Houston Methodist Hospital has been at the forefront of Transplant in Houston for over 60 years. We lead nationally in multi-organ transplants and perform over 250 kidney transplants per year. The transplant nephrology fellow is integrally involved in the pre-operative evaluation and assessment of candidates, peri-operative management, and post-operative longitudinal care. The fellow gains exposure to transplant infectious disease, living donor evaluation, and transplant immunology . The fellowship is divided into 6 months on the inpatient service and 6 months in the outpatient setting. The inpatient service is a census of 15-20 patients and consists of multidisciplinary rounds, with a focus on management of new kidney alone and multi-organ kidney transplant recipients and post-transplant complications. A dedicated plasmapheresis rotation provides ample exposure to pre-transplant desensitization and post-transplant antibody-mediated rejection. Outpatient months include living donor and recipient evaluations, participation in the multidisciplinary Medical Review Board for kidney and non-kidney solid organ transplant listings, HLA rotation, and outpatient renal transplant biopsy, with two months protected for research.

During these research months, the fellow works on a project of their interest under the direction of either transplant nephrologists, surgeons, or the HLA lab personnel. The transplant fellows has a dedicated weekly post-transplant continuity clinic to allow longitudinal follow-up of transplant patients within the first three years post-transplant. Educational resources include access to the American Society of Transplantation (AST) Core Curriculum, transplant textbooks, and attendance at national transplant meetings, including the AST Fellows Conference and the American Transplant Congress. Didactic sessions include a dedicated weekly conference covering all aspects of transplant in conjunction with our transplant pharmacists, monthly multidisciplinary transplant journal club in conjunction with our transplant surgery team, bi-monthly transplant case review and performance improvement meetings, weekly transplant biopsy conference with our 5 dedicated transplant nephropathologists, and weekly transplant grand rounds. The transplant fellow is encouraged to submit case reports for presentation and publication. They are also involved in reviewing and updating clinical practice guidelines for key elements of pre-and post-transplant comprehensive care, involving immunosuppression, infectious disease prevention/surveillance, cardiovascular, mineral bone disease, and malignancy screening and treatment.