Ajay J. Kirtane, MD

Susanne M. Roberts, MD, FAAOS is a board certified orthopedic handsurgeon specializing in operative and non-operative treatment of acute andchronic hand and upper extremity conditions. Dr. Roberts treats bothadult and pediatric patients. She has a special interest and experience in thecare of athletes and sports-related hand and wrist injuries. She is alsotrained in microsurgery and nerve repair. Dr. Roberts completed her medical education at Pennsylvania StateUniversity College of Medicine where she was a member of the Alpha Omega Alphahonor society. After medical school, Dr. Roberts completed her residencytraining at the Harvard Combined Orthopedic Residency Program, serving as ChiefResident at Massachusetts General Hospital during her final year. Her residencytraining was followed by a fellowship in hand surgery at the Hospital forSpecial Surgery. Dr. Roberts has also obtained her subspecialtycertificate in surgery of the hand (CAQ). As an active member of the academic orthopedic community, Dr.Roberts is the recipient of numerous awards and research grants. She has beeninvited to give clinical practice and research related lectures both locallyand nationally. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles andbook chapters, and is an active member of the American Society for Surgery ofthe Hand.

Karan Dua, MD is an Orthopedic surgeon specializing in the treatment of structures affecting the form and function of the entire arm. Karan is a Brooklyn native, and a proud member of the New York community. After earning his Doctorate of Medicine (MD) from Stony Brook University School of Medicine, he completed an Orthopedic Surgery Residency at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. He has dedicated his career to studying and training in the surgical management of the Upper Extremity. He first completed a Hand, Upper Extremity, and Microvascular Surgery Fellowship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. Upon completion, he trained at Harvard Medical School for his Shoulder and Elbow Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. Karan is on the forefront of researching and designing innovative, novel surgical techniques for reconstructing the arm. He has an avid interest in open and arthroscopic tendon transfers of the shoulder, complex reconstructions after failed surgery, arthroscopic and minimally invasive techniques for nerve decompression including the brachial plexus and around the shoulder blade, and tendon transfers for scapular winging. Karan is a passionate researcher and writer. He has been awarded multiple research grants studying wrist and elbow reconstruction techniques, nerve gliding in the upper extremity, and continues to pursue these efforts at Columbia University. He has published over 30 peer reviewed journal articles, authored several book chapters in leading Orthopedic surgery textbooks, and presented his research at national and international conferences. Dr. Dua is a participating member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH), and the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES). Karan strives to help his patients achieve their functional goals and works rigorously to improve their experience. He strongly believes in incorporating new technologies to accomplish this, and works in a collaborative manner with his colleagues to create unique treatment plans that are specifically tailored to each patient. He continues to foster an inclusive care environment while developing meaningful relationships with the members of this community.

Dr. Ratner is Professor of Surgery and Director of Renal and Pancreatic Transplantation at Columbia University. Prior to joining the faculty at Columbia, Dr. Ratner was on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and served as the Chief of Solid Organ Transplantation at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Dr. Ratner was responsible for dramatic growth of the kidney transplant program at CUIMC. He also established the pancreas transplant program, and the Kidney Autotransplant Program. He introduced robotic surgery to our kidney transplant program. Access to organ transplantation has been Dr. Ratner's major academic interest. Dr. Ratner has been a leading innovator in transplantation for over two decades. In 1993, he performed the world's first dual renal transplant. In 1995 (with Dr. Louis Kavoussi) he performed the first laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, and set the stage for its widespread adoption, which resulted in a profound increase in living donor kidney transplantation. Dr. Ratner has made significant contributions in overcoming immunologic incompatibilities that prohibited transplantation. He devised the plasmapheresis/IVIg protocol for alloantibody desensitization in 1998. In 2001, Dr. Ratner orchestrated the second paired-kidney exchange in the U.S. Subsequently, he arranged the first paired kidney exchanges in both Pennsylvania and New York. More recently Dr. Ratner has been a leading proponent of including compatible donor/recipient pairs in kidney exchanges. And, his more contemporary work has looked at the organizational and regulatory barriers to access to care. All of these strategies have increased organ availability and access to transplantation. Additionally, he has made important contributions to improve living donor safety. For his work, Dr. Ratner has received numerous awards and honors. And, he has been invited to speak and operate at various venues around the world. Dr. Ratner has authored or co-authored over 240 peer-reviewed publications, and has been a federally funded investigator. His publications have been cited over 20,000 times. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the LiveOnNY (formerly the New York Organ Donor Network), and has served on numerous national committees including the Board of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). He recently completed a term as the President of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, and previously served as that Society's Treasurer.Dr. Ratner originally hails from Brooklyn, NY. He received his undergraduate education at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He received his M.D. from Hahnemann University. His general surgery training was obtained at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He completed a Fellowship in Transplantation Surgery and Immunology at Washington University. In 2011 Dr. Ratner completed a Master of Public Health with a focus on health care policy, administration and management.