William Asch, MD/PhD, BA
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Biography
My clinical, educational, administrative, and scholarly efforts are centered on solid organ transplantation. While the majority of this effort focuses on kidney transplantation, I provide subspecialty consultative services to the liver, heart, and bone marrow transplant programs. As the Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Program Director, I established the required policies, procedures, and documents required to establish this program. The program is accredited through the American Society of Transplantation. Yale is one of 62 accredited programs in the US. Approved by the Yale Office of Graduate Medical Education, The Yale Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Program has graduated 6 fellows. My scholarly activities range from an Investigator-Initiated Research project investigating the neurocognitive impairments associated with tacrolimus, the cornerstone immunosuppressant used to prevent rejection in solid organ transplant recipients. The favorable proof of concept results (confirming that clinicians can perform a high level cognitive assessment in the clinic setting using the NIH-Tool Box Cognitive Battery) and pilot data have led to this project expanding into 16 site multicenter trial (The ABCs Trial). In addition, I am the Principal Investigator for pharmaceutical sponsored clinical trials on immune tolerance, BK viremia, and delayed progression of diabetic kidney disease.
Education & Training
- FellowYale University School of Medicine (2008)
- ResidentYale-New Haven Hospital (2004)
- MD/PhDSUNY at Stonybrook (2001)
- BABrandeis University (1993)
Activities
- Cognition After Belatacept Conversion (CAB) TrialVirtual Presentation secondary to COVID pandemic (was scheduled for Seattle, WA) 2021American Transplant Congress 2021
- Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Chronic Kidney DiseaseVirtual presentation secondary to COVID pandemic (was scheduled for Seattle WA). 2021American Transplant Congress
- The Infusion with a Difference: Patient and Center Experiences with Belatacept after 100 ConversionsProvidence, RI, United States 2018Transplant Grand Rounds
- Frailty is Predictive of Early Post-Transplant Infection in Older Renal Transplant RecipientsSeattle, WA, United States 2018American Transplant Congress
- Cognition after Belatacept ConversionSeattle, WA, United States 2018American Transplant Congress
- The Infusion with a Difference: Patient Experiences with BelataceptSeattle, WA, United States 2018American Transplant Congress
- Assessment of Recipient Readiness for Kidney TransplantationLedyard, CT, United States 2018American Nephrology Nurses Association Southern New England Chapter Annual Meeting
- The Infusion with a Difference: Patient and Center Experiences with Belatacept after 100 ConversionsProvidence, RI, United States 2018The Infusion with a Difference: Patient and Center Experiences with Belatacept after 100 Conversions
- Assessment of Recipient Readiness for Kidney TransplantationLedyard, CT, United States 2018Assessment of Recipient Readiness for Kidney Transplantation
- More Than Renal Function: Use of Belatacept to Improve Drug Toxicities.Chicago, IL, United States 2017American Transplant Congress
- New England BK Consortium: Regional Survey of BK Screening and Management Protocols in Comparison to Published Consensus GuidelinesBoston, MA, United States 2016New England BK Consortium: Regional Survey of BK Screening and Management Protocols in Comparison to Published Consensus Guidelines
- Clinical Experience with DCD Organs in the United StatesNew York, NY, United States 2015Yale-Cambridge Course on Transplantation
- Kidney Transplant for the Elderly: Hope or Hype?Worcester, MA, United States 2015Transplant Grand Rounds
- Yale BK Surveillance Monitoring DataWaltham, MA, United States 2015Yale BK Surveillance Monitoring Data
- Kidney Transplant for the Elderly: Hope or HypeWorcester, MA, United States 2015Kidney Transplant for the Elderly: Hope or Hype
- Kidney Transplant for the Elderly: Hope or Hype?Cincinnati, OH, United States 2014Transplant Grand Rounds
- “Kidney Transplant for the Elderly: Hope or Hype?”Cincinnati, OH, United States 2014“Kidney Transplant for the Elderly: Hope or Hype?”
Honors & Recognition
Award | Awarding Organization | Date |
---|---|---|
Fellow | American Society of Transplantation (AST) | 2022 |
Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, Nominee | 2009 | |
National Kidney Foundation Fellowship Training Award | 2006 | |
Excellence in Graduate Research Award, Nominee | 1997 | |
Undergraduate Honors Thesis Award | 1993 |
Professional Service
Organization | Role | Date |
---|---|---|
Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) | I am currently the UNOS Region 1 representative on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Pancreas Committee. The OPTN is a branch of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). It is a special time to be serving on this committee. The major goal is to redesign the donor pancreata allocation system in the United States. This is a multi-year project that is nearing completion. Our recent meetings have focused on the review of the organ allocation simulations generated by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). Based on the output, refinements to the model are suggested to maximize the allocation goals (e.g. reduce geographic disparity, improve highly sensitized candidate access to organs). | 2022 - 2024 |
American Society of Transplantation | The American Society of Transplantation Education Committee oversees the varied educational resources and activities provided by the Society. The "Timely Topics Transplantation" webinars, "Comprehensive Trainee Curriculum" videos, AST Journal clubs, and "Transplant in 10 (minutes)" videos are examples of the output from the Ed Committee. In addition, any manuscript born out of an AST committee or COP (Community of Practice) wishing to be labeled as a "Work Product" of the AST is reviewed by the Ed committee prior to journal submission. | 2021 - Present |
Committee to Review Use of eGFR Race Modifier | Beginning in the Spring of 2020, Drs. Gary Desir and Aldo Peixoto tasked the Section of Nephrology to critically review our institutions continued use of the eGFR Race Modifier. Dr. Doug Smith chaired this committee at its inception and until his retirement in January 2021. Subsequently, I was selected to lead this committee in the Spring of 2021. I chaired an interim meeting in May 2021 following the release of the Phase 1 report from the NKF-ASN Task Force evaluating this issue. Our committee voted to follow the Task Force’s instruction to wait for publication of the Phase 2 report recommendations. When the publication of the Phase 2 report was significantly delayed, our committee moved forward and recommended that the clinical lab report eGFR without use of the Race Modifier. This recommendation will be reviewed by stakeholders across the Yale Health System and discussed at an upcoming meeting scheduled for October 19, 2021. | 2021 |
American Society of Transplantation Education Committee | Elected to the Education Committee of the American Society of Transplantation | 2020 - Present |
Clinical J. of the American Society of Nephrology | Editor | 2017 - Present |
Journal of Onco-Nephrology | Editor | 2016 - Present |
New England BK Consortium (NEBKCON) | Founding Member | 2015 - Present |
Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Program QA/PI | Committee Member | 2014 - Present |
Transplant Operations Council | Committee Member | 2013 - Present |
Clinical J. of the American Society of Nephrology | Reviewer | 2012 - 2017 |
Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee | Committee Member | 2010 - Present |
Polycystic Kidney Foundation NY Reginal Meeting | Participant | 2009 |
National Kidney Foundation KEEP Program | Volunteer | 2009 |
Donate Life | Volunteer | 2009 |
Nephrology Diversity Committee | Representative | 2009 - Present |
American Society of Transplantation | Member | 2009 - Present |
Polycystic Kidney Foundation CT Chapter Meeting | Participant | 2008 |
Donor Advocacy Panel, Yale New Haven Hospital Transplantation Center | Member | 2008 - Present |
Medical Review Board, Yale New Haven Hospital Transplantation Center | Board Member | 2008 - Present |
American Journal of Transplantation | Reviewer | 2008 - Present |
Transplantation | Reviewer | 2008 - Present |
Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee | Committee Member | 2007 - 2010 |
American Society of Nephrology | Member | 2004 - 2008 |
Society for Neurosciences | Member | 1998 - 2001 |
Departments & Organizations
- Internal Medicine
- Kidney Transplant Program
- Liver & Pancreas Transplant Program
- Nephrology
- Yale Medicine
- Yale Ventures