About Us
Transplantation Advisory Council
The Transplantation Advisory Council works alongside the five specialty boards of the American Board of Surgery (ABS). The Transplantation Advisory Council consists of members nominated by colleagues, organizations representative of the specialty, or self-nomination, as well as ABS Council members previously elected from within the specialty.
Intro
About the Transplantation Advisory Council
The Transplantation Advisory Council (TAC) is composed of approximately 6-10 members that represent the spectrum of transplantation and are responsible for providing guidance from the transplant surgeon perspective to the ABS.
Members participate in the review and development of transplant-related items for ABS examinations and the administration of the general surgery oral examination (General Surgery Certifying Examination), in addition to focusing on the TAC’s current priorities and initiatives. Members also sit on an ABS committee aligned with their area of interest and/or expertise.
2025-2026 Transplantation Advisory Council
Meet the Transplantation Advisory Council
The TAC currently has seven members, including a chair and vice chair. Each member serves a term of six years.
- Amy R. Evenson, M.D. - Chair
- Jennifer E. Verbesey, M.D. - Vice Chair
- Srinath Chinnakotla, M.D.
- Kelly M. Collins, M.D.
- Sander S. Florman, M.D.
- Fady M. Kaldas, M.D.
- Marc L. Melcher, M.D.
Director Spotlight
The TAC welcomes Dr. Kelly M. Collins
Dr. Collins is surgical director of pediatric liver and kidney transplant at American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, Wisc. She is also an associate professor in the department of surgery, division of transplantation and a pediatric surgeon at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.
Dr. Collins received her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee followed by residency training in general surgery. She then completed a fellowship in adult and pediatric abdominal transplantation and hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Her clinical interests include pediatric transplantation, patient education and the patient experience, living donor liver transplantation, and robotic surgery.
Dr. Collins holds multiple leadership positions with the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, including serving as the past co-chair of both the Fellowship Training Committee and the current Transplant Accreditation & Certification Council as well as a committee member of the Pipeline Committee and Peer Support Network. She is also a member of the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association Peer Support Network.
Director Spotlight
The TAC welcomes Dr. Sander S. Florman
Dr. Florman is the Charles Miller, M.D. Professor of Surgery and director of the Recanti/Miller Transplantation Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Prior to this, he was the director of abdominal transplantation at Tulane University and Children’s Hospital in New Orleans.
He received his medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky before beginning his surgical residency training at Tulane University. Following completion of his fellowship in hepatobiliary surgery and abdominal transplantation at Mount Sinai, Dr. Florman remained on staff there until returning to Tulane.
Dr. Florman has been very active in the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), having served on the Membership & Professional Standards and Liver & Intestinal Organ Transplantation Committees and as the chair of the region three and nine review boards. He co-chaired the down-staging group at the UNOS Hepatocellular Carcinoma Consensus Conference and was active on the Combined Liver/Kidney and Broader Sharing subcommittees.
Dr. Florman is the current president of the American Foundation for Donation and Transplantation. He is a member of many professional societies and has served on several American Society of Transplant Surgeons committees (ethics, bylaws, communications, CME, and living donor). He has been very active with the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency, LiveOnNY, and Center for Donation and Transplant organ procurement organizations, having served on the board of directors of all three, and has published more than 250 manuscripts and 20 book chapters.
Staff Leadership
Meet the Staff Leadership Team
The ABS leadership team supports the work of the ABS Board of Directors, Council, specialty boards, and the ABS mission.
