Meet the liver transplant team

Directors

Dr. Jonas's specialties include diseases of the pediatric liver and biliary tract and viral hepatitis. She is board certified in Pediatric Transplant Hepatology and Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Jonas has served as Chair of the Medical Advisory committee of the American Liver Foundation and is a faculty member of Children's Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.

Heung Bae Kim, MD
Surgical Director

Dr. Kim serves as the director of the Pediatric Transplant Center and surgical director of the Kidney, Liver and Intestine and Multivisceral Transplant Programs. He is currently the only pediatric transplant surgeon in New England who is fellowship-trained in both pediatric surgery and liver transplantation.

Dr. Kim and his colleagues performed the first successful multivisceral transplant in New England and the world’s smallest multivisceral transplant in a 7 lb baby. He also developed the Serial Transverse Enteroplasty (STEP) procedure for short bowel syndrome. He holds an Academic Appointment as Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.

Transplant Surgeons

Roger Jenkins, MD

Dr. Jenkins is a transplant surgeon in the Liver, Intestine and Multivisceral Transplant programs. He is the Director for Live Donor Liver Transplantation at the Lahey Clinic.

Craig Lillehei, MD

Dr. Lillehei serves as a Transplant Surgeon for the Lung, Liver, Intestine & Multivisceral and Kidney Transplant Programs. In addition to transplantation, Dr. Lillehei specializes in Thoracic and General Pediatric Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. He is a faculty member of the Center for Childhood Liver Diseases. Dr. Lillehei holds an academic appointment as Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and was recently appointed Region 1 Councilor for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

Khashayar Vakili, MD

Dr. Vakili serves as a Transplant Surgeon for the Liver, Intestine and Kidney Transplant Programs. In addition to transplantation, he specializes in Hepatobiliary and General Surgery. Dr. Vakili holds an academic appointment as an Instructor at Harvard Medical School.

Transplant Heptologists

Scott A. Elisofon, MD

Dr. Elisofon serves in the Liver Transplant Program as a Transplant Hepatologist. His specialties include childhood liver and biliary tract disease and general pediatric gastroenterology in addition to liver transplantation. Dr. Elisofon is board certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology and Pediatric Transplant Hepatology. He also holds a Certificate of Added Quality (CAQ) in Transplant Hepatology.

Rima Fawaz, MD

Dr. Fawaz joined the faculty of the Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition in 2008 after completing her fellowships at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. She attended medical school at American University of Beirut in Lebanon. Her expertise is in pediatric and transplant hepatology. She is board certified in Pediatric Transplant Hepatology. Dr. Fawaz has published on hepatitis C in children.

Christine Lee, MD, Transplant Hepatologist Christine K. Lee, MD

Dr. Lee is a board certified Pediatric Gastroenterologist and Transplant Hepatologist. Receiving her medical degree from Brown University in Providence, RI, Dr. Less then joined the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center, before becoming an Attending Physician at Boston Children's Hospital and Instructor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Nurse Coordinators

Mary Alice Boulware, RN, MSN, CPNP

Courtney Fratto, RN, MSN, CPNP

Kathryn Garrigan, RN, BSN
Katie Garrigan began working at Children’s in April 2007. She has worked in liver transplantation at a Boston-area clinic for the past 10 years, the last four as a Transplant Coordinator. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Simmons College in 2002.

Pharmacists

Tsing Yi Koh-Pham, PharmD
Tsing received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Illinois – Chicago College of Pharmacy and completed a pharmacy practice residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital where she worked closely with the transplant team. She joined Boston Children's Hospital in 2008 as a Staff Pharmacist II and joined the transplant team in 2009. Tsing is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Jennifer Gilarde, PharmD
Jennifer received her Doctor of Pharmacy from Auburn University School of Pharmacy and completed both a pharmacy practice residency and pediatric specialty residency at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Jennifer joined Children’s in 2005, where she worked as a Staff Pharmacist II and supported our transplant programs in her spare time. Jennifer became a full-time member of the Pediatric Transplant Team in 2007.

Dietitian

Austin Michalski, RD, LDN

Child Life Specialists

Kirsten Getchell, MS, CCLS
Kirsten started in 2003, bringing more than five years of child life experience to Children’s. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development with a concentration in Child Life from Wheelock College. There she continued her studies and received a Master of Science degree in Family Centered Care. She is a certified and active member through the Child Life Council.

Emily Margolis, CCLS
Medical/Surgical Intensive Care Unit
Emily received her Master’s degree from Wheelock College in 1998. She was recruited from Duke University Medical Center to start Child Life programming in the intensive care areas at Boston Children's Hospital in 2006. Emily’s work in the ICU focuses on preparing for the ICU environment, helping patients to identify positive coping strategies, and providing support to brothers and sisters, too. She also collaborates with other child life specialists to help make the transitions between hospital environments seamless for our patients.

Psychiatrists and Psychologists

Patricia Ibeziako, MD
Pediatric Psychiatrist
Dr. Ibeziako completed her residency at Maimonides Medical Center in New York, New York and fellowship here at Children’s. Dr. Ibeziako is currently an attending in the Department of Psychiatry.

Kristine McKenna, PhD
Pediatric Psychologist
Dr. Kristine McKenna joined the Pediatric Transplant Center in the role of Transplant Psychologist in 2011. She completed her post-doctoral psychology fellowship at Nationwide Children's Hospital (formerly Columbus Children's Hospital) in 2007 and is currently an Assistant in Psychology at Children’s Hospital Boston and Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. McKenna is responsible for teaching and supervising psychology interns and fellows, as well as psychiatry fellows, as part of her academic appointment. Her research focuses on quality of life, adherence issues, and pain management for children, adolescents and young adults.

Melisa Oliva, PsyD
Pediatric Psychologist
Dr. Oliva joined the Pediatric Transplant Center in the role of Transplant Psychologist in 2008 after completing her post doctoral fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital. She has an academic appointment as an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School, where she is responsible for teaching and supervising psychology interns and fellows as well as psychiatry fellows. Dr. Oliva is involved with research on transplant adjustment, quality of life, adherence, and transitioning to adult transplant centers.

Social Workers

Emily Holman, LICSW
Emily received her Masters of Social Work degree from Boston University in 2002. She joined the Pediatric Transplant Center in March 2008. Prior to coming to Children’s Hospital Boston, Emily has worked in a pediatric psychiatric unit and as a heart transplant social worker.

Robin Stone, LICSW
Robin received her Master of Social Work degree from Boston College in 1984 and a post graduate degree in Child Treatment from Boston University in 1988. She worked as a Psychiatric Social Worker from 1984 to 1993 at a local mental health center and in the Boston public schools. She joined Children’s as the Liver Transplant Social Worker in 1993 and a year later also assumed the role of Stem Cell Transplant Social Worker.

Financial Coordinator

Kelbe Osborne

Kelbe has been a part of the Pediatric Transplant Center since January 2007, and with Children’s for the past three years. Kelbe brings 17 years of health care experience, with the past six years working directly in patient finance.

Infectious Disease Team

Sandra K. Burchett, MD, MSc
Dr. Burchett completed her residency at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas and MSc at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She completed her fellowship at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. She currently serves as the Clinical Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases.

Lynne Lewis, RN, MS, CPNP
Lynne Lewis received her Master of Science degree as a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist as well as completed the Post Master Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Certificate Program at the SUNY Health Science Center College of Nursing in Syracuse, New York. She serves as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for both immunocompetent and immunocompromised (HIV/AIDS/transplant recipients) patients in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s.

Julia R. Koehler, MD
Dr. Koehler completed both her residency and fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital. She is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases, her specialties include fungal infections, infections in immunocompromised children and pediatric infectious diseases. Dr. Koehler’s research activities include studies on Molecular Pathogenesis of Candida Infections.

Catherine S. Lachenauer, MD
Dr. Lachenauer serves as the Director of the Infectious Diseases Outpatient Practice at Boston Children's Hospital. She completed her internship and residency at Wyler Children's Hospital in Chicago, prior to her fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital. Dr. Lachenauer’s academic appointment is as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Grace M. Lee, MD, MPH
Dr. Lee completed her internship, residency and fellowship all at Boston Children's Hospital after completing medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. Her specialties include infection control and prevention, infections in immunocompromised children, pediatric health services research, pediatric infectious diseases and vaccine-preventable disease. Dr. Lee also holds an academic appointment as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Ofer Levy, MD, PhD
Dr. Levy's clinical specialties include bacterial infections, infections in immunocompromised children, neonatal infections and pediatric infectious diseases. Dr. Levy is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases and holds an academic appointment as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Tanvi S. Sharma, MD
Dr. Sharma joined the Infectious Disease team at Boston Children's Hospital in 2007. Her clinical focus is on infections in immunocompromised hosts, and her research is in metabolic complications in children with perinatal HIV infection. Dr. Sharma is also the Program Director for the pediatric infectious diseases fellowship training program. Dr. Sharma attended medical school at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Liver Transplant Program