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World Class Transplant Team
The transplant team is made up of a talented and dedicated team of highly-qualified professionals
SURGEONS AND PHYSCIANS:
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 | Dr. Gruber leads the transplant program at Harper University Hospital and is professor of surgery at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Dr. Gruber graduated with honors from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland with a bioengineering degree. He subsequently graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Downstate Medical School in Brooklyn, New York, and earned a doctoral degree in surgery with an emphasis in pharmacology from the University of Minnesota, where he completed a general surgery residency and transplant fellowship.
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 | Dr. West has vast experience in advanced laparoscopic surgery and performs laparoscopic living kidney donations. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School and completed general surgery residencies at the University of Illinois, Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and Mount Sinai Hospital/The Chicago Medical School. He also completed a fellowship in transplantation and immunology at the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinics. He is currently an associate professor of surgery at Wayne State University.
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 | Dr. Granger has vast experience in performing laparoscopic living kidney donation and pediatric renal transplantation. She completed her general surgery residency as well as surgical infectious disease, surgical endoscopy and transplant surgery fellowships at the University of Minnesota. She served as the transplant surgical director of both the pancreas and hand transplant programs at the University of Louisville. She is currently an associate professor of surgery at Wayne State University.
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| | Dr. Sillix earned her medical degree from the University of Kansas. She completed her internship at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Allen Park and her residency in internal medicine at Detroit General Hospital and Wayne State University School of Medicine. Dr. Sillix was a nephrology research fellow for the National Kidney Foundation at Wayne State University. She is currently an assistant professor of internal medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine, and is Medical Director of the Renal Transplant Program.
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 | Dr. Haririan received his medical degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine, a fellowship in nephrology at Johns Hopkins University, and a fellowship in transplant nephrology at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. He is currently an assistant professor of medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine.
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 | Dr. Amm received his medical degree at the American University of Beirut in 1997. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine, and subsequently received fellowship training in both Nephrology and Transplant Nephrology at Wayne State University and Henry Ford Hospital, respectively. He is currently an assistant professor of medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine.
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OTHER PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL SUPPORT STAFF:
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 | Dr. Cannarella serves as director of the HLA Laboratory at Detroit Medical Center. Prior to joining the Detroit Medical Center, she served as Director of Transplantation Immunology at Albert Einstein Medical Center and as Director of the Immunology Center and Histocompatibility Laboratory at Loma Linda University. She has received numerous grants, honors and awards throughout her career.
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 | Dr. Fagoaga serves as associate director of the HLA Laboratory at Detroit Medical Center. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Biology from California State University and his Ph.D. in Physiology from Loma Linda University. Before joining the Harper University Hospital Transplant team, he was the Assistant Director of the HLA laboratory at Loma Linda University.
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 | Dr. Wheeler graduated summa cum laude from Texas Christian University and completed his pathology residency at UT- Southwestern/Dallas. He did fellowships in both Anatomic Pathology and Renal/Hepatic Pathology. Prior to joining the Detroit Medical Center, he was Director of Kidney and Liver Pathology at UT-Southwestern and University of New Mexico. He has received numerous outstanding teaching awards, and is currently associate professor of pathology at Wayne State University School of Medicine.
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 | Dr. Garnick earned his doctor of pharmacy in 1998 from Ohio State University. He subsequently completed his general residency at the University of Texas in Galveston, and a critical care/infectious diseases residency at Henry Ford Hospital in 1999. Dr. Garnick has since confined his practice to solid-organ transplantation, and joined Harper University Hospital following three years of experience in kidney, pancreas, liver and lung transplantation at the University of Michigan.
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EXPERT MEDICAL CONSULTANTS: The Harper University Hospital Transplant Program is proud to have talented and dedicated specialists to assist with the complex care of transplant patients:
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| | Dr. Afonso completed his residency in internal medicine as well as fellowships in Geriatrics and Cardiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is currently Assistant Professor of Medicine and Program Director of the Cardiology Fellowship at Wayne State University, as well as Director of the Echocardiology Laboratory at the John Dingell VA Medical Center. He is actively involved in the pretransplant cardiac evaluation of our renal and pancreas transplant candidates.
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| | Dr. Alangaden completed his internal medicine residency and infectious disease fellowship at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is currently Associate Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University, and serves as Chair, Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control at Harper University Hospital. He is an expert in the area of infections occurring in the immunocompromised host, and co-directs the solid-organ transplant infectious disease consult team.
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| | Dr. Chandrasekar completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Louisville and fellowship training in infectious diseases at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. He has been in the Department of Internal Medicine at Wayne State University since 1983, is currently Professor of Medicine and Program Director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship, and is the recipient of several teaching awards. He is an expert with regard to infections occurring in transplant recipients, particularly with regard to fungal infections, and is co-director of the solid-organ transplant infectious disease consult team.
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| | Dr. Chu obtained his doctorate in biochemistry at Wayne State University and performed postgraduate training in clinical chemistry at Henry Ford Hospital. He is presently Co-Director of Chemistry and Toxicology at Detroit Medical Center University Laboratories, and is an expert in the area of immunosuppressive drug assay methodology. Dr. Chu directs the laboratory which runs the assays for cyclosporin A, tacrolimus, and sirolimus, immunosuppressants routinely used in transplant recipients.
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| | Dr. Crane completed his internal medicine residency training at Naval Hospital, Bethesda, MD and his infectious disease fellowship at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is currently Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University, and serves as both Medical Director, AIDS Programs and Director, Infectious Diseases Outpatient Clinic at Detroit Medical Center. Dr. Crane has been named the leading HIV/AIDS clinician in the Detroit area several times, and is actively involved in our HIV+ renal transplant program.
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| | Dr. McArthur earned his doctorate in clinical psychology in 1990 from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and has been a member of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Service at Detroit Medical Center since 1995. He is currently assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Wayne State University School of Medicine, and serves as staff psychologist for the solid-organ transplant program at Harper University Hospital.
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| | Dr. Siddiqui completed her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in gastroenterology at Wayne State University School of Medicine. She is Director of Clinical Research and the main interventional endoscopist of the Division of Gastroenterology, and has extensive experience in the evaluation and treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C. She is currently an assistant professor of medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine.
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• COORDINATORS AND SUPPORT STAFF
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| | Earned a B.S. degree in Marketing and Public Relations and a M.B.A. degree with an emphasis in Management from Wayne State University. She has worked for the Detroit Medical Center for more than 20 years in a wide range of administrative roles, including positions as administrative and product line manager for the Department of Medicine at Harper University Hospital. Her current responsibilities include administrative duties for the Transplant Program, such as oversight of managed care contracts, development of business practices as well as financial and cost management.
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| • PRE-TRANSPLANT COORDINATORS: Coordinate all activities leading up to surgery including pre-transplant testing, living donor evaluation and compatibility testing. |
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 | Earned her nursing degree from the University of Windsor in 1991. She worked at the Harper University Hospital nephrology unit from 1991 to 1995 before moving to the outpatient peritoneal dialysis setting. Returning to Harper’s transplant program in 2001, she is a member of the American Nephrology Nurses Association.
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 | Earned her nursing degree from Madonna College in 1988. A member of the Harper University Hospital staff since 1992, she has 14 years of prior transplant experience. She is a member of the International Transplant Nurses Society, the Michigan Coalition on Organ Donation and the Great Lakes Transplantation Association.
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| | Earned her nursing degree with high honors from Graceland College. She has been at Harper University Hospital since 1982, and holds certification in nephrology and medical-surgical nursing. She is a member of the American Nephrology Nurses Association, the International Transplant Nurses Society, the Great Lakes Transplantation Association, the National Kidney Foundation and the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nursing.
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| • POST-TRANSPLANT COORDINATORS: Responsibilities include teaching the patient how to care for themselves after surgery, how to take medication and coordination of follow-up care. |
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 | Graduated from Durham College, Ontario, Canada. She worked at North York General Hospital in Toronto, Canada from 1989 - 1995 on the Orthopedic and Plastic Surgery Unit, and at Harper University Hospital on the Diabetes and Nephrology unit from 1995 - 1998 and on the Dialysis Unit from 1998 - 2002. She is a member of the American Nephrology Nurses Association.
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 | Earned her nursing degree from Wayne State University in 1977 and has more than 20 years experience with the renal transplant program. She is a member of the Michigan Kidney Foundation.
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 | Graduated from St. Clair College. She has specialized in nephrology/transplant nursing at the Detroit Medical Center since 1976.
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DATA MANAGER/COORDINATOR:
Maintains transplant center database, serves as the resource for information requests, is the liaison with the United Network for Organ Sharing and the Renal Network by providing scientific registry and related data, is the liaison with the Gift of Life Foundation (Michigan's organ procurement organization), monitors all financial information related to the transplant program and assists the Transplant Administrator with program activities.
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 | Earned her B.S. degree in nursing, with high distinction, from Wayne State University in 1985. Ms. Morawski is certified as a nephrology nurse and is a member of the American Nephrology Nurses Association, the North American Transplant Coordinators Organization, the International Transplant Nurses Society and the Great Lakes Transplantation Association.
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| TRANSPLANT SOCIAL WORKER: Conducts pre-transplant assessments of end-stage renal disease patients and their potential donors. Educates patients, family members and loved ones about the transplant process and provides the transplant patient with emotional support as well as resources for medications, information about lifestyle changes following transplant and transplant care. |
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 | Earned both her bachelor's and graduate degrees in social work from Wayne State University and is a certified social worker in the state of Michigan. She is a member of the Gift of Life Foundation, the National Kidney Foundation and is the founder of The New Day Support Group for posttransplant patients at Harper University Hospital. Ms. Spraggins is also a living-donor kidney transplant recipient who has volunteered as a peer resource counselor with Botsford Kidney Center.
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 | Earned honors degree in psychology from the University of Windsor and her graduate degree in social work, with international honors from Wayne State University. Shannon works part- time on the inpatient nephrology service and part-time with the transplant program.
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| TRANSPLANT NUTRITIONIST: Establishes a personalized diet for the transplant recipient to help keep them healthy after surgery. |
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 | Obtained her B.S. degree in foods and nutrition from Wayne State University in 1975, and has served as the renal nutritionist at Harper University Hospital since 1994 on both the nephrology/transplant inpatient services and outpatient clinics. She is a member of the Council on Renal Nutrition of the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan.
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