MedicalAdvisoryCouncil

Medical Advisory Council

The Transplant Families Medical Advisory Council is a multidisciplinary group of transplant clinicians who offer specific medical advice to our organization when needed.

Dr. Amaral is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania where she has been recognized for excellence in mentoring and teaching. She currently leads three multi-center NIH-funded studies and collaborates on numerous multi-disciplinary studies focused on improving equitable access to care and long-term health outcomes for children with chronic kidney disease and transplantation. She is a strong advocate for public policies that support children with kidney disease through leadership roles in the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology and the United Network of Organ Sharing/Organ Procurement and Transplant Network.

Sandra Amaral

MD, MHS

Nephrology

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Melissa Cousino

PhD

Psychologist

Mott Children's Hospital

Shri Deshpande

Cardiologist

Rady Children’s Hospital

Katrina Fields

BSN, RN

Nursing, Caregiver/Pediatric

Cincinnati Children's Hospital

Joshua Gossett

DNP, MBA, RN

Administrator, Nursing

Stanford-Lucile Packard Children's Hospital

Taylor Heald-Sargent

MD, PhD

Infectious Disease

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Strategy Advisor to the Board of Directors
Caregiver to Heart Transplant Recipient

As a transplant dad and information technology professional, Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network former Board of Directors member Joseph Hillenburg applies his IT, strategy, and advocate expertise to help advance the missions of organizations including OPTN/UNOS, Donate Life, AST, Transplant Families, and Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

Joseph Hillenburg

Chair, Medical Advisory Council

Caregiver/Pediatric

Transplant Families

Simon Horslen

MD, ChB, FRCPCH, FAASLD, FAST

Hepatologist

UPMC-Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

Mary Chandran is a clinical pharmacist practitioner at the University of North Carolina Medical Center. She specializes in kidney and liver transplantation, working with adults and pediatrics. She has a strong interest in assisting young adults as they transition to adult transplant care.

Mary Moss Chandran

PharmD, CPP, BCTXP, BCPS, FAST

Pharmacist

University of North Carolina Medical Center

Vicky was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. She is a staff pediatric hepatologist at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, and a Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. Vicky has been taking care of patients with childhood liver diseases for over 2 decades, and her scholarly interests focus on outcomes research in infants, children and teens who have undergone liver transplantation. She is the co-creator of the PeLTQL (Pediatric Liver Transplant Quality of Life), the first disease-specific PROM for teens and children who have undergone isolated liver transplantation. The PeLTQL has been translated in over 10 languages, and currently available in both paper and digital formats. Other arenas of focus include assessment approaches for sarcopenia and frailty in children and expanding the use of anonymous live donor liver transplantation as one strategy to prevent pediatric deaths on the waiting list. Vicky is a Past-President of the Society of Pediatric Liver Transplantation (SPLIT). She currently has the privilege of serving as President of the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN).

Vicky Lee Ng

MD FRCPC F-AASLD NASPGHAN-F

Hepatologist

Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto

Joseph Spinner

MD, FAAP

Cardiologist

Texas Children's Hospital