Meet the Staff
At the George Washington University Hospital, the kidney and liver transplant team is with you every step of the way. The team includes:
- Transplant nephrologist (kidney specialist)
- Transplant surgeon
- Clinical transplant coordinator
- Clinical transplant donor coordinator
- Staff nurse
- Social worker
- Post-transplant coordinator
- Financial coordinator
- Transplant pharmacist
- Registered dietitian
Joseph Keith Melancon, MD
Dr. Melancon is Professor of Surgery, George Washington University; Chief, Transplant Institute and Division of Transplant Surgery; and Medical Director, Ron and Joy Paul Kidney Center.
Dr. Melancon is originally from Louisiana and received his medical education and surgical training from Tulane University. He completed a multi-organ transplantation fellowship at the University of Minnesota. The Minnesota transplant program is internationally acclaimed for its work in pancreas and islet cell transplantation. Dr. Melancon was recently the Director of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Medstar Washington Hospital Center. He also previously served as the Director of Pediatric Kidney Transplantation at Children’s National Medical Center.
Dr. Melancon’s specialties include kidney, liver and pancreas transplantation, pancreas islet and stem cell transplantation, and laparoscopic kidney donation. Among his research interests are minimizing immunosuppression, transplant organ tolerance, racial differences in outcomes of organ transplantation, stem cell transplantation and islet transplantation.
Dr. Melancon has presented numerous papers and presentations, and participated in several research activities and book chapters. He also participated in the largest ever paired kidney exchange in November 2010.
Muralidharan Jagadeesan, MD, FACP, FASN
Dr. Jagadeesan is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is the Chairman of Transplant Medicine and the Medical Director of the Kidney-Pancreas Transplant Program.
Dr. Jagadeesan received his medical degree from the Madras Medical College in India, completed his residency in Internal Medicine at State University of New York and fellowship in Clinical Nephrology as well as Transplant Medicine and Research at the University of Toronto. He joined the Medical College of Georgia as a Transplant Nephrologist, and directed the Transplant Fellowship Program. He actively participated in a number of landmark clinical trials aimed at improving outcomes for kidney transplant patients.
He specializes in pre-transplant work-up for kidney and pancreas transplantation, immediate post-transplant care, post-transplant medical management, novel immunosuppressive therapies, chronic rejection, transplantation across immunological barriers and paired donor exchange. He is an active member of many societies including American Society of Transplantation, and the American Society of Nephrology.
Stephen Gray, MD
Dr. Gray is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Surgical Director of The George Washington University Liver Transplant Program. He received his medical degree from the University of Michigan and completed his general surgery training and abdominal transplant fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2012. He also holds a Master of Science in Public Health in Clinical Research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.
Prior to joining the GW faculty, Dr. Gray practiced transplant surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Maryland.
Dr. Gray specializes in liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery. From a surgery standpoint, Dr. Gray is involved in the evaluation, management and treatment of patients with end-stage liver disease, including management of complications of cirrhosis, management of immunosuppression, and optimization of medical comorbidities.
His research interests relate to ensuring that culturally and ethnically appropriate assessment strategies are used to eliminate age and racial health disparities in liver transplant candidates. He has a special interest in the assessment and selection of appropriate older adults for liver transplantation. He also has an interest in health services research, specifically identifying modifiable predictors of transplant outcomes.
Zahid Vahora, MD
A Pennsylvania native, Dr. Vahora returns to his alma mater, George Washington University, as Medical Director of Liver Transplantation. He completed his internal medicine residency at Case Western Reserve University MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. He then completed his hepatology fellowship at AdventHealth Transplant Institute (formerly Florida Hospital Transplant Institute) in Orlando and his gastroenterology fellowship at East Carolina University/Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina.
Dr. Vahora specializes in the management of portal hypertension complications, liver cirrhosis, alcoholic liver disease, viral hepatitis, cholestatic and autoimmune liver diseases, fatty liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, adult liver transplantation, medical complications after liver transplantation, and other gastrointestinal disorders.
Dr. Vahora is a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American Gastroenterology Association, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American College of Gastroenterology. He participates in various clinical research and is actively involved in medical education.
Sherri Newman
Sherri Newman is the Director of Transplant and Cardiac Operations at The George Washington University Hospital. She received her undergraduate degree in Social Science at Bowie State University and her Master of Science in Health Care Administration at the University of Maryland University College.
Sherri is an accomplished management professional with over 20 years of human resource management, operations and administrative experience with a specialization in effective coaching, counseling and mentoring.
In addition to her role as the Director of Transplant and Cardiac Operations, she is also responsible for overall human resource management and operational programmatic development for cardiac surgery, transplant services and dialysis.
Prior to joining The George Washington University Hospital, Sherri was the Director of Transplant Surgery and Gastroenterology, and the Transplant Administrator at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. She was also previously the Director of Physiology Services at MedStar Mount St. Mary’s Hospital.
Ann Parker
Ann Parker is the Transplant Director of The George Washington University Hospital Liver Transplant Program.
Thomas W. Jarrett, MD
Dr. Jarrett is the Chairman of the Urology Department at The George Washington University Hospital. He is board certified in Urology and specializes in minimally invasive surgery, including laparoscopic, robotic, ureteroscopic, percutaneous and image-guided therapies.