Our Team
- Cardiothoracic Surgeons
- Pulmonologists
- Nurse Coordinators
- Specialized Transplant Social Workers
- Transplant Financial Coordinators
Cardiothoracic Surgeons
Bruce Reitz, MD
Dr. Reitz is a cum laude graduate of the Yale University School of Medicine and is board certified in surgery and thoracic surgery.
He led the Stanford team that performed the world's first successful human heart-lung transplant in 1981.
Specialty: general cardiac surgery, heart and lung transplantation, valvular surgery including the Ross procedure, thoracic aortic surgery, adult congenital surgery, arrhythmia surgery, and ventricular assist device insertion.
Robert Robbins, MD
Dr. Robbins received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi and is board certified in surgery and thoracic surgery.
He sits on the Executive Committee of the American Heart Associate's Council on Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery.
Specialty: general cardiac surgery, heart and lung transplantation, valvular heart surgery, thoracic aortic surgery, adult congenital surgery, arrhythmia surgery, and ventricular assist device insertion.
Hari R Mallidi, MD
Pulmonologists
David Weill, MD
Gundeep Dhillon, MD
Marc Nicholls, MD
Nurse Coordinators
Mary Martel, MSN, NP Lead Coordinator
Heart/Lung and Lung Transplant
Mary received her Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from San Francisco State University in 1998. She furthered her studies at SFSU, obtaining a Master of Science in Nursing in 2002 and then a Family Nurse Practitioner certificate in 2004. She worked as a dialysis nurse for Gambro Healthcare while working towards her nurse practitioner certificate and then as a transitional ICU nurse for California Pacific Medical Center through 2004.
In 2005, Mary decided to experience work abroad, traveling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for two years, where she became the Heart Transplant Coordinator at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center in Riyadh. Mary realized how much she enjoyed working with transplant patients, seeing the different disease processes and the complexity of each case. She was enriched culturally while working with colleagues from across the world.
In 2007, she returned to California and found a new transplant home at Stanford Hospital & Clinics within the Lung & Heart-Lung Transplant Program. At Stanford, Mary continues to work as a Nurse Practitioner for both hospitalized transplant patients and in the out-patient setting within the heart-lung transplant clinic.
She enjoys teaching patients, family members, and staff about the subtleties of transplantation and is rewarded in seeing patients without the need for oxygen after transplant, with the hope of improved quality of life.
Lisa Levin, RN, BSN, MSN
Lisa was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She studied nursing at Linfield Good Samaritan School of Nursing earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1985. After moving to San Francisco, she obtained her Masters of Science in Transplant and Critical Nursing at University of California, San Francisco in 1991.
Lisa worked in Oregon as an Intensive Care Unit nurse before moving to California. She then worked in the Cardiopulmonary Transplant Unit at California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco for seven years before coming to Stanford Hospital and Clinic's Heart-Lung and Lung Transplant Program in 1993.
Lisa initially worked with the donor team traveling to recover organs. She was involved in in-patient post transplant care and finally, now, manages the pre-lung and heart-lung transplant program working with patients from their referral to the program until they are transplanted.
In addition to her clinical practice at Stanford, Lisa has worked as a legal expert, a research data coordinator, and has lectured at local and national meetings in areas related to heart-lung and lung transplantation. Lisa has been married for twenty years and she and her husband Bart are raising twins and their Portuguese Water dog, Max.
Laura Starr RN, MS, ACNP
Laura Starr was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. After completing her B.A. in Kinesiology at Occidental College in Los Angeles she attended UCSF for both her R.N and Master’s degree specializing as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.
Laura joined the Lung and heart-lung transplant program in 2008 and her role includes inpatient and outpatient medical management as well as patient and caregiver teaching.
During her time off, Laura enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons.
Paggy Wang
Millicent Gerken RN, BSN
Millicent was raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She received her BSN from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Milliecent moved to California in 1999, working in the oncology/AIDS medical floor at Santa Clara Valley Medical. she then moved to the Stanford North ICU in 2001. She worked in CVICU in Indiana 2003-2005 and then back to Stanford North ICU untill December, 2008 when she joined the lung transplant team.
Maria Anna Gloria RN, BSN
Ana was born and raised in the Philippines. She studied nursing in the Philippines and earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1991.
She started her nursing career as an ICU nurse at a Kidney Transplant Institute of the Philippines. She migrated to this country in 1994 and worked as an ICU-CCU agency nurse in South Carolina. She moved to California in 2002 and worked in D1 CCU/CSU nurse until 2007.
Ana has performed various roles such as resource or charge nurse, preceptor as well as mentor for new graduate nurses. She also participated in educating nursing staff and developing protocol for medications currently being use for pulmonary hypertension such as Flolan; Remodulin and Iloprost.
She decided to join Stanford Adult heart-lung and Lung transplant team in August 2007. She has a new role as a post transplant nurse coordinator in the out-patient setting.
Her love for teaching and mentoring as well as organizing has extended when she helped develop the Guideline for the new transplant nurse coordinator as well as the evaluation checklist for the nurse coordinator. It is currently being use within the group. She also helped in the development and revision of the existing lung transplant protocol that serves as the guideline of the program.
In addition to her clinical practice at Stanford, Ana is working as a part time nurse consultant in a home care nursing facility for developmentally challenged in the Alameda County (east bay). In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis with friends.
Specialized Transplant Social Workers
Annie Dornbush
Tonia Gregory
Transplant Financial Counselors
Deborah Mast
Financial/Database Manager
Debbie is the Financial and Database Manager for the transplant programs at Stanford Hospital and Clinics. She received her Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1984.
She joined the multi-organ transplant team in 1992 as the financial counselor and admitting representative. Her scope included Kidney, Pancreas, Heart, Lung, and Liver, and Small Bowel Transplantation.
In 1995 her role expanded and encompassed many aspects of patient finances in the transplant arena. In 2005, Debbie became involved with the Transplant programs in each step of the transplant process as the patient is evaluated, transplanted and followed in after-care; responsible for providing comprehensive and ongoing financial counseling to all potential transplant recipients, donors and their families as well as managing the team of financial coordinators.
In 2009, Debbie added additional responsibilities to her position in managing the transplant database.
Suzanne Tegio
Suzanne began her career at Stanford Hospital & Clinics in 1992. She was the Account Representative for the Heart and Lung Transplant team in 1996 and than joined the multi-organ transplant team in 1999 which encompasses Liver, Kidney, Pancreas and Intestinal transplants.
Her role includes both pre and post transplant financial coordination, and insurance authorizations.
Judie Sutton
Tu Le
Tu began her career at Stanford Hospital & Clinics in 2004 and quickly moved into the role of Financial Coordinator Assistant. In 2007 she became a Financial Coordinator. Her role includes both pre and post transplant financial coordination, authorizations, and admissions. Tu is a member of the Transplant Financial Coordinators Association.