Meet the lung transplant team

Directors

Gary Visner, DO
Medical Director
A 1981 graduate of the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Visner has been providing care to pediatric lung transplant patients for more than 10 years. Before joining Children's, Visner reactivated the lung transplant program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, serving as its medical director. Prior to his work in Philadelphia, he founded the pediatric transplant program at the University of Florida's Shands Hospital. Dr. Visner is an associate professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and holder of the Mary Ellen Beck-Wohl Chair in Pulmonary Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital.

Francis Fynn-Thompson, MD
Surgical Director

Dr. Fynn-Thompson serves as an assistant in Cardiac Surgery and is the surgical director for the Heart Transplant Program. In addition, he is a surgeon for the Lung Transplant Program. Dr. Fynn-Thompson's research activities are focused on clinical and translational projects, primarily with regard to minimally invasive techniques and arrhythmia surgery. He holds an Academic Appointment as Instructor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Read how Dr. Fynn-Thompson built a bridge to transplant for a patient with the Berlin Heart.

Phillip Camp, MD
Division of Thoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Dr. Camp is the Director of the Lung Transplantation Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a member of the Division of Thoracic Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Brigham and Women's. He participates as a member of the critical care staff for the Thoracic ICU at Brigham and Women's.

John E. Mayer, Jr., MD
Dr. Mayer is a Senior Associate in Cardiac Surgery specializing in cardiac transplantation and pediatric cardiovascular surgery. A board certified thoracic surgeon, Dr. Mayer is also a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and one of the Top Doctors in Boston as named by Boston Magazine in December 2011. Dr. Mayer's research includes the short- and long-term outcome of the Fontan operation, cardiac transplantion, and tissue engineering of cardiac structures.

Frank Pigula, MD

Dr. Pigila is a Senior Associate in Cardiac Surgery specializing in cardiac transplantation and pediatric cardiovascular surgery. A board certified thoracic surgeon, Dr. Mayer is also a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and a research focusing on the development and testing of techniques by which safe and reliable fetal cardiac interventions may be performed.

Pulmonologist

Debra Boyer, MD
Dr. Boyer specializes in the care of patients with cystic fibrosis, asthma, lung disease associated with stem cell transplantation and other chronic lung diseases. She is a faculty member in the Division of Respiratory Diseases at Children's and has been appointed an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.

Nurse Coordinator

Dawn Freiberger, RN, MSN
Dawn graduated from St. Louis University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1982. She initially worked as a pediatric registered nurse before completing her Master of Science in Nursing, with a pediatric concentration, at Boston University in 1988. Dawn started at Children’s in 1985 in the Oncology Department before joining the Lung Transplant Program in 2005.

Pharmacists

Joanne Lee, PharmD

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.

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.

Dietitian

Julianna Bailey, RD, LDN

Physical Therapist

Anne Gould, PT

Child Life Specialist

Kirsten Getchell, MS, CCLS
Intestine & Multivisceral, Liver and Lung Transplant Programs
Kirsten Fowler 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.

Kate Huyler, CCLS
Cardiac Intensive Care Unit
Kate joined Boston Children's Hospital in July 2010 in our Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. She graduated from Wheelock College in 2003 and has worked for several years in early intervention in Boston and San Francisco. Kate is a certified Early Intervention Specialist, certified Educator of Infant Massage and is trained in the Brazleton NBO System.

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 Worker

Lynne Helfand, MSW, MPH, LICSW
Lynne received her Master of Social Work and Master of Public Health degrees from Boston University in 1987. After working with dialysis and kidney transplant patients at an area hospital, she came to Children’s in 1991. Lynne joined the Lung Transplant Program in 1996.

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.

Administrative Assistant

Lenaka Maddox

Sandra K. Burchett, MD, MSc
Pediatric Transplant Center Infectious Disease Physician
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
Pediatric Transplant Center Infectious Disease Nurse Practitioner
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
Infectious Disease Physician
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
Infectious Disease Physician
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
Infectious Disease Physician
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
Infectious Disease Physician
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
Infectious Disease Physician
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.

Lung Transplant Program