Photo by Madison Kirkman James Cashman

ORGAN TRANSPLANT

Name of medical school:
University of Texas at Houston

Years in practice:
12

Who is your personal health care hero?
My associate, Larry Karp.

“I decided to become a doctor when...”
I volunteered at a hospital in Austin, Texas, during college.

What made you choose organ transplantation in particular?
I was able to experience a month working with the transplant team in Houston. I had never enjoyed working hard so much.

“If I weren’t a doctor, I’d be...”
A science teacher.

“When I’m not working, I like to...”
Spend time with my three kids and my wife.

Name a personal habit, vice or activity of YOURS that you would advise yourself NOT to do if you were your own doctor.
Work more and play less.

What’s the best thing you ever did for your own health?
Have a baby at age 46; she keeps me running.

If you could change one thing about the U.S. health care system, what would it be?
Eliminate the possibility for a U.S. citizen to be uninsured.

What innovation, invention or new technique would you most like to see in the medical field in the next 10 years?
Improve cancer detection and screening techniques.

What’s the most common misconception about your field?
That you will wake up in a bathtub full of ice in Mexico after one of my parties.

What’s the most challenging organ to transplant? Why?
Probably the liver because the patients are very sick as they are undergoing a very extensive operation.