Moderator: Vikas Dharnidharka, MD

Moderator: Leonardo Riella, MD, PhD

Moderator: Monica Colvin, MD, MS

The presence of donor specific antibodies predisposes the thoracic allograft to the risk of antibody mediated rejection, chronic graft dysfunction and increased mortality. Optimal outcomes depend upon a comprehensive understanding of the significance of circulating antibodies after transplantation. What are the best strategies for defining deleterious antibodies, what are the current available therapies to address these and how effective are they?

After participating in this webinar, the learner will be able to:

1. Identify the significance of circulating antibodies in patients awaiting thoracic transplantation or in patients with development of de novo antibodies after transplantation.
2. Order appropriate tests to detect relevant donor specific antibodies.

Moderator: Shirish Huprikar, MD

Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) pose a particular threat to solid organ transplant recipients. Infections due to these pathogens are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and current therapeutic options are limited.

After participating in this webinar, the learner will be able to:

1. Describe the epidemiology and outcomes of select MDRO infections in solid organ transplant recipients.
2. Describe an approach to the use of organs from donors colonized or infected with CRE.
3. Discuss the role of infection control and antimicrobial stewardship in curtailing the spread of MDROs in solid organ transplant recipients.

Moderator: Julie Yabu, MD

After participating in this webinar, the learner will be able to:

1. Describe epitopes in the context of transplantation.
2. Discuss the importance of epitopes in HLA compatibility and optimizing graft outcome.
3. Summarize how to potentially use "epitope tools" in HLA antibody analysis and matching of donors and recipients pairs.

After participating in this webinar, the learner will be able to:

1. Identify the challenges in managing the kidney transplant patient with a failing allograft.
2. Describe the increased risks of death and sepsis for the allograft recipient as they return to dialysis.
3. Discuss the options for managing immunosuppression and end stage rejection in the failed allograft.

After participating in this webinar, the learner will be able to:

1. Describe current concerns in biomedical research about the reliability of pre-clinical
2. studies using small animal models.
3. Convey the potential impact of publication bias in pre-clinical research.
4. Illustrate the use of multi-center pre-clinical studies.
5. Suggest guidelines about conducting pre-clinical research.