Meet Our Faculty
Statewide Leaders
As the only medical sciences university in the state, and the only center in the State of Arkansas that offers adult liver or kidney transplantation, UAMS provides state-of-the-art equipment and cutting-edge technology for patients in need of transplants. UAMS has a history of Arkansas medical firsts. We performed the state’s first kidney transplant in 1964, and in 1991, UAMS performed the first kidney-pancreas transplant in the State. We added another “first” in 2005 when UAMS performed Arkansas’ first liver transplant, and we have been growing ever since. As of February 2026, UAMS is the only center in the State that is doing adult kidney, liver and pancreas transplantation.
In 2026 the transplant team completed over 3000 renal transplant surgeries.
The Liver and Renal transplant programs are busier than ever, with increased referrals, increased national patient listing for organs, and increased transplantation. While growing, the program has maintained national outcomes, successfully transplanted higher risk patients, with significantly lower wait list times than other centers in our region. nts, with significantly lower wait list times than other centers in our region. Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients.
Since 1991, joining UAMS after his fellowship at Ohio State University Hospital. Lyle Burdine, M.D., Ph.D., is the Surgical Director for the Solid Organ Transplant Program at UAMS and leads our team of transplant physicians and surgeons as well as continuing research in immunosuppression. He is joined by abdominal transplant surgeons M Michelle Estrada, MD; JR Montgomery, MD and Tatsuki Nakamura, MD. Gary Barone, M.D., has been a key member of the transplant team since 1991. The surgical team is joined in caring for the transplant patients by transplant fellowship-trained physician as well as transplant trained Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioners. Our Transplant Nephrologists are led by Sushma Bhusal, M.D.; and include Venkatta Manchala, MD, Adrianne Basa, MD; and Avantika Israni, MD. The Hepatology team are led by Mary Katherine Rude, M.D., Matthew Deneke, M.D., Mauricio Garcia, MD, Ragesh Thandassery, MD, and Chinmay Bera, MD To get more clinical information, please visit our Transplant Clinic site or enjoy these To get more clinical information, please visit our site or enjoy these Organ Transplant Patient Stories.
