2013 AST Achievement Award Recipients

Senior Achievement Award in Clinical Transplantation
Russell Wiesner, MD
The Senior Achievement Award in Clinical Transplantation recognizes outstanding contributions to clinical transplantation over the course of a clinical career. Dr. Wiesner is a leader in hepatology and liver transplantation. He was a major force in the development and implementation of the meld-based organ allocation system for livers. He has contributed to more than 270 peer-reviewed publications while playing an active role in AST and UNOS.

Mentoring Award
Rita Alloway, PharmD
The AST Mentoring Award is intended to recognize outstanding mentors in the field of transplantation. Dr. Alloway’s dedication to transplantation resulted in the growing field of transplant pharmacy and training of transplant pharmacists in both clinical and research settings.

Transplant Advocacy Award
Patricia Kehn, MS
The Transplant Advocacy Award recognizes a non-AST member for his or her contribution to organ donation and transplantation. Ms. Kehn often advocates for transplant related funding before NIAID’s council in her role as program director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. She is a true advocate for quality research in transplantation.

Clinician of Distinction Award
Dianne LaPointe Rudow, RN, CCTC, DNP
The AST Clinician of Distinction Award is given to a non-physician recognized for outstanding contributions to clinical transplantation. Dr. LaPointe Rudow is an expert in living donation, and has made countless contributions to promote and advance the field of transplantation and more specifically, the role of the advanced practice nurse. Her emphasis on inter-disciplinary teamwork for improved donor safety has become the standard of care.

Basic Science Established Investigator Award
Jonathan Bromberg, MD, PhD
In his 30-year career, Dr. Bromberg has developed into one of the World’s most creative and influential transplant immunologists. His lab was among the first to show the importance of CD2 in cell signaling as well delineate the cross talk of involving FOXP3+ cells.

Clinical Science Established Investigator Award
Upton Allen, MD, FRCP, FIDSA
Dr. Allen is a distinguished clinical scientist who has greatly contributed to the field of infectious diseases in pediatric transplantation. He has authored or coauthored more than 230 publications, received consistent funding for his clinical investigation, and is a frequently-requested lecturer.

Basic Science Investigator Award
Sheri Krams, PhD
Dr. Krams has made important contributions to understanding mechanisms of rejection in patients with solid organ transplants. Her early work pioneered the molecular characterization of cytokine and cytotoxic mediators in the graft and periphery of recipients of solid organ allografts.

Clinical Science Investigator Award
Stefan Tullius, MD, PhD, FACS
Dr. Tullius is an outstanding surgeon-scientist. Under his leadership at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham & Women’s Hospital, he has doubled the volume of kidney transplants and established a clinical pancreas transplant program. He also helped develop the Brigham composite tissue transplantation program, and was the responsible physician for the design and follow-up of immunosuppression for all face and hand transplant recipients. He also maintains an active laboratory, investigating the consequences of aging on the immune response and the effects of brain death and ischemia/reperfusion injury on subsequent organ transplant function.

Basic Science Career Development Award
Geetha Chalasani, MD
In her young career, Dr. Chalasani has already contributed important scientific insights into alloimmune responses, making a critical impact on the way in which memory T cells are isolated and studied. Her research has been published in a variety of prestigious places, including The Journal of Immunology, American Journal of Transplantation, and PNAS.

Clinical Science Career Development Award
Kathryn Tinckam, MD, MMSC
Dr. Tinckam has a well-established reputation as a skilled educator, understanding the intricacies of antibody testing and interpreting them in an understandable fashion for transplant clinicians. As a transplant nephrologist, she brings a unique perspective to histocompatibility, and works tirelessly to improve the efficacy and efficiency of antibody testing and reporting.