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MEDIA ADVISORY: UCSF Has Strong Presence in Second-Ever Meeting of World Transplant Congress in San Francisco

By Scott Maier

What: In 2006, more than 6,500 specialists in transplant medicine worldwide gathered for the first time in one location at the World Transplant Congress (WTC) in Boston. Eight years later, the WTC is convening again, this time in San Francisco.

Having one of the largest, most highly regarded U.S. transplant programs, UC San Francisco will have a strong WTC presence. World-renowned UCSF clinicians and researchers will demonstrate new insights in research and clinical strategies for organ transplants through presentations, moderated panel discussions, abstracts and posters.

Among the many UCSF plenary presentations are the following:

  • “Pro: Islet Cell Transplantation Superior” as part of a pro-con debate on “Optimal Treatment for Diabetes” by Peter Stock, professor of surgery and surgical director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program and Pediatric Renal Transplant Program, Saturday, July 26 at 4 p.m. PT
  • “What Have We Learned From Immunosuppressants That Failed to be Submitted for Regulatory Review?” co-moderated by Flavio Vincente, professor of medicine and kidney and pancreas transplant specialist at UCSF Medical Center, Sunday, July 27 at 1:50 p.m. PT
  • “Liver Transplantation Around the World: Transition from Pediatric to Adult” co-moderated by Sandy Feng, professor of surgery, Sunday, July 27 at 2 p.m. PT
  • “Clinical Translation of T-reg Cell Therapy” by Jeffrey Bluestone, the A.W. and Mary Margaret Clausen Distinguished Professor of Metabolism and Endocrinology at UCSF and executive vice chancellor and provost, Tuesday, July 29 at 2:15 p.m. PT
  • “Should the Left Lobe Take Over the Right Lobe” by John Roberts, professor of surgery and chief of UCSF Transplant Service, Wednesday, July 30 at 7:50 a.m. PT

When: Pre-meeting Symposia, Saturday-Sunday, July 26-July 27, 2014, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. PT; Congress, Sunday-Thursday, July 27-July 31, 2014, 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. PT

Where: Moscone West Convention Center, 747 Howard St.

Why: A joint meeting of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), The American Society of Transplantation and the Transplantation Society, the WTC will assemble transplant scientists, physicians, surgeons, trainees, nurses, organ procurement personnel, pharmacists and other associated transplant professionals. The first two days feature pre-meeting courses, with the Congress offering scientific material through symposia, oral abstracts and poster presentations.

“The World Transplant Congress is a significant meeting for transplant medicine,” said Peter Stock, MD, PhD, professor of surgery and surgical director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program and Pediatric Renal Transplant Program at UCSF. “It provides an opportunity to bring together the most current issues impacting health care policies and basic research as it relates to transplant.”

Stock will attend as the new ASTS president, serving a one-year term.

At UCSF, survival rates for both transplant patients and their transplanted organs are among the highest in the country, even though it treats some of the most seriously ill patients. And while solid organ transplant is the main area of concentration, UCSF researchers also are pioneering new approaches.

About UC San Francisco

UC San Francisco (UCSF), now celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding, is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy, a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, translational and population sciences, as well as a preeminent biomedical research enterprise and two top-ranked hospitals, UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco.

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