Since November 2019, when she was recruited to join the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Katryn Furuya, MD, has expanded the reach and expertise of the Pediatric Liver Transplant Program as its medical director. That program is part of the UW Health Transplant Center, one of just six centers in the nation certified to actively transplant five organs — heart, kidney, liver, lung, and pancreas— for children and adults. Before Furuya arrived, it had been more than two years since the last pediatric liver transplant at UW Health. In the first five years after she arrived, 14 liver transplants were completed, with a 100% graft survival and 100% patient survival.
Furuya has also worked with patients suspected of having liver disease though the Pediatric Liver Clinic, where she has seen most of the outpatient kids with any sort of liver problem. With 40 years of experience in the field, Furuya’s interest has not flagged. She chose pediatric hepatology because of one of her early mentors, whose excitement and passion about pediatric liver disease were obvious. “And it was catching,” Furuya explained.
After seven monumentally successful years here, guiding and working in the Pediatric Liver Transplant Program and the Department of Pediatrics, Furuya will retire from the UW and transition into a role focused on outreach and mentoring junior faculty and fellows in New York City. She will step down on August 17, 2026.
Furuya’s advice for physicians just starting out is simple. “I often tell young trainees, whatever you pick, make sure you’re passionate about it and that you love it, because otherwise it’s just a job,” she explained. “And if you’re looking after other people, it can’t be just a job. It is a calling for me.”
Daniel O’Connell, MD, associate professor and chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, acknowledged Furuya’s successes and her outsized legacy within the division:
After seven years, Dr. Katryn Furuya will retire from our Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. Trained at the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children, she came to Wisconsin and reinvigorated our pediatric liver transplant program, achieving 100% graft and patient survival, an outcome that exceeds what is expected for this complex patient population. A prolific researcher and national leader in pediatric hepatology, she also built our transplant team and personally recruited the faculty who will carry it forward. She mentored many of us, myself included, and her patients adore her. Katryn leaves a lasting legacy of excellent outcomes and continuous learning. We wish her every happiness on her next adventure.
Five questions for Katryn Furuya, MD
How has your career surprised you, compared to how you had expected it to develop when you began?
I don’t think that there have been any major surprises.
What do you consider to be your biggest achievement?
Providing care to children with liver disease before and after liver transplant and seeing them become healthy happy individuals.
What have been the most challenging obstacles to overcome?
Racism and gender discrimination. I was hoping to see that this would have disappeared over my career and lifetime, but sadly, it hasn’t.
What advice would you offer to new physicians/scientists just starting out?
Whatever you choose, make sure you are passionate about it, or it will become just a job and burnout occurs more easily. Have fun!
Do you have specific plans for your retirement you’d like to share?
I have taken a position as the Director of Hepatology and Transplant Hepatology at the Children’s Hospital of Montefiore in the Bronx. My recruitment there was to focus on outreach and mentoring junior faculty and fellows.
Please let us know about any people you’d like to thank.
I would definitely like to thank Dr. Ellen Wald and Dr. Luther Sigurdsson who brought me into the UW fold. I really appreciate their support. I would also like to thank Dr. Dorota Walkiewicz and Dr. Thomas Ratchford for their friendship and support. I would like to thank all the folks who have been essential to providing care for our liver patients — they have played a vital role: Dr. Eric Monroe, Dr. Shelly Cook, Dr. Crystal Bockoven, Dr. Eumenia Castro, and Dr. Jessica Gulliver; all the pediatric radiologists and my colleagues in the pediatric subspecialties. I also want to specifically thank my liver transplant team: Lindsay Aschliman, Maya Gibson, Parker Johnson, Faith Schiefelbein, Marci Williams-Craig, Katie Habeck, Libby Schmidt, Jamie Myers, Melissa Roberts, Jessica Ekedahl, and Erin Heredia, as well as the liver transplant surgeons — I will miss their collegiality and support: Dr. Kelly Collins, Dr. Tony D’Alessandro (retired), Dr. David Foley, Dr. David Al-Adra, and Dr. Dixon Kaufman.
Photo by Kate Feldt/Department of Pediatrics