Lung Transplant Fellowship
UT Southwestern's Lung Transplant Fellowship is a one-year program focusing on lung transplantation and mechanical respiratory support (ECMO) for trainees who have completed a general Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship. The fellowship provides comprehensive training and experience in all aspects of lung transplantation including evaluation of transplant candidates, donor calls, peri-op management of lung transplant recipients in addition to inpatient and outpatient management of lung transplant recipients. Fellows also gain experience in management of mechanical circulatory support or ECMO-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and learn to use EXVIVO platform to harvest organs.
This advanced fellowship program balances outstanding clinical training with experience in clinical and translational research. Our faculty provide comprehensive, high-quality training in lung transplant medicine. Upon successful completion of the fellowship, trainees are eligible to take the examination for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) primary physician certification.
Our Lung Transplant Program is the largest such program in North Texas, having performed performed more than 1,000 transplants. The high-volume lung transplant center, as well as available expertise in the lung transplantation, cardiothoracic surgery and mechanical circulatory support makes UT Southwestern an ideal institution to provide an unparalleled training program in lung transplant medicine.
Objectives
- Identify appropriate candidates for transplantation and initiate pertinent investigations for the pre-transplant assessment.
- Provide ongoing management for patients awaiting transplantation, including periodic status assessments, pulmonary function testing, and rehabilitation.
- Understand the ethical issues surrounding transplant selection.
- Evaluate, manage, and select lung donors.
- Understand the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex, the difference between Class I and II antigens of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) as related to crossmatching.
- Appropriately manage ECMO bridge to transplant and vent dependent recipients.
- Appropriately manage patients in the early post-transplant period, and diagnose and treat complications, including infection, acute rejection, re-perfusion injury, and adverse effects from immunosuppressive agents.
- Appropriately manage and maintain surveillance of lung transplant patients. Diagnose and treat complications such as acute rejection, infection, chronic rejection, osteoporosis and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder.
- Take diagnostic maneuvers to detect hyperacute, acute, and chronic organ rejection (bronchoscopy and histopathologic assessment of lung biopsies).
- Understand various drug schemes for induction, maintenance, and rejection therapy, including new “rescue” therapies.
- Demonstrate an understanding of clinical immunogenetics.
Schedule
- Three months dedicated CVICU rotation (donor calls, peri-op management and ECMO training)
- Three months dedicated outpatient clinic rotation(pre-transplant evaluation and post-transplant management)
- Five weeks dedicated inpatient transplantation rotation (inpatient pre-transplant evaluation and post-transplant management)
- Five weeks bronchoscopy
- Three weeks research
- Three weeks pathology
- Three weeks transplant infectious disease
- One month vacation
Application Process
For inquiries and applications, contact the program administrator. To apply, fondo.bokembya@UTSouthwestern.edu a CV and a brief cover letter. We accept J1 visa and, in addition, we accept H1 visa in certain circumstances. Applications will be accepted July through March, with interviews scheduled from March through June.