Burcin Ekser, MD, PhD

Dr. Burcin Ekser’s area of clinical practice is liver and intestine/multivisceral transplants for adults and children.

He received his medical degree from University of Istanbul, Turkey, and University of Padua, Italy, where he also completed his general surgery training. He completed a research fellowship and PhD studies in xenotransplantation and transplant immunology at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. He is an associate professor of surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine, where he completed his clinical fellowship in abdominal organ transplant surgery.

Dr. Ekser is the director of transplant research and the xenotransplantation research laboratory at Indiana University. An internationally recognized expert in xenotransplantation research, he currently serves as the chair of the Basic and Translational Research Committee of the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) and as a Councilor for the International Xenotransplantation Association (IXA). Dr. Ekser has published more than 160 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters and won several young investigator and rising star awards for his innovative research.

He was recognized with a Red Shoe Award in 2019 for outstanding accomplishments and contributions to family-centered care at Riley Hospital for Children.