Past Recipients

Ai-powered volumetric and radiomic biomarkers for predicting recurrence-free and overall survival after liver transplantation for unresectable colorectal liver metastases. Dr Mattia Ballo earned his medical degree from the University of Padova, Italy. In 2018, with a thesis focused on the outcomes of liver transplantation from marginal donors. He began his residency in General Surgery at the same institution in 2019, concentrating his training within the Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) Surgery and Liver Transplantation Unit. Driven by a profound interest in applying technological innovation to surgery, he has developed a strong focus on the role of Artificial Intelligence in HPB oncology. This passion led him to join the Pancreatobiliary and Hepatic Artificial Intelligence Research (PHAIR) consortium and then to advance his expertise as a Research Fellow at Lenox Hill Hospital (Northwell Health, NY), where his work centers on Computer Vision and AI Applications in surgery. The Kenneth Warren Fellowship represents a unique opportunity to build on his foundation. Under the mentorship of Professors Pal-Dag Line at Oslo University Hospital, his research will focus on developing AI-based imaging biomarkers to capture tumor response and vascular involvement, aiming to improve risk stratification and inform transplant selection for patients with unresectable colorectal liver metastases. The models developed will be designed for broad applicability across liver oncology, with the goal of supporting future research and clinical translation.

Cholangiocyte response to euthanatica; understanding the biological pathways resulting in increased biliary complication rates in DCD-V liver transplantation Dr Hannah Esser earned her medical degree in 2015 at the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany. She started her training at the Department of Visceral Transplant and Thoracic Surgery at the University Clinic in Innsbruck. From 2018 to 2022 Hannah paused her surgical training in order to complete a PhD at the University of Edinburgh, investigating the impact of ischemia on biliary regeneration. Dr Esser's PhD project had great relevance in her speciality of liver transplantation and she learned a broad array of new technologies such as organoid cultures, genetic modifications and genomic analysis. Hannah returned to Innsbruck in 2022 and completed surgical training in 2025. The Kenneth Warren Fellowship represents an exceptional opportunity for Hannah to work as a research fellow at the Erasmus MC under the supervision of Professor Robert Porte. The various machine perfusion techniques used at the Erasmus MC offer a unique platform to investigate biliary injury and test novel therapeutic strategies. Hannah's research will focus on better understanding the pathological pathways underlying impaired cholangiocyte regeneration in DCD liver grafts, with the overall goal to improve organ quality and patient and graft survival.