Kareem Abu-Elmagd, MD, PhD, has joined the Department of General Surgery in the Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute as Director of the Intestinal Transplant Program.

During the next few months, Dr. Abu-Elmagd will take on leadership of the Transplant Center from John Fung, MD, Chairman of the Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute, who has directed the center until now. Dr. Abu-Elmagd has led the Intestinal Rehabilitation and Transplant Center at the University of Pittsburgh (UPMC) since its establishment in 1999 and has earned an international reputation for clinical and technical contributions to the field of transplantation. He has authored more than 300 original publications and 40 book chapters. He is an active member of 13 prominent professional and scientific societies. In 1999, Dr. Abu-Elmagd convinced the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that, due to improved survival rates, intestinal and multivisceral transplantation programs should receive reimbursement.

In addition to his clinical and surgical expertise in the field of liver transplantation, Dr. Abu-Elmagd has also made significant global contributions to the field of portal hypertensive surgery. He played a pivotal role in the development and introduction of the immunosuppressive drug FK506, also known as Prograf.