Vanguard Lecture
Right Ventricular Dysfunction
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Update on Live Donor Liver Transplantation – Vanguard Lecture
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Living Donor Liver Transplant: Donor Management
SATA Vanguard Committee Expert Lecture Series

Dr. Sakai earned his MD in 1989 and his PhD in 2001 (cardiovascular surgery) from Kyoto University in Japan. After completing a cardiovascular surgery residency in 1995 at Tenri Hospital, Nara, Japan, he became a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon in Japan. After completing clinical and research cardiovascular fellowships at the University of Toronto, Dr. Sakai relocated to Pittsburgh as a visiting instructor of thoracic organ transplant surgery at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in 1999. Upon completing his anesthesiology residency at UPMC in 2005, he joined the faculty in the Department of Anesthesiology. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2010, then to Professor in 2014.
His 100 peer-reviewed publications cover numerous topics, including liver transplantation anesthesiology (intraoperative cardiac arrest, pulmonary thromboembolism, and usage of low dose tPA; complications related to the invasive monitors and veno-venous bypass) and anesthesia education. He is recognized as one of the leaders of transplant anesthesiology. He is PresidentElect of the Society for the Advancement of Transplant Anesthesia (SATA) (2019-2021) and was co-editor of a comprehensive transplant anesthesiology textbook entitled Anesthesia and Perioperative Care for Organ Transplantation (Springer Inc.) in 2017. He serves as Associate Editor of Clinical Transplantation and Seminars in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. He is a nationally recognized anesthesia educator. He received the Distinguished Educator in Anesthesiology Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society for Education (SEA) in Anesthesia in 2019 and serves as the Chair of the SEA Research Committee. Dr. Sakai was elected to the Association of University Anesthesiologists in 2013.
Evaluation for lung transplantation – Pulmonologist’s Perspective
SATA Vanguard Committee Expert Lecture Series
Evaluation for lung transplantation – Pulmonologist’s Perspective
June 22, 2021 | 6:00pm EST

Dr. Wilkey earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1995. She then went on to earn her Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies in 1999 and then her Medical degree in 2008. All three degrees from her beloved Alma Mater, the University of Florida. Dr. Wilkey came to Colorado in 2008, first to Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital for a Transitional Internship and then to the University of Colorado for Anesthesiology Residency and Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship. Dr. Wilkey is currently working he University of Colorado as an Attending Anesthesiologist specializing in lung, heart and liver transplantation.
In 2020, Dr. Wilkey and other SATA colleagues published “Statement From the Society for the Advancement of Transplant Anesthesia: White Paper Advocating Desirable Milestones and Competencies for Anesthesiology Fellowship Training in the Field of Lung Transplantation”. This webinar is the first in our series of “virtual fellowship” webinars based upon the competencies outlined in this paper. We hope this series publicizes the intricacies of lung transplant anesthesia and eventually leads to the development of on-site fellowships or super fellowships in lung transplant anesthesiology.

After having received an undergraduate degree in English literature, Dr Gray recognized her affinity for biology and passion for helping people in her late twenties and pursued medical school at the University of Michigan. It was there that she developed an interest in pulmonary medicine. She then went to Duke University for internal medicine residency and pulmonary and critical care fellowship. While working in a basic science lab during her fellowship, Dr Gray became intrigued by the complex pathophysiology of chronic lung transplant rejection. This led to her career path as a transplant pulmonologist. After several years on faculty at Duke University, she was recruited to be the Medical Director of Lung Transplantation at University of Colorado in October 2018. She has developed robust systems and fostered multidisciplinary collaboration to advance the quality of care and improve outcomes for lung transplant recipients. Currently, she serves on the UNOS Membership and Professional Standards Committee out of a commitment to uphold the safety and integrity of the solid organ transplant system in the US, and is dedicated to improving lives and enacting progressive change throughout her career.
The Vanguard Committee Lecture on Evaluation for lung transplantation registration link is only available to current SATA members. – Join SATA