N. Thao N. Galván, M.D., MPH, Res. ’15, Fel. ’17, FACS, is an abdominal transplant surgeon specializing in liver and kidney transplantation for both children and adults. She performs transplants at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center and Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH), which has led the nation in pediatric volume and outcomes for the past 10 years. She is an associate professor of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, where she completed her general surgery and fellowship training. During residency, she was a CPRIT fellow focused on the genomics of hepatocellular carcinoma and contributed to the Cancer Genome Atlas in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health. Her research now centers on translational science, including biofabrication for end-organ disease, clinical outcomes and surgical innovation, and transplant policy and ethics.
Dr. Galván has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and received funding from the Southwest Pediatric Device Consortium for her collaborative work with Rice University bioengineers. She also received the American Society of Transplant Surgeons-Natera Socioeconomic and Racial Disparities Grant for her research on pediatric liver transplant disparities. In collaboration with University of California San Fransisco’s Kidney Project, she studies implantable bioartificial kidneys in animal models. She published the first protocol enabling transplant programs to safely select donors and recipients for transplantation during the pandemic. Notably, her children were the first enrolled in the Pfizer COVID trial for children. Because of that study, her family was able to promote vaccinations at TCH and Baylor in local and national media.
Committed to expanding access to transplant, Dr. Galván developed an internal paired kidney exchange program across Baylor’s three transplant centers and is working to establish a vascular composite allograft program for uterus transplantation at TCH. She founded the Portal Vein Thrombosis Institute at TCH—a multidisciplinary program offering state-of-the-art therapies for complex cases of portal vein thrombosis, attracting patients internationally. She advocates for broader organ donor criteria, specifically Living Donation Prior to Planned Withdrawal/Imminent Death Donation. When awarded the James IV Traveling Fellowship, she traveled to Spain, France and Switzerland to exchange ideas on the expansion of organ donation.
Dr. Galván currently serves as a Health Policy Scholar at Baylor’s Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy and sits on the Ethics Committees of both the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (2020–2026) and OPTN (2021–2024). In the autumn, she will be inducted as an associate member of the American College of Surgeons’ Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, in recognition of her contributions to surgical education.
