"My name is Andreea-Liana BOT RACHISAN and I am a pediatric nephrologist from Romania/Cluj-Napoca. I am a lecturer at the university and also I am habilitated to conduct PhDs. I am part of the IPTA Publishing committee and also ESPN Transplantation working group. I am a former ESPN and IPNA fellow in Lyon (supervision Professor Pierre Cochat).

"My mentor in this IPTA Mentoring program is Professor Stephen Marks form GOSH London/UK. As a mentee in this program I expect to gain more knowledge and visibility and at an end-point level, to publish a high-level article related to my research area of interest."

Carl Grabitz is a fellow in pediatric nephrology and clinician scientist at Hannover Medical School. He has a special interest in kidney transplantation and blood pressure. This ties into his scientific work on cardio-vascular and biological aging in end stage kidney disease and after kidney transplantation.

“I am excited to join the mentoring program at IPTA. The society has already inspired me as I was able to attend the past congress and joined a working group. I hope to further expand my network and get a broader more idea of transplantation medicine by connecting to international experts and disciplines.”

"I am a Pediatric Nephrologist, trained at the National University of Asuncion, Paraguay. I have completed a research stay at the JP Garrahan Pediatric Hospital in Argentina. I am deeply passionate about research in pediatric kidney transplantation and am highly motivated to learn continually to contribute to improving the quality of life for transplant patients. My current focus is on data pertaining to children with PTLD and FSGS, with the aim of publishing these findings.

"My expectations with the Mentoring Program are to collaboratively develop a research plan focused on pediatric kidney transplantation, encompassing both short-term and long-term goals, and to establish professional connections with the mentor that enhance my capacity for critical thinking, learning, and growth in research ”

“Hi! I'm Henny Adriani Puspitasari, and I have been working in pediatric nephrology field for around four years. I was trained in my home country and in Japan. Currently, I work as a clinician and lecturer in Jakarta, Indonesia. Since the pediatric kidney transplantation program began in 2013, I have encountered numerous challenges in managing these patients, which has sparked my strong interest in this field.

“As an IPTA mentorship program applicant, I seek to enhance my knowledge and develop key research skills. A mentor would help me build a solid foundation in writing and understand the steps to produce quality papers. This program offers valuable networking opportunities for my professional development and supports the advancement of research publications for my peers, students, and organization.”

“My expectation from the mentorship program and Dechu madam is to learn from her expertise in improving the long term outcome in pediatric kidney transplant recipients and from a professional point of view learn the art and science of clinical research and scientific writing.”

“I am a dedicated, passionate, and visionary professional committed to transforming the lives of children with kidney diseases. With a focus on innovation and excellence, I strive to create lasting, positive impacts in this critical field.

“My mentoring expectations include conducting research to enhance graft survival with fewer complications and fewer medications in children. By expanding my expertise in transplant immunology and collaborating with one of the world's most esteemed laboratories, I aim to develop innovative solutions for a brighter future.”

“I am an early career pediatric heart transplant cardiologist at NYU Langone in New York City with an interest in all areas of pediatric transplantation. Clinically, the majority of my time is dedicated to pediatric heart failure and transplantation, and I provide cardiac evaluations and care for pediatric lung, liver, and kidney transplant candidates and recipients. My research interests are in long-term outcomes of pediatric heart transplantation and improving the precision of immunologic matching and immunosuppression of pediatric heart transplant recipients.

“Through the IPTA mentorship program, I look forward to joining projects related to pediatric transplantation that span across institutions and countries. Specifically, I would like to help increase the presence and contribution of cardiology to the larger pediatric transplant community.”

The Hospital for Sick Children
University of Toronto

Professor Stephen Marks, MD MSc MRCP DCH FRCPCH is Professor of Paediatric Nephrology and Transplantation at University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and President of the British Association for Paediatric Nephrology. He is clinical lead for renal transplantation and Director of the National Institute for Health Research Great Ormond Street Hospital Clinical Research Facility at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust.

Professor Marks and Dr Andreea-Liana Bot (Rachisan) are looking forward to the mentor-mentee relationship and ongoing collaboration between Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK and Cluj Children’s Hospital, Romania.

“I am an academic pediatric kidney and adult kidney and pancreas transplant surgeon, and have been practicing for 36 years post-fellowship. In addition to a broad clinical experience, I have been involved in clinical research in adults and children, and have published 5 books, over 500 articles and book chapters, and have given over 500 lectures around the world. I have been mentoring faculty, fellows, residents and students for my entire career, and look forward to continuing to do this for IPTA members.”

“My mentoring goals are to encourage mentees to become involved in clinical academic pursuits to help them develop their career.”

“I am pediatric nephrologist, Chief of the Renal Transplant Team at Hospital de Pediatria “Juan P. Garrahan”, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Currently, I am president of the Argentine Society of Transplantation. Together with Dr. Anette Melk, I am acting as Co-Chair of the IPTA Publications Committee.I received my MD degree at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. I was trained in pediatrics and in pediatric nephrology at “Ricardo Gutiérrez'' Children’s Hospital in Buenos Aires, and in kidney transplantation at Hospital de Pediatria J P Garrahan, and at the University Hospital of Bellvitge, in Barcelona. My clinical research projects are focused on PTLD and FSGS relapse in kidney transplanted children.”

“By becoming a mentor in the IPTA Mentoring Program, I will be able to give back to a young nephrologist some of what I have received throughout my training. I believe that Dr. Gabriela Gutierrez will benefit from this program. I am grateful for the opportunity to participate and for the great support I receive from Anette Melk and Lars Pape.”

Anette Melk is a Professor of Pediatrics and Interdisciplinary Transplantation at Hannover Medical School. Dr. Melk received her PhD from University of Alberta (Canada) and trained as a Pediatric Nephrologist at the University of Heidelberg Children’s Hospital. Dr. Melk’s clinical research projects aim to further decipher factors leading to cardiovascular and renal comorbidity in children with chronic kidney diseases and transplantation. In addition, she has pioneered the idea that cellular senescence is crucial for the insufficient regenerative capacity of donor organs and an important target in therapeutic approaches.

“As a clinician scientist I am hoping to support my mentee in her work as pediatric nephrologist, but most importantly in establishing herself as an independent researcher. We have already made plans in this direction. I also hope to pass on my enthusiasm and dedication for research to her.”

“I have been a pediatric nephrologist for over 24 years after completing my fellowship at Children hospital, Boston, Harvard Medical School. Currently I am the director of Pediatric Nephrology and transplant Immunology at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. My interests are in the transplantation of the highly sensitized patients, biomarkers of rejection, viral infections and management of Antibody mediated rejection.”

“I am hoping to use my experience in transplantation to be of utmost use to my mentee and try and fulfil all that they are trying to get from a mentor. We plan to meet virtually every month and have tasks for both of us to fulfil at each meeting. The plan would be to hone in on the passion of my mentee in particular areas of transplantation, and bring out their best in the form of abstracts and manuscripts. Presentation at IPTA, ATC and local and regional meetings would be encouraged and fostered. “

Dr. Qingyong Xu is an assistant professor and associate director of the Histocompatibility Lab at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a member of The Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute. He has >20 years of experience in clinical service and research in histocompatibility, immunogenetics, and transplantation. Dr. Xu’s main research interest is immune risk assessment before and after organ transplantation to improve graft and patient survival. Specifically, he is interested in:

a) assessing anti-HLA antibodies to facilitate organ transplantation and diagnose and treat rejections, especially HLA antibody removal therapeutics in desensitization and AMR treatment.
b) the roles of autoantibodies in organ transplantation and native organ-specific diseases, especially in liver or lung transplantation.
c) HLA immunogenicity and its applications in risk stratification of organ transplantation.

In their first meeting, Dr. Xu and Dr. Vala formulated the following plans:

1. To collaborate on research projects in pediatric kidney transplantation,
2. To discuss difficult, immunologically challenging cases, and
3. To increase the understanding of transplant immunology through various reading materials.

The research of Jonathan N. Johnson, M.D., encompasses several different areas of pediatric cardiology. Dr. Johnson's primary focus is researching clinical outcomes in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease, as well as those with cardiomyopathy or heart failure, or those who have required heart transplantation or ventricular assist device (VAD) placement. Dr. Johnson is also interested in cardiac imaging, including fetal, transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, and studies how these imaging modalities can be used to improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Johnson hopes to use clinical research to find ways to reduce complications in heart transplant patients and do so using noninvasive means. The average transplanted heart currently is expected to last only 15 years; Dr. Johnson and his team are determined to find ways to prolong lives of both the patient and the transplanted heart.

Prof. Pape is pediatric nephrologist with a full professorship for pediatrics. He director of the Children’s’ Hospital at the University Hospital of Essen in Germany, as well as head of the KfH-center for Nephrology. His main research focus is the development and establishment of biomarkers in pediatric nephrology as well as health services research mainly in transitional medicine and improvement of care after kidney transplantation. Prof. Pape received several awards, i.e. the Rudolf-Pichlmayr Prize of the German Transplant Society. He has published more than 100 scientific articles and book chapters. He is president of the IPTA as well as chair of the kidney transplantation groups of the GPN, the ESPN and ERKnet.

IPTA mentoring shall help to support the mentee in all aspects of his professional life, including clinics, research and education. The mentor shall help the mentee to stepwise establish a professional network and support him in all relate professional matters. Goals of the individual mentoring should be established at the beginning of the process and be regularly evaluated.