At Northwestern University in Chicago, the National Stem Cell Foundation partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense to help fund a collaboration between the Institute for Cellular Therapeutics (ICT) at the University of Louisville and Dr. Joseph Leventhal, Professor of Surgery in the Division of Organ Transplantation at Northwestern University Medical School and Director of the Living Donor Renal Transplant Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
This collaboration is using stem cells from a kidney donor to eliminate the need for anti-rejection drugs following a kidney transplant.
Biography:
Dr. Joseph Leventhal is Professor of Surgery and Director of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He received his M.D. from State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center. He completed his surgical training at and obtained his Ph.D. in Surgical Science from the University of Minnesota in 1996. He joined the faculty of Northwestern University in 1998 after completion of a multiorgan transplant fellowship.
Dr. Leventhal has been actively involved in basic science and translational transplant research for 25 years. He is a leader in the field of regulatory T cells, focusing his research on the biology of regulatory T cells and their potential for the control of the immune system after organ transplantation.
Dr. Leventhal has received 31 research grants totaling $5.9 million, has authored 87 publications in key journals detailing research initiatives in organ transplantation, and is a co-founder of TRACT Therapeutics.