Our research program brings together clinical, translational, and basic science approaches to improve kidney, liver, and pancreas transplants. Through collaboration between our surgical and immunology teams, we focus on:
- Improving graft survival
- Making transplants available to more people in our region
- Tailoring medicines that prevent organ rejection
Clinical outcomes research
Our clinical outcomes research examines how to optimize care across the transplant journey, including:
- Donor selection
- Long-term follow-up
- Waitlist management
Our current projects span across kidney, liver, and pancreas transplantation and include:
- Inequities in access to transplant
- Older patients and those with complex medical needs
- Strategies to lower complications and readmissions
- Studies of donors who may be at high risk
By using large registries and working with other institutions and hospitals, our team evaluates real-world results to inform evidence-based practice and guide future clinical trials.
Basic science research
Geisel School of Medicine's Matar Laboratory investigates novel immunosuppressive strategies and cellular therapies to promote durable immune tolerance in both allotransplant and xenotransplant settings. Ongoing work explores how to:
- Modulate innate and adaptive immune responses to reduce rejection
- Limit toxicity
- Improve long-term graft health
In partnership with biomedical engineering collaborators, the team also develops nanosensor-based technologies and other biosensors designed to monitor transplanted organ health in real time, enabling earlier detection of injury and more precise, responsive immunosuppression.