Specialties
Dixon Kaufman, MD, PhD, FACS
Professor
- Ray D. Owen Professor, Division of Transplantation
- Director, UW Health Transplant Center
kaufman@surgery.wisc.edu
(608) 265-6471
Clinical Science Center
600 Highland Avenue
Madison WI 53792
Education
- MD, University of Minnesota
- NIH National Research Service Award
- Surgery Internship and Residency, University of Minnesota
- Transplantation Fellowship, University of Minnesota
- PhD, University of Minnesota
Honors
Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors Surgery
Best Doctors in America Award Surgery, Transplantation
Madison Magazine Top Docs 2014 Award Surgery, Transplantation
Avant-Garde Health General Surgery Research All-Stars (2024)
Dr. Kaufman is involved with the following professional societies:
- American Surgical Association
- American Society of Transplant Surgeons
- Association for Academic Surgery
- Fellow, American College of Surgeons
- Cell Transplant Society, Founding Member
- Central Surgical Association
- International Pancreas and Islet Association, Founding Member
- Society of University Surgeons
- The Surgical Biology Club I
- Transplantation Society
Leadership Roles in Transplantation
Dr. Kaufman has held leadership positions in many facets of the transplant field. He has been very active with the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) and has served as Chair of the Education Committee, was the Executive Program Committee Chair for the American Transplant Congress, served on the Council of the ASTS, and was ASTS President. Dr. Kaufman is also very active with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). He was past Chair of the Pancreas/Islet Transplant Committee, served on the MPSC Committee, served as Councilor of UNOS Region 7, and was a member of the Executive Board. Dr. Kaufman has also been associate editor for the American Journal of Transplantation, Transplantation Journal, and Clinical Transplantation Journal.
Clinical Specialties
Dr. Kaufman is certified by the American Board of Surgery in General Surgery. Dr Kaufman’s clinical focus has been on kidney, pancreas, and islet transplantation. He was the first pancreas transplant surgeon in North America to conduct and publish studies regarding steroid-free immunosuppression in pancreas transplantation, and the first to describe the use of alemtuzumab in pancreas transplants.
Research Interests
Dr. Kaufman’s experimental clinical research has focused on immunosuppression minimization in kidney transplant recipients, and human clinical trials of islet transplantation. His basic research efforts have focused on development of a tolerance induction protocol in large animals. It is supported by an NIH UO-1 award as part of the Non-human Primate Tolerance Study Group Consortium.
Recent Publications
The Challenge of Minding the Glomerular Filtration Rate Gap Between Pancreas Transplant Alone and Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplantation: Stuck in the Middle.
Parajuli S, Mandelbrot D, Stratta RJ, Kandaswamy R, Parsons RF, Singh N, Gruessner A, Kaufman DB, Odorico J
Transplantation 2025 Mar 25;
[PubMed ID: 40128167]Predicted Indirectly Recognizable T-cell Epitope (PIRCHE) Load Correlates With Rejection Events After Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplantation.
Parajuli S, Niemann M, Dale BL, Hidalgo L, Gupta G, Kaufman D, Odorico J, Mandelbrot D
Transplant Direct 2025 Mar; 11(3): e1764
[PubMed ID: 39936136]Induction of immune tolerance in living related human leukocyte antigen-matched kidney transplantation: A phase 3 randomized clinical trial.
Kaufman DB, Akkina SK, Stegall MD, Piper JB, Gaber AO, Asch WS, Busque S, Stites E, De Vera M, Srinivas TR, Alonso D, Shah A, Patel A, Mai ML, Chavin KD, DebRoy M, Jittirat A, Costa N, Cooper M, Vranic G, Laftavi MR, Saidi RF, Collette S, Brennan DC, MDR-101-MLK Study Group
Am J Transplant 2025 Feb 06;
[PubMed ID: 39922283]Early Steroid Withdrawal in Kidney Transplant Recipients: COMMENTARY.
Kaufman DB
Kidney360 2025 Feb 01; 6(2): 194-196
[PubMed ID: 40014440]Pre-Transplant Hypoalbuminemia Is Not Associated With Early Key Outcomes Among Simultaneous Pancreas and Kidney Transplant Recipients.
Fedorova E, Nehring Firmino S, Kaufman DB, Odorico JS, Aufhauser D, Thiessen C, Al-Adra DP, Mandelbrot D, Astor BC, Parajuli S
Transpl Int 2025; 38: 14091
[PubMed ID: 39906535]