2019 Winter Symposium Highlights

More than 700 transplant surgeons, trainees, physicians, Advanced Transplant Providers, and industry representatives gathered in Miami, Florida January 10-13 for the 19th Annual State of the Art Winter Symposium. Speakers used this year’s theme, The Modern Transplant Surgeon: Striking the Right Balance, to explore different aspects of transplant surgery and the importance of wellness for transplant professionals. 

This year, the meeting began on Thursday afternoon, and the program was divided into the various roles in a transplant professional’s life: 

• the Surgeon, with sessions focused on technical challenges 

• the Negotiator, which explored working with OPO 

• the Pediatric Transplant Surgeon, focused on specialized issues for pediatric patients 

• the Person, which encompassed everything from work/life balance to ergonomics and teamwork 

• the Innovator, which presented a range of innovations from uterus transplantation to robotic kidney transplant and bariatric liver transplant 

• the Researcher, focusing on funding and publishing issues 

• and the Educator, devoted to ways to train the next generation of transplant professionals. 

Highlights of the meeting included ASTS President Dixon Kaufman’s address titled “Places of Invention,” the Hume Lecture by ASTS past president Joshua Miller, and a special screening of Burden of Genius: Dr. Thomas Starzl’s Journey into Organ Transplantation on Thursday evening. 

A joint AHPBA session, sponsored luncheon symposia, and oral abstract and surgical video sessions rounded out the program. On the final day, a team of UNOS programmers and ASTS members presented improvements to DonorNet™ they had been working on during the meeting, which were then put in the pipeline to go live and will enhance surgeons’ experience using DonorNet™. 

Friday morning began with a special session, ASTS Research Grants: Updates and Outcomes. Afterward, attendees could choose from three concurrent sessions:  the Business Practice and Advocacy Seminar, Education Workshop, or the ATP Session, which included topics as varied as living donation safety considerations, pharmacology, ethical concerns, surgical interventions for obesity, and professional development for ATPs. 

The ASTS Recognition Awards were also presented Saturday. Congratulations to the recipients: 

• ASTS Francis Moore Excellence in Mentorship in the Field of Transplantation Surgery Award: Timothy L. Pruett, MD  

• ASTS–Veloxis Rising Stars in Transplantation Surgery Award: Paulo N. Martins, MD, PhD, FAST, FACS, FEBS, and Parsia A. Vagefi, MD, FACS 

• ASTS–Veloxis Advanced Transplant Provider Award: Katherine J. Klingenberg, MMS, PA-C 

• ASTS–Veloxis Vanguard Prize: Burcin Ekser, MD, PhD, and Daniel Zamora-Valdés, MD 

• Sherilyn Gordon Memorial Travel Award: Dana L. Jakoubek, MSN, APN, and Ashley H. Seawright, DNP, ACNP-BC (ATP category), Andrew R. Gillooly (Medical Student category), and Charles G. Rickert, MD, PhD (Resident category). 

As part of the award ceremony, the American Association of Kidney Patients presented a Medal of Excellence posthumously to Sherilyn Gordon, MD, for her work as chair of the ASTS Legislative Committee until her death in 2017. 

ASTS gratefully acknowledges the sponsors of the 2019 Winter Symposium: 

• Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Diamond Level Sponsor 

• Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Silver Level Sponsor 

• Astellas, Bronze Level Sponsor 

• CSL Behring, Bronze Level Sponsor 

• Hansa Medical, Bronze Level Sponsor 

• Sanofi-Genzyme, Bronze Level Sponsor