UCSD Profiles

search, discover, network

Dr. Kristin Mekeel specializes in pediatric and adult liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation surgery. Currently she is the Surgical Director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation program at UCSD and the Director of the Kidney and Liver Transplant programs at Rady Children’s Hospital. With over 500 kidney transplant surgeries and nearly 100 pancreas surgeries under her belt, Dr. Mekeel’s main focus is kidney and pancreas transplantation in adults and kidney transplantation in children, including re-transplantation and transplantation in surgically challenging and complex patients. She also specializes in adult and pediatric liver transplantation.

As a surgeon in an academic medical center, Dr. Mekeel is also heavily involved in teaching medical students and surgical residents in both bedside and didactic sessions. Her focus on education extends outside of the classroom to the School of Medicine, where she sits on several committees. Dr. Mekeel is involved with organ transplantation nationally by serving on the United Network of Organ Sharing Operations and Safety Committee and locally as a member of the board of the John Brockington Foundation. Dr. Mekeel also does research in the outcomes of organ transplantation, focusing on kidney and pancreas transplantation, kidney donation, and transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery.

Dr. Mekeel grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and earned her medical degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She completed her general surgery residency at the University of Colorado and is Board certified in General Surgery. She completed her fellowship in organ transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery at the University of Florida under the mentorship of Dr. Alan Hemming. She is also certified in abdominal organ transplantation.

Dr. Mekeel has co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed papers on liver, kidney, and pancreas transplantation as well as complex hepatobiliary surgery. She is a member of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, the American Hepatopancreatobiliary Association, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract and the Association for Academic Surgery.

Conditions
Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic Liver Disease
Type I Diabetes Mellitus
Liver Cancer

Treatments
Kidney Transplantation Pancreas Transplantation
Liver Transplantation
General Surgery
Gastrointestinal Surgery