June 26, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees has named Robert Gaston, M.D., to the Endowed Professorship in Transplant Nephrology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

Gaston is professor of medicine in the Division of Nephrology and medical director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at UAB.

A 1979 graduate of the St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his residency and fellowship in nephrology at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock and his fellowship in renal transplantation at UAB. Gaston has been a faculty member since 1990.

Gaston is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Transplantation and served from 2003-2006 as an associate editor of the American Journal of Transplantation. In 2008, he chaired the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Task Force on Living Donor Follow-up. He is a member of a number of professional societies, including the American Society of Nephrology, American Society of Transplant Surgeons, International Society of Nephrology, National Kidney Foundation and Transplant Society.

Gaston has authored or co-authored more than 200 articles, book chapters and abstracts. He co-edited the 2005 book Living Donor Kidney Transplantation: Current Practices, Emerging Trends and Evolving Challenges. His areas of clinical and research expertise include kidney transplantation, minority issues, living donor issues, access to transplantation/waiting list, immunosuppression and clinical trials.

About UAB

The UAB Division of Nephrology, established in 1970, provides state-of-the-art clinical care, research in basic and clinical aspects of nephrology and transplantation, teaching and disease management for patients with diverse types of kidney disease. UAB Hospital is consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Hospitals" for persons with kidney disease.