Education

Anschutz Medical Campus (aerial photo)

Thank you for your interest in the University of Colorado Transplant Surgery Fellowship Program. Congratulations on taking the next step to becoming a Transplant Surgeon!

The University of Colorado School of Medicine and the Division of Transplant Surgery are proud to provide a two-year Transplant Fellowship Program accredited by the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS). Our program is currently set up to train one fellow for two years.

The purpose of the fellowship is to expose and educate a qualified surgeon to the surgical techniques of solid-organ transplantation encompassing procurement and pre/post transplants.

Our program involves a multidisciplinary team approach dedicated to high-quality, patient-focused transplantation. Members of our team include transplant surgeons, hepatologists, nephrologists, anesthesiologists, pathologists, transplant nurses and coordinators, financial coordinators, transplant administrators, social workers, and other professionals who specialize in transplantation. This integrated approach ensures the highest level of care and has given us a competitive advantage improving our clinical outcomes.

Additionally, the Division of Transplant Surgery supports an academic research component. We continue our ongoing development and assessment in techniques with live-donor liver transplant. Since 1994, this program has successfully calibrated many surgeons in completing the two-year fellowship program.

In order to qualify for the University of Colorado Transplant Surgery Fellowship position, please take time to carefully read what is required.

The Fellow must:

  • Be a U.S. Citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or possess the appropriate documentation to allow the Fellow to legally train at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
  • Have an M.D. degree from an LCME-accredited medical school within the United States, Puerto Rico or Canada; a D.O. degree from an AOA-accredited school of osteopathy; or a valid ECFMG certificate. Graduates of Canadian medical schools must hold an LMCC Certificate.
  • Have passed the USMLE/COMLEX examinations. USMLE/COMLEX Step 3 is required prior to entering the fellowship.
  • Consent to, and pass, a background check.

Application Process

All applicants should register with SF Match. To found out more about the SF Match, please click on the link below. You will be asked to upload your CV, personal statement, and 3 letters of recommendation. Please note that you must have taken and passed USMLE Step 3 to be eligible to apply.

Important Dates

January 12 — Application Submission Opens

April 1 — Application deadline

June 15 — Match day


Visit SF Match

Candidates must become a "candidate member" of the ASTS by completing the online application through the ASTS website. A link to the application can be found on the Information for Fellows in Training page.

The selection committee will meet in March and early April and we will communicate with all candidates whether they have been selected for an interview.

If you have additional questions regarding the application process, then please e-mail amber.camus@ucdenver.edu or call 303-724-2822.

Please refer to the Graduate Medical Education website at the University of Colorado School of Medicine to review the requirements for fellowship.

Thank you,
Kendra Conzen, MD
Assistant Professor of Transplant Surgery
Director of the Transplant Surgery Fellowship Program

Rashikh Choudhury, MD

Rashikh Choudhury, MD

Rashikh Choudhury was born in Radford, Virginia. He was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Chicago, followed by medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. He started his General Surgery Residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and transferred to the University of Colorado to complete his residency training. He completed a 2-year research fellowship while a surgical resident under the direction of Dr. Trevor Nydam, focusing on obesity/transplant outcomes and uncontrolled DCD transplantation.



Cullen, Michael (150 x 200)

Jonathan “Mike” Cullen, MD

Mike Cullen was born in Fort Worth, TX, and after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, he earned his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio. He then went on to complete a General Surgery Residency at the University of Virginia, where he also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship on an NIH T32 grant under Drs. Gilbert Upchurch and Irving Kron.

In chronological order...

  • Tom Bak, MD (1998-2000)
  • Kellee Slater, MD (2002-2004)
  • Richard Hendrickson, MD (2003-2004)
  • William Bennet, MD (2005-2007)
  • Paul Jeffery Campsen, MD (2008-2010)
  • Trevor Nydam, MD (2010-2012)
  • Jonathan Roach, MD (2011-2013)
  • Esam Aboutaleb, MD (2012-2014)
  • Thomas Chirichella, MD (2013-2015)
  • Kendra D. Conzen, MD (2014-2015)
  • Thomas Pshak, MD (2015-2017)
  • Megan Adams, MD (2015-2017)
  • Muhammad Arsalan Khan, MD (2017-2018)
  • Amir Dagan, MD (2017-2019)
  • Hillary Yaffe (2018-2020)
  • Hunter Moore, MD (2019-2021)
  • Yanik Bababekov, MD, MPH (2020-2022)

Dr. Kendra Conzen is the head of the clinical rotation (SURG 8030) in Transplant Surgery, where she teaches a 2-4 week course of multidisciplinary exposure to all aspects of transplant surgery and medicine. We welcome both medical students from the University of Colorado and all external medical students who have the desire to learn the dynamics of transplant surgery.

How to apply for the Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) application:

  • Student Users: Your medical school must issue you authorizations before you may log in to VSAS. You will be notified of these authorizations by email. If you have not received this email, please contact your medical school with this authorization request.
  • Institution Users: Your institution must create a user account for you before you can log in to VSAS. If you have not received an email with login instructions, please contact your institution's primary contact with your request.

To log in with an access code, go to https://services.aamc.org/20/vsas/ and apply.

Please visit the VSAS website for additional application requirements and information.

Contact Karina Garlington:
karina.garlington@ucdenver.edu
Office Phone: 303-724-6405
Fax: 303-724-6409