- UPMC Montefiore, 3459 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
- 412-647-5752
- 412-647-5736
- puttarajappacm@upmc.edu
CHETHAN M. PUTTARAJAPPA, MBBS, MS
Associate Professor of Medicine, Renal-Electrolyte Division
MBBS, Bangalore Medical College, India; MS, Clinical Research, University of Pittsburgh
My research is focused on three broad areas – (i) deceased donor organ allocation (efficiency, impact of policy changes and access to transplantation) (ii) Examining systems issues to improve outcomes from modifiable risk factors (cold ischemia time, medication non-adherence, and donor derived viral infections) and (iii) decision-making in kidney transplantation.
Research methods employed include clinical epidemiology using both UPMC data and data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR), development of prediction models, survey techniques (including preference elicitation) and cost-effectiveness and decision-analysis methods. Current projects are focused on cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus infections in kidney transplant (KT) recipients, immunosuppression non-adherence, kidney paired donation and access to kidney transplantation.
Notable work from our research includes (i) highlighting the consequences of changes in national kidney allocation policy, (ii) examining the burden of late-onset cytomegalovirus infections in KT recipients, (iii) assessing cost-effectiveness of screening for cytomegalovirus and sub-clinical rejections in KT, and (iv) exploring the utility of virtual HLA cross-matching to improve kidney allocation efficiency.
Puttarajappa Team:
Harry Morford, BS (Research Assistant)
Isabel Neckermann (Medical Student)
Massiel Cruz-Peralta, MD (Nephrology Fellow)
Bryce Parrish, DO (Nephrology Fellow)
Arjun Kalaria, MD (Nephrology Fellow)
Students (medical students, graduate students from public health), residents and fellows interested in participating in transplant health services research should email Dr. Puttarajappa to learn more about opportunities. Students will benefit from exposure to a wide range of clinical research methods and opportunities for presentations and scientific writing. Several of the works by previous trainees have resulted in peer-reviewed publications.
