Psychosocial and Ethics Community of Practice (PSECOP)

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2023-2024 Executive Committee

Chair: Elisa Gordon (2024)
Co-Chair: Jody Jones (2024)
Past Chair: Michelle Jesse (2024)
Board Liaison: Deirdre Sawinski (2024)
Sarah Lieber (2024)
Carrie Thiessen (2024)
Laura Kimberly (2025)
Ming Hwei Yek (2025)
Kristy Engel (2025)
Early Career Member-at-Large: Grace Lee-Riddle (2024)

Interim Staff Liaison: Raffaella Troiano (rtroiano@myast.org)


2023-2024 Activities

  • Collaborate with WHCOP to investigate gender disparities in transplant care.
  • Collaborate with multiple COPs to investigate issues related to cognitive functioning and health literacy in organ transplantation. 
  • Invite professionals from transplant centers across the US to discuss issues regarding cannabis use in organ transplant candidates/recipients as part of an AST Controversies Conference.
  • Discuss transplant ethics issues with transplant professionals through Ethics in Transplant webinars.
  • Complete Caregiver Toolkit Project and publish toolkit.
  • Examine ethical issues in xenotransplantion.
  • Establish and sustain a Speakers Bureau that aims to identify and promote junior, early career professionals to help junior professionals learn.
  • Offer Research Grants to foster ethics research.
  • Provide input on OPTN/UNOS policy proposals on routine basis.
  • Advocate for prisoners to receive meds (collab with Pharmacy COP).
  • Establish consortium among multiple transplant programs to perform big data analysis of post-transplant psychosocial outcomes.
  • Increase membership and engage members through virtual activities and marketing.
  • Offer two travel grants to ATC 2024.