Physicians

Department / Division
Surgery / Abdominal Transplant

Address
DUMC 3512
Durham, NC 27710

Appointment Telephone
919-684-8245

Office Telephone
919-684-8245

Fax Telephone
919-684-8716

Training

• MD, Harvard Medical School (Massachusetts), 1999

Residency

• General Surgery, University of California–San Francisco Medical Center, 1999-2007

Fellowship

• Abdominal Transplantation, University of California–San Francisco Medical Center, 2007-2009

Other Training

• MS, Biochemistry, University of California–Los Angeles, 1994

Clinical Interests
General, laparoscopic, and hepatobiliary surgery; liver-, kidney-, and pancreas-transplant surgery

Research Interests
Regulation of T Cell Subsets by Innate Immune Signals
The context in which antigen is encountered has a critical role in the regulation of the immune response. In the setting of tissue destruction and inflammation, the immune system is alerted to the presence of danger and mounts a stronger immune reaction. During organ transplantation, both the recipient tissues and the graft tissues suffer injury and release endogenous molecules that can act as potent stimulators of the innate immune response. With the discovery of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which recognize molecules associated with tissue injury and infection, there has been increasing interest in the role of the innate immune system in the regulation of the adaptive immune system. The goal of our laboratory is to understand the contribution of innate pathway stimulation on the allospecific T cell response during organ transplantation. Through these studies, we aim to gain new insights into the molecular basis of alloimmunity and immune tolerance in order to reveal novel targets for the prevention and treatment of transplant rejection.

Industry Relationships and Collaborations (What's this?)

This faculty member has no reported relationships with industry.

Representative Publications
Brennan, TV; Jaigirdar, A; Hoang, V; Hayden, T; Liu, FC; Zaid, H; Chang, CK; Bucy, RP; Tang, Q; Kang, SM. Preferential priming of alloreactive T cells with indirect reactivity. American Journal of Transplantation. 2009;9:709-718. (2009) Abstract

Brennan, TV; Hoang, V; Garrod, KR; Liu, FC; Hayden, T; Kim, J; Kang, SM. A new T-cell receptor transgenic model of the CD4+ direct pathway: level of priming determines acute versus chronic rejection. Transplantation. 2008;85:247-255. (2008) Abstract

Brennan, TV; Bostrom, A; Feng, S. Optimizing living donor kidney graft function by donor-recipient pair selection. Transplantation. 2006;82:651-656. (2006) Abstract

Brennan, TV; Fuller, TF; Vincenti, F; Chan, S; Chang, CK; Bostrom, A; Zlatunich, JK; Tomlanovich, SJ; Feng, S. Living donor kidney transplant recipients and clinical trials: participation profiles and impact on post-transplant care. American Journal of Transplantation. 2006;6:2429-2435. (2006) Abstract

Brennan, TV; Freise, CE; Fuller, TF; Bostrom, A; Tomlanovich, SJ; Feng, S. Early graft function after living donor kidney transplantation predicts rejection but not outcomes. American Journal of Transplantation. 2004;4:971-979. (2004) Abstract