Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: How Can it Help Improve Transplant Care?

Mayra AlmendarezTransplant News

Are you interested in learning about Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: How Can it Help Improve Transplant Care? Click the link below. At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to: • Identify how to apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop risk indices to predict transplant success. • Distinguish characteristics of kidney patients more likely to drop out of transplant evaluation. • List 3 structural and community-level factors that are associated …

Giving patients a voice

Karen HandelmanTransplant News

Houston Methodist spotlighted the work of Dr. Waterman and the Patient Engagement Research Lab in an article on their website. We love this quote they included… “What I find exciting about our work in the Patient Engagement Research Lab is that we don’t assume we fully know our patients from the get-go. Our research uses established methodologies that really get into the world of a patient and hear what they want and need as opposed …

A belated explanation and an interconnected possibility by Amy Waterman, PhD

Former StaffTransplant News

At the end of June, I will have worked at Houston Methodist Hospital and J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center for nine months as Director of Patient Engagement, Diversity, and Education. A common question that I continue to hear is, “Why did you move from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Terasaki institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) to Houston, Texas?” Here is my belated explanation. It is true that my professional experience working at …

New opportunities await!

Former StaffFrom the Founder, Staff Updates, Transplant News

I want to thank everyone associated with the Terasaki Institute of Biomedical Innovation for the incredible opportunity to serve as the Deputy Director of Personalized Transplant Education and Communication. The CEO, Dr. Ali Khademhosseini, the President, Mr. Stewart Han, and the Terasaki Family Foundation have fully supported my advocacy work with transplant patients and helped me honor Dr. Paul Terasaki’s legacy. It’s been a productive four years! During this time, my research team published over …

A recap of Dr. Waterman’s participation at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s virtual public webinar

Former StaffOur Lab in the News, Transplant News

By Erica Ho, Senior Research & Education Associate On Friday April 16, Dr. Amy Waterman spoke at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s virtual public webinar, “A Fairer and More Equitable, Cost-Effective, and Transparent System of Donor Organ Procurement, Allocation, and Distribution”. This webinar was held to educate the public on two important aspects of the current state of deceased donor organ transplantation in the country. The morning session comprised of medical leaders …

Highlights from the “What do I need to know about the COVID-19 vaccines & transplant vaccine trial” panel

Former StaffCOVID-19, Transplant News

By Erica Ho, Research and Education Associate With the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out, kidney and transplant patients have had many important questions about how the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may affect their health and treatment regimens. To help get these questions answered, the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation and its Deputy Director, Dr. Amy Waterman, hosted an informational panel called, “What do I need to know about the COVID-19 vaccines & …

2020 year in review: championing patient-centered work

Former StaffStaff Updates, Transplant News

By Brian Ha, Intern With 2020 winding down, let’s take a moment to reflect on all that we have accomplished this year for the transplant and living donation community. Together with our partners, we launched the COVID-19 Kidney / Transplant Listening and Resource Center, designed new education for living donors and transplant recipients in partnership with the community, presented our work on digital storytelling and innovative education tools at talks and conferences hosted by the …

Dr. Waterman shares about the power and science of storytelling

Former StaffNew Research from Our Lab, Staff Updates, Transplant News

Dr. Amy Waterman, Director of the Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC) and Deputy Director at Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, has been giving a series of talks about storytelling as an innovative educational tool for kidney and transplant patients at conferences geared to the medical and research community, as well as to patients and donor advocates. As the year draws to a close, Dr. Waterman will have presented to more than 1,000 providers in …

Dr. Amy Waterman’s participation in a OneLegacy virtual town hall

Former StaffFrom the Founder, Transplant News

By Erica Ho, Research Associate On Wednesday, August 4, Dr. Amy Waterman was invited to speak at OneLegacy’s monthly Connecting the Dots Virtual Town Hall. OneLegacy is an organization dedicated to helping people navigate organ, eye, and tissue donations by offering coordination and support services. The topic for this discussion, in accordance with National Minority Donor Awareness Month, was improving diversity and inclusion in healthcare to spread awareness about organ donation among minority groups. Dr. …

ET @Home improves decision-making for black & low-income patients

Former StaffNew Publications, New Research from Our Lab, Transplant News

By Anne Osuji, Research Associate & Jessica Nunez, Intern Access to Transplant Education is Unequal There are more than 700,000 Americans with kidneys that can no longer support the needs of the body to remove waste and excess fluid; they have End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD).1 Patients with ESKD must either receive frequent dialysis or receive a kidney transplant from a deceased or living donor in order to stay alive. Because waiting for a kidney from …

Doing good together through the TED Fellows program

Former StaffTransplant News

Dr. Amy Waterman had her first introduction to TED at TED2016: Dream in Vancouver, Canada. The experience was transformational for her and she decided to take her work in transplant to a large scale, educating as many patients and living donors as possible. Since then, she has gone on to serve as a mentor in the TED Fellows program, which provides individualized feedback, guidance, skills training, and support to Fellows by matching them with a …

Dr. Amy Waterman named the 2019 AST Clinician of Distinction

Former StaffDonation Stories

We are excited to announce that Dr. Amy Waterman has been named the recipient of the 2019 Clinician of Distinction Award by the American Society of Transplantation (AST)! Each year the award is presented to a non-physician clinician who is an expert in their field and who is making outstanding contributions to clinical transplant. This year Dr. Waterman was nominated by Dr. Matthew Cooper, a longtime friend and colleague, and a professor of surgery and …

Real patient stories inspire and educate

Former StaffDonation Stories, From the Founder, Transplant News

Some of our earliest memories are of hearing stories read to us by our parents – fairy tales, fables, adventures, and epic journeys. Storytelling is an innate and universal part of the human experience. Stories help us make sense of our lives, mark important occasions, and share and connect with the people who matter to us. From founding myths like the tale of Romulus and Remus to true accounts of heroism, or even casual stories …

Dr. Waterman on resilience and making a difference

Former StaffTransplant News

We are very excited that TREC’s visionary director, Dr. Amy Waterman, is profiled on The M Dash: Live with purpose, MM.Lafleur’s blog celebrating strong women who make a difference. MM.LaFleur designs wardrobes for women who need to look great in public appearances and behind the scenes but don’t have the time to do a lot of shopping – which fits our director to a T. Dr. Waterman’s profile in MM.LaFleur’s “Women of the Week” column …

Does shipping a kidney from a live donor hurt the chances of a successful transplant?

Former StaffTransplant News

You’ve watched it unfold on television or the big screen. A doctor, racing against time, removes a kidney and places it into a cooler, and an assistant runs it to a waiting helicopter. It’s flown to another hospital, and is placed into the waiting patient with seconds to spare. In real life, kidneys are often shipped many miles to complete a kidney paired donation (KPD), where a patient who needs a new kidney is matched with …

My transplant origin story

Former StaffTransplant News

Dear Readers, People always ask me why I work in the field of transplant. I took a memoir writing course where I wrote a piece about the moment I fell in love with this field. I was 28 years old. -Amy Waterman I got an email from the kidney surgeon that morning. The note was direct: “Transplant surgery tomorrow. Need permission from the family to observe. Meet me at 4 pm.” I left my office …

Welcome from the founder

Former StaffFrom the Founder

by Amy Waterman, PhD The first thing I say after I tell people that I work in the field of transplantation is that it is a true honor and a privilege. I feel this in my bones. I feel this so strongly because I get to see the best of humanity and healthcare, every day. I know so many generous donors who offer a part of their body to help someone else. Some of these …