Camille N. Kotton (US)

How do transplant programs expand organ use while still protecting patients from donor-derived infections?

In this interview, Associate Professor Siriorn Watcharananan of Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok discusses one of the most practical and globally relevant challenges in transplantation: donor evaluation in tropical regions and low- to middle-income countries (LMICs).

Interviewed by Camille Kotton, Dr. Watcharananan explains how transplant programs must balance donor-derived infection risk with the urgent need to increase organ utilization, especially in settings where regional epidemiology, seasonality, healthcare exposure, and cross-border movement all influence risk assessment.

The conversation highlights the importance of practical donor-screening guidance, global knowledge sharing, and the critical role of transplant infectious disease specialists in helping programs make safe, informed decisions. It also underscores how challenges faced in tropical and LMIC settings have growing relevance for transplant programs worldwide.

This interview is part of our featured speaker series leading up to The Transplantation Society (TTS) 2026 International Congress in Sydney.

🔬 Topics discussed:
• Donor screening in tropical settings
• Infection risk in transplantation
• Organ utilization in LMICs
• Regional epidemiology and cross-border exposure
• Global collaboration in transplant infectious diseases

What if the biological age of the immune system matters as much as chronological age in transplantation? In this interview, Dr. Matthew Yousefzadeh of Columbia University Medical Center discusses how senoscent cells, immune aging, and the biology of aging may be key drivers of graft dysfunction and organ decline after transplantation. Interviewed by Camille Kotton, Dr. Yousefzadeh explains how aging immune cells may influence transplant outcomes, why current clinical models often fail to capture biological age, and how new biomarkers could help better quantify transplant risk. The conversation explores promising markers of immune aging, including p16 expression in peripheral blood T cells, GDF15, and the emerging potential of epigenetic clocks to assess aging in transplant recipients. Dr. Yousefzadeh also reflects on the translational promise of senotherapy and the growing need for research that connects aging biology to real-world transplant outcomes. This interview is part of our featured speaker series leading up to The Transplantation Society (TTS) 2026 International Congress in Sydney.

🔬 Topics discussed:
• Senescent cells and organ aging
• Immunosenescence in transplantation
• Biomarkers of biological age
• Epigenetic clocks and transplant risk
• Senotherapy and future transplant research

In this interview, Dr. Olivia Smibert (Austin Health & University of Melbourne) discusses emerging research on how microbiome signatures from donor to recipient may help predict complications after transplantation.

Dr. Smibert was interviewed by Camille Kotton, Transplant Infectious Diseases specialist, as part of our featured speaker series leading up to the The Transplantation Society (TTS) 2026 International Congress in Sydney.

The conversation explores how advances in microbiome science and precision antimicrobial strategies may improve outcomes in transplant recipients, including identifying infection risks earlier and guiding targeted therapies for vulnerable patients.

📍 Session: From donor to recipient: Microbiome signatures as predictors of post-transplant complications

🔬 Topics discussed:
• Microbiome changes in transplant recipients
• Infection risk prediction
• Precision antimicrobial strategies
• Translational microbiome research in transplantation