Stephanie Lasner

Dr. Novitsky is internationally known for his expertise in advanced laparoscopic and robotic surgery as well complex inguinal and ventral hernia repairs. Driven by a determination to improve outcomes for the millions of patients who undergo hernia surgery each year, he has focused intensively on research to advance surgical technique and improve tissue responses to surgical mesh. He is perhaps best known for pioneering techniques for minimally-invasive ventral hernia repair and open abdominal wall reconstructions; the procedure known as transversus abdominis muscle release (TAR), which he first described in 2006, has become widely adopted worldwide since he published three-year results in 2009. His current national leadership roles include chairmanship of the Practice Advisory Committee, Americas Hernia Society; membership on the Guidelines Committee of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES); the Value Analysis Initiative of the SAGES Hernia Task force; American Hernias Society Board of Governors, and others. Dr. Novitsky earned his medical degree at Albany College and completed residencies in General Surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center and University of Massachusetts, Worcester, followed by fellowships in minimally invasive surgery at University of Massachusetts and the Carolinas Medical Center. He was Chief of Laparoscopic Surgery for four years at University of Connecticut Health Center prior to his move to Cleveland in 2011. Dr. Novitsky has received over $2 million in grants from SAGES, the National Institutes of Health, and other funders to research improvements in hernia repair and gastroesophageal reflux disease. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles and numerous book chapters. In addition to his clinical and research activities, Dr. Novitsky mentors post-doctoral students and remains actively involved in medical education. In sharing his talents with our patients, faculty, and medical students, Dr. Novitsky will undoubtedly strengthen the Division of General Surgery in all facets of patient care, research, and education.

I entered the field of pediatric nephrology with a passion for working with infants, children, and adolescents with kidney disease. I was drawn to this special population because I enjoy the ongoing relationships that I have with my patients. It is a privilege to help educate children, parents, and fellow pediatricians about the kidneys and their role in nutrition, growth, and development. I treat children of all ages, from infancy to young adulthood. My specific area of interest is disorders of the kidney filters—the glomeruli—which clean the blood by filtering out excess fluid and waste products. When these filters are injured, children can have blood or protein in their urine, a sign that the kidneys are not functioning properly. In addition to cleaning the blood, the kidneys help control growth, prevent anemia, and regulate blood pressure. I work closely with patients and parents to optimize nutrition, hydration, and medications to help the kidneys perform their very important roles! My research interests are also focused on diseases of the glomeruli, specifically on patients who have received kidney transplants, and I am looking at how to optimize their success and keep them as healthy as possible post-transplantation. I am also very involved in training and inspiring future pediatric nephrologists. I work closely with medical students and pediatricians-in-training to educate them on the management of patients with kidney disorders and how to safely treat and help them thrive.

Dr. Ratner is Professor of Surgery and Director of Renal and Pancreatic Transplantation at Columbia University. Prior to joining the faculty at Columbia, Dr. Ratner was on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and served as the Chief of Solid Organ Transplantation at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Dr. Ratner was responsible for dramatic growth of the kidney transplant program at CUIMC. He also established the pancreas transplant program, and the Kidney Autotransplant Program. He introduced robotic surgery to our kidney transplant program. Access to organ transplantation has been Dr. Ratner's major academic interest. Dr. Ratner has been a leading innovator in transplantation for over two decades. In 1993, he performed the world's first dual renal transplant. In 1995 (with Dr. Louis Kavoussi) he performed the first laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, and set the stage for its widespread adoption, which resulted in a profound increase in living donor kidney transplantation. Dr. Ratner has made significant contributions in overcoming immunologic incompatibilities that prohibited transplantation. He devised the plasmapheresis/IVIg protocol for alloantibody desensitization in 1998. In 2001, Dr. Ratner orchestrated the second paired-kidney exchange in the U.S. Subsequently, he arranged the first paired kidney exchanges in both Pennsylvania and New York. More recently Dr. Ratner has been a leading proponent of including compatible donor/recipient pairs in kidney exchanges. And, his more contemporary work has looked at the organizational and regulatory barriers to access to care. All of these strategies have increased organ availability and access to transplantation. Additionally, he has made important contributions to improve living donor safety. For his work, Dr. Ratner has received numerous awards and honors. And, he has been invited to speak and operate at various venues around the world. Dr. Ratner has authored or co-authored over 240 peer-reviewed publications, and has been a federally funded investigator. His publications have been cited over 20,000 times. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the LiveOnNY (formerly the New York Organ Donor Network), and has served on numerous national committees including the Board of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). He recently completed a term as the President of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, and previously served as that Society's Treasurer.Dr. Ratner originally hails from Brooklyn, NY. He received his undergraduate education at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He received his M.D. from Hahnemann University. His general surgery training was obtained at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He completed a Fellowship in Transplantation Surgery and Immunology at Washington University. In 2011 Dr. Ratner completed a Master of Public Health with a focus on health care policy, administration and management.