RenalTransplant near Flushing, NY

Biography: Pieter Jan Sebastian Smit, MD, is a surgeon, specializing in general surgery, trauma surgery, and surgical critical care at NewYork-Presbyterian Medical Group Brooklyn, affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. He is an assistant professor of clinical surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Smit performs both elective and emergency surgeries and cares for patients in the surgical intensive care unit. His clinical interests include abdominal wall reconstruction, minimally invasive emergency surgery, and damage control surgery and resuscitation. Dr. Smit is also involved in resident education through Weill Cornell Medical College. After graduating from Albany Medical College, Dr. Smit completed his general surgery residency and surgical critical care fellowship training at Orlando Regional Medical Center and Boston Medical Center, respectively. Before coming to NewYork-Presbyterian, Dr. Smit was a surgeon at NYU Langone Health in Brooklyn, where he served in several leadership committees. Dr. Smit has presented his research at annual medical meetings of the American College of Surgeons is a member of multiple national surgical and trauma organizations.

Biography: If you need assistance in Chinese (Mandarin & Cantonese), please call 646-317-6325. Visit Columbia Liver Asian Outreach Office (English | Mandarin) Tomoaki Kato, M.D., is a noted pioneer in multiple-organ transplantation, pediatric and adult liver transplantation. Dr. Kato is Surgical Director of Adult and Pediatric Liver and Intestinal Transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and is a professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Kato is known for unique and innovative surgeries for adults and children, including a six-organ transplant; a procedure called APOLT (auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation) that resuscitates a failing liver by attaching a partial donor liver, making immunosuppressant drugs unnecessary and the first successful human partial bladder transplantation involving the transplant of two kidneys together with ureters connected to a patch of the donor bladder. In a highly publicized case, he led the first reported removal and re-implantation, or auto-transplantation, of six organs to excise a hard-to-reach abdominal tumor. Previously the director of pediatric liver and gastrointestinal transplant and professor of clinical surgery at the University of Miami School of Medicine, Dr. Kato received his medical degree from the Osaka University Medical School in Japan and received his residency training in surgery at Osaka University Hospital and Itami City Hospital in Hyogo, Japan. He completed a clinical fellowship in transplantation at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, in Miami, Florida, where he was subsequently appointed to the surgical faculty in 1997, and promoted to full professor in 2007. He served as a surgeon and senior leader of the liver and transplantation center at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital, beginning in 1997, and at University of Miami Hospital (previously Cedars Medical Center), beginning in 2004. Dr. Kato is a member of numerous professional and honorary organizations, and the author or co-author of more than 180 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. Visit The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at columbiasurgery.org/liver

Biography: Dr. Llore is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Columbia University and an Attending Transplant Surgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Llore received her undergraduate degree from Fordham University and her medical degree from New York University School of Medicine. She completed general surgery residency at Georgetown University Hospital and abdominal transplant/hepatobiliary fellowship training at New York Presbyterian Columbia and Weill Cornell. She received additional training on the immune response after a liver transplant and xenotransplantation with Dr. Megan Sykes at Columbia Center for Translational Immunology (CCTI). She is board-certified in general surgery and received specialty training in abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary surgery. Her practice interests focus on the surgical management of children and adults with liver and bile duct disease, including benign and malignant liver tumors. She practices minimally invasive surgical techniques in liver surgery to shorten recovery times and reduce post operative discomfort. Dr. Llore is interested in surgical education and is the Associate Program Director for the ASTS certified surgical fellowship program.

Care Philosophy: We are committed to delivering the best care and an exceptional patient experience. We are devoted to providing services that are patient-centered and compassionate, and care for you as a person.

Biography: Andrew T. Lenis, MD MS, is an Assistant Professor of Urology at CUIMC. He specializes in treating patients with bladder, kidney, prostate, testis, and penile cancers. Dr. Lenis graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, with a dual MD MS degree and Honors Distinction in Research. He then completed his surgical internship and urology residency at UCLA in Los Angeles, California. After residency, Dr. Lenis completed a fellowship in Urologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Dr. Lenis joined CUIMC as a surgeon-scientist with an interest and specialization in urothelial cancer (tumors of the bladder, ureter, and renal pelvis). In the laboratory, Dr. Lenis works and collaborates with Michael Shen, Ph.D., who is an expert in bladder and prostate developmental and molecular biology and a pioneer in bladder tumor organoids. The American Urological Association, the American Cancer Society, and the American Society for Clinical Oncology have funded Dr. Lenis' research. His work on urologic malignancies has been published in JAMA, the Journal of Urology, European Urology, the Journal of Clinical Oncology Precision Oncology, and Urologic Oncology. When not seeing patients or in the laboratory, Dr. Lenis enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons. They enjoy the outdoors and traveling.

Care Philosophy: I strive to achieve the best outcomes through a collaborative effort with my patients and aim to ensure that all my patients understand their condition and treatment options.

Biography: Dr. Angela Kadenhe-Chiweshe completed her M.D. degree at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. She entered a categorical general surgery residency at the University of Rochester where her interest in pediatric surgery was solidified. In 2001 she joined the Pediatric Tumor Biology Laboratory as a postdoctoral research fellow under the tutelage of Drs. Jessica Kandel and Darrell Yamashiro. During this time she studied the effects of anti-angiogenic therapy in experimental models of pediatric solid tumors. This work led to key discoveries of how these tumors respond to anti-angiogenic therapy and served as important preclinical data for the Phase II studies for Avastin® (bevacizumab). She also concurrently completed a clinical fellowship in Extra-Corporal Membrane Oxygenation with Dr. Charles Stolar. She went on to complete her general surgery training at Columbia University in 2007, and followed with a clinical fellowship in Pediatric Surgery at the Morgan Stanley Children's' Hospital of New York Presbyterian, in 2009. Dr. Chiweshe joined the faculty of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, as Assistant Professor of Surgery in July 2009 until her departure in June 2018, when she briefly joined the Faculty of the Department of Surgery at Westchester Medical Center. Dr. Chiweshe's clinical interests include all aspects of general and thoracic pediatric surgery: in particular, neonatal anomalies, intestinal rehabilitation, hepatobiliary disease, pediatric cancer and vascular anomalies. Dr. Chiweshe's academic interests lie in the field of clinical and translational research. She served as co-PI of the Pediatric Tumor Biology Lab at Columbia, working alongside her mentor Dr. Yamashiro to elucidate the response of the tumor microenvironment of experimental models of pediatric solid tumors to NOTCH inhibition and high dose radiation. She has received grant funding from various sources, throughout her career, including NIH, Pediatric Cancer Foundation, and other institutional and philanthropic sources. Dr. Kadenhe-Chiweshe is a highly respected mentor and teacher, and has served as a role model to many students, residents, and fellows.Dr. Chiweshe is a Fellow of American College of Surgeons, a member of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, Children's Oncology Group, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. She has been recognized by Castle Connolly as one of "America's Top Doctors".

Care Philosophy: I enjoy including my patients in every step of the process- from the initial appoitment to the surgical planning. I want to make sure that they understand all the options so we can make the best plan for them! I will be with you every step of the way.

Biography: Jason Hawksworth, MD is a noted pioneer in minimally invasive robotic hepatobiliary and transplant surgery. Dr. Hawksworth is the Surgical Director of Adult Liver Transplantation, Chief of Hepatobiliary Surgery, and the Director of Robotic Liver Surgery Program in the Division of Abdominal Organ Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and is an Associate Professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Hawksworth is known for unique and innovative minimally invasive robotic surgeries to remove tumors of the liver, bile duct and pancreas, including robotic major hepatectomy, robotic pancreatectomy, and robotic Whipple. He also specializes in robotic transplantation including robotic kidney transplantation, robotic living donor nephrectomy and robotic living donor hepatectomy. Dr. Hawksworth received his undergraduate degree from The United States Military Academy at West point and his medical degree from Wake Forest University Bowman Gray School of Medicine. Dr. Hawksworth completed general surgery residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center followed by an abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary surgery fellowship at Georgetown University Hospital. Previously the Chief of Robotic Surgery at Georgetown University Hospital, Dr. Hawksworth established one of the nation's premier robotic hepatobiliary and transplant programs in 2018 at Georgetown. He was recruited to Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 2023 to lead the liver transplant and hepatobiliary programs and continue to develop innovative techniques in robotic surgery. Dr. Hawksworth is a member of several key organizations including a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, American Society of Transplant Surgeons, International Laparoscopic Liver Society, and Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association. His research interests include clinical transplant and hepatobiliary trials, and he has published over 60 scientific manuscripts and book chapters in leading journals such as Annals of Surgery, Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, American Journal of Transplantation and Transplantation. Dr. Hawksworth is a Colonel in the Army reserves and has deployed four times to support combat operations in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Visit The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at columbiasurgery.org/liver.