Kris Kowdley, M.D., also named research director of the Swedish Organ Care Program
SEATTLE — Sept. 25, 2014 —Internationally renowned physician and researcher Kris V. Kowdley, M.D., FACP, FACG, AGAF and AASLD Fellow has joined the Swedish Liver Center’s medical staff as Director of the Swedish Liver Care Network and Research Director of the Organ Care Program. Dr. Kowdley will provide transplant and liver care for patients while continuing his groundbreaking research into Hepatitis C. Dr. Kowdley’s first day at Swedish was Sept. 15.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Kowdley to the Swedish Liver Center medical staff,” said Marquis Hart, M.D., director of the Swedish Organ Transplant Program. “Dr. Kowdley’s ambitious research is giving hope to patients with serious liver disease and we are excited to extend his care to our patients.”
Prior to Swedish, Dr. Kowdley served as the director of the Liver Center of Excellence and the director of research at the Digestive Disease Institute at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle.
Dr. Kowdley has presented his research on liver diseases at more than 125 national and international medical centers and scientific symposia. He is the author of more than 350 articles, book chapters, reviews and commentaries. He has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), Annals of Internal Medicine and the American Journal of Physiology.
Dr. Kowdley is first author of two seminal papers this year in the NEJM of novel therapies with a high rate of cure for chronic hepatitis C. The AVIATOR trial is the first large study of all-oral treatment for hepatitis C. More than 95 percent of AVIATOR study patients achieved a cure with the 3-D and ribavirin regimen.The second study, known as ION-3, showed that a fixed-dose combination tablet of once-daily ledipasvir and sofosbuvir for eight weeks achieved a cure in 94 percent of patients.
In his role at Swedish, Dr. Kowdley will help further expand Swedish’s liver diseases and organ transplantation research and contribute to the established and growing program in liver disease treatment. He will also continue to serve as an affiliate research member of Benaroya Research Institute and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Washington.
“It is an honor to join the medical staff at Swedish,” Dr. Kowdley said. “I share Swedish’s passion for providing extraordinary care for patients and developing greater medical knowledge through advanced clinical research. I look forward to serving patients and working alongside my new colleagues.”
Dr. Kowdley received his B.S. in Biology and Anthropology at Columbia University, and his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He completed his internship and residency at Oregon Health & Science University and a Fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.
Patients can schedule an appointment with Dr. Kowdley by contacting the Swedish Liver Center referral line at 206-215-1437.
About Swedish
Founded in 1910, Swedish is the largest non-profit health provider in the Greater Seattle area. It is comprised of five hospital campuses (First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Edmonds and Issaquah); ambulatory care centers in Redmond and Mill Creek; and Swedish Medical Group, a network of more than 100 primary-care and specialty clinics located throughout the Greater Puget Sound area. In addition to general medical and surgical care including robotic-assisted surgery, Swedish is known as a regional referral center, providing specialized treatment in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer care, neuroscience, orthopedics, high-risk obstetrics, pediatric specialties, organ transplantation and clinical research. In 2013, Swedish provided nearly $143 million in community benefit in Western Washington. For more information, visit www.swedish.org, www.facebook.com/swedishmedicalcenter, or www.twitter.com/swedish.
