2025 ASTS Research Grants Recipients

Every year, the ASTS Foundation awards research grants to dedicated transplant professionals. Our grants are only possible with the support of our corporate partners and the contributions of our members!

Support transplant research by contributing to the ASTS Foundation!

Donate today!

shinsako

JoLynn Shinsako, MS, PA-C

University of Colorado School of Medicine

Evaluating the Utility of Normothermic Regional Perfusion (NRP) in Expanding the DCD Liver Donor Pool

 

 

ASTS-Veloxis Advanced Transplant Provider Research Grant

ASTS gratefully acknowledges Veloxis as our funding partner for this award in 2025.  

Fortina

Chaeli Fortina, APRN-NP

University of Nebraska Medical Center

Exploring the Correlation Between Frailty Scores, Vitamin Deficiencies, and Malnutrition in Adult Liver Transplant Recipients

meier

Raphael Meier, MD, PhD

University of Maryland Medical Center

Enhanced Kidney Preservation via Ultra-Low Temperature Storage and Ex-vivo perfusion

ASTS Ronald & JoAnn Busuttil Surgeon Scientist Scholarship

sheetz

Kyle Sheetz, MD, MSc

University of Michigan Medicine

Modernizing reimbursement strategies in the era of advanced preservation technologies for liver transplant

ASTS gratefully acknowledges Veloxis as our funding partner for this award in 2025.

shaw

Brian Shaw, MD

Duke University Medical Center

Creation of a Clinically Relevant Signature of Costimulation Blockade Resistance

ASTS-Gift of Life Socio Economic & Racial Disparity Grant

 

ASTS gratefully acknowledges the Gift of Life Institute as our funding partner for this award in 2025.

Pruinelli,

Lisiane Pruinelli, PhD, MS, RN

University of Florida

Leveraging AI to Explore Bias: The Role of Stigmatizing Language in Liver Transplant Evaluations and its Effects on Listing Decisions

ASTS gratefully acknowledges Takeda as our funding partner for this award in 2025.

cortez

Alexander Cortez, MD

Mayo Clinic Rochester

Examining the factors and mechanisms by which allocation changes influence organ disposition and kidney discarding

Al-Aldra

David Al-Adra, MD, PhD

University of Wisconsin

Delivery of a novel immune inhibitory mRNA to allografts to decrease rejection after transplantation

Galipeau

Jacques Galipeau, MD, FRCP(C)

University of Wisconsin

Eitan

Tal Eitan, MD

NYU Langone Transplant Institute

Studying Extracorporeal Liver Perfusion in Brain Dead Humans

ASTS-TransMedics Faculty Perfusion Grant

ASTS gratefully acknowledges TransMedics as our funding partner for this award in 2025.

nadig

Satish Nadig, MD, PhD

Northwestern University

Liver Regeneration using Normothermic Machine Perfusion: new perspectives on old problems

nguyen (1)

Michelle Nguyen, MD, MPH

Mayo Clinic Arizona

Real-Time Biosensor Monitoring of Metabolic and Biliary Biomarkers During Normothermic Machine Perfusion to Improve Viability Assessment and Organ Utilization

Athena Brooks

Athena Brooks

University of Minnesota Medical School

Comparing Rejection and Opportunistic Infection Rates in Risk Stratified Induction Between Using Anti-IL2R and Lymphocyte-depleting Agents for Kidney Transplantation

* Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Division of Transplantation


Chae

Hyunwoong (Harry) Chae

University of British Columbia

Comparison and Evolution of Renal Ultrasound Parameters from Pre-Donation in Living Kidney Donors to Post-Transplantation in Recipients in British Columbia, Canada

*Sponsored by ASTS Members

Del Mundo

Michael Del Mundo

Saint Louis University School of Medicine

Preserving Allograft Vascular Barriers with cFGF-2-Peptide Amphiphiles to Prevent Allograft Vasculopathy

*Sponsored by Jim Pomposelli and Liz Pomfret

Ganguli

Rishiraj Ganguli

Kansas City University

Improving Organ Assessment: Point-of-Care sDNA Detection in Machine Perfusion

*Sponsored by Ginny Bumgardner

Imran

Saim Imran

University of Toronto

The Impact of NINJ1 Inhibition on Macrophage Polarization During Hepatic Ischemia Reperfusion Injury

*Sponsored by Linda Cendales


kadri

Haaris Kadri

Stanford University School of Medicine

Does Legislation Improve Access? Assessing the Impact of Colorado's Disability Anti-Discrimination Law on Liver Transplant Rates for Patients with Intellectual and Physical Disabilities

*Sponsored by Heidi Yeh


miovski

Morgan Miovski

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

PRE-TRANSPLANT FRAILTY AND IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AS PREDICTORS OF WAITLIST OUTCOMES IN LIVER TRANSPLANT CANDIDATES

*Sponsored by University of Pennsylvania Transplant Faculty


nurminsky

Katherine Nurminsky

University of California San Diego

Indocyanine green (ICG) on normothermic machine perfusion for liver allograft viability and functional assessment

*Sponsored by Jean Emond


walters

Shane Walters 

Ohio State University Medical Center

Investigation of the transcription factor Aiolos on the development and cytotoxic effector phenotype of antibody-suppressor CXCR5+CD8+ T cells