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 …

Remote communities: interning at TREC

Former StaffStaff Updates

By Mindy Kim, Intern I first came across the Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC) Intern position by chance, but I knew as soon as I started reading more about TREC that its mission was one I wanted to contribute to. Although I knew little about kidney transplants and the specific inequalities that exist in the kidney transplant waiting system, health inequities and access to healthcare were two interests I had been growing through other …

TREC’s participation at American Transplant Congress 2021

Former StaffOur Lab in the News

The American Transplant Congress is the annual meeting of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) and the American Society of Transplantation (AST). This year, Dr. Amy Waterman and the Transplant Research and Education Center team have participated in submitting 13 abstracts to the event – all of which have been accepted and will be available for public viewing at the virtual event from June 4 – 9. Eight of the 13 abstracts list Dr. …

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 …

Meet a TREC fellow: An interview with Dr. Cristina Farkas-Skiles

Former StaffStaff Updates

By Yaquelin Arevalo Iraheta, Junior Research Associate At TREC, we have assembled a new group of researchers working in transplantation called the TREC Fellows. This week, we’re learning more about Dr. Cristina Farkas-Skiles, who began having an interest in kidney transplantation when she was in medical school. After graduating from medical school, Dr. Farkas-Skiles decided to specialize in pediatrics. During her residency at UCLA, she explored different specialties and ultimately landed in nephrology. When asked …

The pivotal role of health communications in organ transplant and living donation with Dr. LaShara Davis

Former StaffStaff Updates

By: Alice Yang, Intern & Grace Kim, Research Associate The field of health communication is one that is often overlooked by other researchers but not by Dr. LaShara Davis. Her introduction to the health communication field happened serendipitously after a couple of changes in career paths and prospects. She began her journey as a psychology major, hoping to go into some sort of therapy in the future. However, when she stumbled across the field of …

Meet a TREC fellow: an Interview with Dr. Ashley Feinsinger

Former StaffStaff Updates

By Erica Ho, Research and Education Associate At TREC, we have assembled a new group of researchers working in transplantation called the TREC Fellows. Over the next few weeks, we will introduce you to each one by summarizing an interview with them conducted by different staff members in the lab. Last time, we learned about Terri Menser and her experience with kidney transplantation research. This week we had the chance to talk to Ashley Feinsinger, …

Meet a TREC fellow: an interview with Dr. Terri Menser

Former StaffStaff Updates, Transplant News

At TREC, we have assembled a new group of researchers working in transplantation called the TREC Fellows. Over the next few weeks, we will introduce you to each one by summarizing an interview with them conducted by different staff members in the lab. This week, we will learn about Terri Menser and her experience with kidney transplantation research. Interviewer and author: Katia Dahmani, Intern At Houston Methodist, Menser is conducting transplantation research focused on further …

What it is like to be an intern at TREC

Former StaffStaff Updates

By Jessica Nunez, Intern Hello, my name is Jessica Nunez and I am from Santa Clarita, California. I am entering my fourth year at UCLA, majoring in Cognitive Science and Spanish, Community and Culture. I have been interning at Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC) since March 2019. As a freshman, I was overwhelmed with the school dynamic and completed multiple searches in efforts to find a job that encompassed my passions and brought a …

Intern, Sarah Brecher Shares About her Time as an Intern at TREC

Former StaffStaff Updates

By, Sarah Brecher, Intern My name is Sarah Brecher and over the last two years, I have served as an intern at the Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC). I initially entered the lab as a sophomore interested in the basic principles of preventing disease and promoting health through public health research. Two years later as I enter my senior year at UCLA, the work at the lab has increased my commitment to public health …

Working Remotely During COVID-19: Our Top Tips for Success

Former StaffCOVID-19

By Ariana Murillo, Intern There are many ways to maintain a work-life balance while transitioning to working from home due to COVID-19. It can take some time for you (and your family!) to adjust to being at home for most of the day. It will take a lot of trial and error to develop a plan that works best for you. Even if previous days seemed overwhelming or chaotic, ultimately, transitioning to remote work can …

Teaming up for success

Former StaffTransplant News

Friends and colleagues, I cannot help but feel lucky and grateful that 2017 has brought fresh and exciting new opportunities. In that spirit and effective immediately, I’m thrilled to announce that my research lab, the Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC), is expanding its research and education portfolio. Currently, TREC is an interdisciplinary research and education team that conducts state of the art clinical research to understand and improve important issues affecting transplant outcomes, intervenes …