are excited to see the continuation of that upward trajectory under Dr. Kim’s leadership.”

Kim received her bachelor of science degree in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by her doctorate in medicine from the University of California, San Francisco. She subsequently completed her residency in general surgery at Tufts Medical Center and her fellowship in abdominal transplantation at Stanford University before joining the Cedars-Sinai faculty in 2012.

As co-director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center, she has navigated staff through the COVID-19 pandemic and played an instrumental role in the development of new protocols and procedures for transplant programs. During 2021, the Comprehensive Transplant Center set a new record with 573 solid organ transplants.

“Our team has continued to excel and grow in spite of the many challenges we’ve faced over the past two years,” Kim said. “I’m thrilled to be able to continue my leadership in this new role.”

Kim is a widely published investigator in the field of transplant immunology and was awarded the Leslie B. Brent Award by the Transplantation Society in 2015 for best scientific manuscript.

In 2020, Kim was elected as councilor for the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and as a board member of the United Network for Organ Sharing, the governing body that oversees and adjudicates the nation's transplant and organ procurement system. She holds important leadership positions in both national and international surgical and transplant societies, including the International Pediatric Transplant Association and the Society of University Surgeons.

Read more in Discoveries: Meet Transplant Surgery Trailblazer Irene Kim, MD