NYU Langone Expands Liver Transplant Program

NEW YORK, June 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The NYU Langone Transplant Institute has recruited three renowned physicians and surgeons to expand the liver transplant program and help more people receive the life-saving gift of organ transplantation. Karim J. Halazun, MD, Adam D. Griesemer, MD, and Patrick G. Northup, MD, have joined NYU Langone, bringing decades of experience in surgical practice, medical management, and research innovation to the institution.

"We are fortunate to welcome these talented clinicians and physician-scientists to expand our capabilities in liver transplantation," says Robert Montgomery, MD, DPhil, the H. Leon Pachter, MD, Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine as well as director of the Transplant Institute. "Collectively, they transplant and list about 100 patients per year, meaning even more lifesaving surgeries will take place at NYU Langone under the care of our comprehensive team."

In expanding the Transplant Institute's liver transplant program, Dr. Halazun will serve as its surgical director and Dr. Northup as medical director with a dual appointment at Atlantic Health System's Overlook Medical Center in Summit, New Jersey. Dr. Griesemer will serve as surgical director of the living donor liver transplant program and help oversee the development of a pediatric liver transplant program at Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone as its surgical director.

About Dr. Halazun

In addition to his role as surgical director of the adult liver transplant program, Dr. Halazun joins the Department of Surgery at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine as section chief of hepatobiliary surgery. He is skilled in minimally invasive donor hepatectomies and split liver grafts, colorectal metastases liver transplants, and robotic liver resections of tumors that are usually considered inoperable. Given the national paradigm that there are more people needing transplants than there are available organs, Dr. Halazun has become an expert in transplanting organs that others deem ineligible for transplant. These expanded criteria donors may be older, may have underlying health conditions, such as high blood pressure, or both.

"There are no bad livers—there are good livers with bad stories," says Dr. Halazun. "We must look at all these livers to attempt to save the lives of the thousands of patients waiting for liver transplant."

A liver transplant and hepatobiliary surgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine since 2015, Dr. Halazun served as the director of liver cancer surgery and research as well as associate program director of the multiorgan transplant and hepatobiliary fellowship. Before Weill Cornell Medicine, he was an assistant professor of surgery at Emory University Hospital from 2013 to 2015.

Dr. Halazun received both his bachelor's degree in clinical sciences and medical degree from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. He completed his surgical internship and residency at Yorkshire School of Surgery in Leeds. In the United States, he completed a surgical research fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center, followed by a surgical residency and transplant surgery fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian.

About Dr. Griesemer

Dr. Griesemer is a renowned surgeon-scientist who previously led Columbia University Medical Center's pediatric and living donor programs to achieve top five in the nation volumes while maintaining exceptional outcomes. He has received more than $5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to research transplant immune tolerance and xenotransplantation.

"My aim is to be at the forefront of transplant medical innovation and scientific research, and it's exciting to be at an institution that is a leader in both," says Dr. Griesemer.

Dr. Griesemer had been a pediatric and living donor liver transplant surgeon at Columbia University Medical Center since 2011. In 2015, he became surgical director of the pediatric liver and living donor liver transplant programs as well as principal investigator of the Columbia Center for Translation Immunology. Dr. Griesemer received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University and performed his surgical training in general surgery and abdominal organ transplantation at Columbia University Medical Center. He has a medical degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine.

About Dr. Northup

A renowned transplant hepatologist, Dr. Northup has been treating and researching liver disease for decades. He has authored more than 75 peer-reviewed studies and pursues research in bleeding and thrombosis in cirrhosis, liver transplant organ allocation, hepatocellular carcinoma, and medical education. He's been honored with numerous awards in research, teaching, patient experience, and clinical excellence. 

Dr. Northup holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia, a medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a master's degree in health evaluation sciences from the University of Virginia. He served in the U.S. Air Force as director of emergency services at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico, and as medical director of the wilderness rescue team at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, Japan. 

"I'm thrilled to be part of such an incredible institution that is driven by excellence," says Dr. Northup. "I'm looking forward to working with some of the best surgical and medical teams in the nation and delivering exceptional care to the growing number of patients who need transplantation."

As an extension of NYU Langone's transplant partnership with Atlantic Health System, Dr. Northup will have dual appointments at Overlook Medical Center in Summit, New Jersey, and NYU Langone in Manhattan.

Learn more about the Transplant Institute at nyulangone.org.

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SOURCE NYU Langone Health