W. James Chon, M.D., to Direct UAMS Renal Transplant Program
| Sept. 7, 2016 | W. James Chon, M.D., has been named medical director of the Renal Transplant Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
Chon will also serve as an associate professor of medicine in the College of Medicine.
“My role at UAMS will be to develop a kidney transplant program that is tailored for each patient’s needs,” Chon said. “In particular, I plan to develop a robust live kidney donor transplant program — by educating patients, their family members and the general public.”
He comes to UAMS from the University of Chicago Department of Medicine Section of Nephrology, where he was an assistant professor and the medical director of the living donor transplant program.
Chon has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University and a medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine. He completed an internship/residency with the University of Rochester Department of Medicine and has completed fellowships in nephrology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University/New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York; in transplant nephrology at Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston; and in clinical ethics at the University of Chicago.
“Dr. Chon brings outstanding organizational skills and depth of experience to our renal transplant program,” said John Arthur, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Nephrology Division in the UAMS College of Medicine. “We were thrilled to be able to recruit him into our growing program. We anticipate that we will substantially increase the number of transplants performed and improve the experience for our patients.”
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###