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John Roberts named VP & President-Elect of National Transplantation Network
John Roberts, M.D. has been elected vice president/president-elect of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing (OPTN/UNOS).
John P. Roberts, M.D.
Professor and Chief, Division of Transplant Surgery
Chief, UCSF Medical Center Transplant Service
Contact Information
(415) 353-1551 Clinical, Kidney and Pancreas
(415) 353-9321 Academic
john.roberts@ucsfmedctr.org
BiographyEducation
- Stanford University, Stanford, CA, B.S., Biology, 1972-76
- University of California, San Diego, CA, M.D., Medicine, 1976-80
Residencies
- University of Washington, Seattle, WA., Resident, Surgery, 1980-83
- University of Washington, Seattle, WA., Resident, Surgery, 1985-86
Fellowships
- Cornell University, New York, NY, Fellow, Research, 1983-85
- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, Fellow, Transplant, 1986-87
Board Certification
- American Board of Surgery, 1988, renewed 2006
Clinical Expertise
- Bile Duct Injuries
- Bile Duct Strictures
- Cholangiocarcinoma (Bile Duct Cancer)
- Choledochal Cyst Disease
- Complex Cancer Resections
- Expanded Criteria Donor Kidney Transplantation
- Fulminant Hepatic Failure
- Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Liver Cancer)
- Infections Post-Transplant
- Kidney Transplantation
- Liver Resection
- Liver Transplantation
- Living Donor Kidney Transplantation
- Living Donor Liver Transplantation
- Pediatric Kidney Transplantation
- Pediatric Liver Transplantation
- Portal Hypertension
- Surgical Shunts
Research Interests
- Cost of Transplantation
- Ethical Issues in Transplantation
- Immunosuppression
- Organ Allocation
Biography
John Roberts is a professor of surgery at UCSF and Chief of the Division of Transplantation. After receiving his medical degree at the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Roberts completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Washington, Cornell University and the University of Minnesota. Dr. Roberts supervises medical students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows. He has received awards from the residents for his teaching efforts. He is active in health policy regarding transplantation and is a member of professional and public service organizations related to this field.
Highly respected by his peers, Dr. Roberts was named to the list of U.S. News "America's Top Doctors," a distinction reserved for the top 1% of physicians in the nation for a given specialty. Dr. Roberts serves on numerous national committees related to his expertise on organ distribution. He frequently delivers presentations on topics involving transplantation science and the management of surgical patients.Dr. Roberts is also an active clinician, treating patients on the UCSF Transplant Service.
Selected Publications
- Roberts JP, Hulbert-Shearon TE, Merion RM, Wolfe RA, Port FK. Influence of graft type on outcomes after pediatric liver transplantation. Am J Transplant, Mar/2004;4(3):373-7.
- Roberts JP, Neill A, Goldstein R. The use of a micro-bubble contrast agent to allow visualization of the biliary tree. Clin Transplant, 2006;20(6):740-2.
- Roberts JP, Dykstra DM, Goodrich NP, Rush SH, Merion RM, Port FK. Geographic Differences in Event Rates by Model for End-Stage Liver Disease Score. Am J Transplant, Aug/29/2006.
- Roberts JP, Wolfe RA, Bragg-Gresham JL, Rush SH, Wynn JJ, Distant DA, Ashby VB, Held PJ, Port FK. Effect of changing the priority for HLA matching on the rates and outcomes of kidney transplantation in minority groups. N Engl J Med, Feb/5/2004;350(6):545-51.
- Yao FY, Hirose R, LaBerge JM, Davern TJ, Bass NM, Kerlan RK, Merriman R, Feng S, Freise CE, Ascher NL, Roberts JP. A prospective study on downstaging of hepatocellular carcinoma prior to liver transplantation. Liver Transpl, Dec/2005;11(12):1505-14.
In the News
John Roberts, M.D. Elected President of the National Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing's Board of Directors
UCSF Medical Center News - May 09, 2012John P. Roberts, M.D., Professor and Chief of Transplant Surgery and the Organ Transplant Service at UCSF, has been elected President of the National Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing (OPTN/UNOS) Board of Directors. Roberts will serve a one-year term beginning in late June 2012.
Twenty-Five Department of Surgery Faculty Named to U.S. News “Top Doctors†List
U.S. News - Mar 01, 2012In its most recent survey, U.S. News in collaboration with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. listed twenty-five (25) surgeons in the UCSF Department of Surgery, nearly one-third (1/3) of the clinical faculty, on the list of U.S. News "Top Doctors". The list, compiled from the opinion of colleagues, denotes the top 10% of physicians within a region practicing a given specialty. Fifteen of the 25 department surgeons were also named by their peers to the list of America's Top Doctors (ATD), a distinction reserved for the top 1% of physicians in the nation for that specialty. The listings are published online at U.S. News. The group rankings are intended to guide patients in selecting a doctor and physicians in making specialty referrals.
UCSF Receives Grant to Improve Outcomes in Organ Donor Transplantation
UCSF News - Oct 20, 2011Claus Niemann, MD, Associate Professor in the UCSF Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care and co-Director of the Ischemic Organ Injury Lab (pictured left), has been awarded a $2 million grant by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to improve outcomes in organ donor transplantation. The grant award also included collaborators John Feiner, MD, Ryutaro Hirose, MD, and John Roberts, MD, chief of the UCSF Division of Transplant Surgery, the California Transplant Donor Network and Darren Malinoski, MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The innovative project is designed to determine the optimal management of organ donors before the procurement operation occurs. Research in this area has been hindered by numerous obstacles including the logistical challenges of conducting research in large hospitals in California and northern Nevada.
Dr. John Roberts Elected VP & President-Elect of National Transplantation Network
UCSF Medical Center News - May 28, 2011Dr. John Roberts, UCSF professor and chief of transplant surgery, has been elected vice president/president-elect of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing (OPTN/UNOS) Board of Directors. Roberts will serve a one-year term beginning in June 2011 and will become the organization's president in June 2012.
Transplant Service Chief Talks Living Donor Liver Transplants
UCSF News - Jan 07, 2011"John Roberts, M.D., chief of the UCSF Transplant Service and a leading expert in liver transplant surgery for adults and children, recently talked with Andrew Schorr of Patient Power about the risks and benefits of living donor liver transplant surgery. Liver transplants provide patients a chance for a longer, more active life in the final stages of liver disease or end-stage liver disease. At UCSF Medical Center, the majority of organs for transplantation are obtained from people who have died and whose families have given permission for their organs to be donated. But today, an increasing number of liver transplants are performed with portions of livers donated by a living relative or friend."
Kaiser Permanente Praises UCSF Liver Transplant Outcomes
UCSF Department of Surgery - Dec 23, 2009UCSF Medical Center's Liver Transplant Program exceeded all standards for adult transplants in an annual review by the Kaiser Permanente National Transplant Network. Outcomes data, including national benchmarks of the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), were used in the review. Dr. Ronald Potts, quality performance medical director at Kaiser, recognized UCSF for the "statistically high patient and graft survival outcomes." UCSF outcomes for adults have been consistently higher than national averages. For example, liver transplant patients at UCSF Medical Center have a survival rate of 94 percent after a year, compared to the national rate of 91 percent. In a letter to Dr. John Roberts, chief of the UCSF Transplant Service, Potts said, "Our collaborative efforts continue to provide Kaiser Permanente members with the best possible transplant care and service." UCSF has had a contract with Kaiser to perform liver transplants since 1988. Kaiser patients account for about 60 of UCSF's 150 liver transplants a year.
Survival rates exceed national averages for UCSF heart, liver and lung transplant programs
UCSF News - Feb 29, 2008"One-year survival rates for patients receiving heart, liver and lung transplants at UCSF Medical Center exceed national averages at statistically significant levels, according to new data compiled by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR)."
"The Wait for Life" Highlights Organ Sharing Debate, with UCSF's Liver Transplant Service at the Center
UCSF Today, CA - Sep 19, 2006"A difficult conundrum for the nation's transplant patients was aired September 22 when the news program California Connected featured UCSF's Liver Transplant Program. The story, produced by Jon Dann for public television stations KQED and KCET, highlights the difficult choices that patients, families and doctors face because of the shortage of donated organs for transplantation."
A day in the life of a husband and wife liver transplant team
San Francisco Chronicle, CA - Dec 18, 2005"Of all the things for a married couple to bicker about, Nancy Ascher and John Roberts have hit on a first -- a pulsing human liver. To be precise, they are standing forehead to forehead with a man splayed out between them. Roberts wants more of his liver to take next door to a waiting recipient. Ascher wants more of it left behind for the donor's recovery."
