Physician Investigator (Cl) Surgery, Mass General Research Institute

Assistant Professor of Surgery Harvard Medical School

Visiting Surgeon Transplant Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital

MD University of Damascus, School of Medicine 1994

embolization therapeutic; hepatopulmonary syndrome; hyperoxaluria primary; kidney transplantation; liver transplantation; living donors; portal vein; sentinel lymph node biopsy

Transplant patients are cared for by large multidisciplinary teams of providers managing different phases of transplant care. Communication within each team and between teams is a key driver of the patients' outcome. In his role as the MGH Transplant Center Quality Director, Dr. Elias is investigating tools to improve handoff and transition of care. A funded IPASS tool development project is currently ongoing at the MGH Abdominal Transplant Division under Dr. Elias' lead. He is also supervising multiple other quality improvement research projects.

Additionally, Dr. Elias conducts clinical trials to improve the care of the transplant patients, both facilitating earlier transplant utilizing Hepatitis C positive organs, and providing improved outcomes with novel immunosuppression agents. Dr. Elias is also the MGH Principal Investigator for the HOPE (HIV Organ Policy Equity) act multi-center trial funded by the National Institute of Health and overseeing transplantation of HIV positive organs into HIV positive recipients. MGH is the only center in New England performing these transplants, a potential opportunity to expedite transplantation of the HIV positive recipients as well as utilization of HIV positive donor organs which were discarded prior to the passage of the HOPE act.

Dr. Elias also performs research projects with organ allocation policies focus.