Liver Transplant Anesthesia Fellowship

Number of positions: 2 per year

Duration: 1 year

Program Highlights

• Collaborative Team: Work alongside 11 liver transplant-trained faculty with dual expertise in anesthesia and critical care.
• High-Volume Center: Our center performs nearly 200 liver transplants annually, including 20–30 living donor transplants and 8–10 pediatric transplants.
• Complex Cases: Gain experience taking care of critically ill patients, many with high MELD scores at the time of transplant.

Description: Our liver transplant anesthesia fellows work with an outstanding team of liver transplant anesthesiologists and surgeons at one of the busiest transplant centers in the country. Our anesthesia team consists of 11 faculty trained in liver transplant anesthesia and critical care. We perform close to 200 liver transplants per year, including 20-30 living donor transplants and 8-10 pediatric transplants. Patients are often acutely ill, with high MELD scores at the time of transplant. 

Our fellows participate in adult deceased donor and living donor liver transplants and adult live donor operations. Educational meetings include transplant selection committee meetings, transplant morbidity and mortality conferences, and liver anesthesia journal clubs.

Our fellows are strongly encouraged to participate in at least one scholarly project during their year. Our group engages in several ongoing research, education, and quality improvement projects to which fellows may wish to contribute. Several fellows have published their fellow projects as first authors in peer-reviewed journals.

Our fellowship prepares candidates for leadership positions in transplant centers and fulfills the criteria required to become Director of Liver Transplant Anesthesia by the ASA.

This is a non-ACGME fellowship (“clinical instructorship”), and fellows will alternate between a “Fellow Week” and an “Attending Week.” 

Fellow Week:
During their fellow week, fellows will be on home call for liver transplants, Monday – Sunday, with protected time to attend the Selection Meetings, Anesthesia Grand Rounds, and Transplant Surgery Case Conference. Fellows will participate in 60-80 liver transplants during their fellowship. 

Attending Week:
During their attending week, fellows will work in the general Operating Rooms at the UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus as Clinical Instructors for 4 days. They will either work alone or supervise residents or CRNAs, providing anesthesia services for a wide range of cases, including complex spine surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, general surgery, and non-operating room anesthesia locations.

During the fellowship year, there is ample opportunity to participate in transplant research. Our group currently conducts several large database projects and multiple randomized controlled trials. Our fellows are encouraged to attend and present at a liver transplant conference, such as the annual meetings of ILTS or SATA. 

Find out more about the UCSF Transplant Anesthesia Research Group.

We accept applications on a rolling basis starting in January for fellowships beginning the following year. (For a fellowship in the academic year 2026/2027, we will accept applications in January 2025). Our fellowship positions for 2025/2026 have already been filled. 

Our fellows usually start their fellowship in July/August, but there is some flexibility regarding the individual start date. Please submit your CV, statement of interest (limit 500 words), and three letters of recommendation.

Please submit your application via email to Dr. Dieter Adelmann ([email protected]) and Dr. Kate Kronish ([email protected]). Letter writers should email their recommendations directly to Dr. Adelmann.

We are looking forward to sharing more about our fellowship. Please contact us if you have any other questions regarding our program. 

International Applicants:

Our program does accept applications from international (non-US trained) applicants who have completed their anesthesia training. Applicants must qualify for a 2113 Special Permit issued by the California Medical Board. Applicants from training programs with longer Anesthesia training programs (such as the U.K.) might be able to complete the fellowship during their last year of training. Please reach out to us with any additional questions. 

Experienced Applicants:

Our fellowship is directed at recent graduates from anesthesia residency programs or junior faculty (with at most 5 years of clinical experience following their residency training). Applicants with more than 5 years of clinical experience after completion of residency should address why they want to pursue additional subspecialty training at this time. 

Dieter Adelmann
Liver Transplant Anesthesia Fellowship Director

Kate Kronish
Chief, Division of Liver Transplant Anesthesia