Dr. Alp Sener

BIOSKETCH

Dr. Alp Sener earned his Biology degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994. Upon concluding his undergraduate studies, he obtained his PhD in renal physiology in 1999, followed by his MD in 2002 from the University of Calgary. Subsequently, Dr. Sener completed his Urology residency at Western University and spent two years at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore as the American Society of Transplant Surgeons/Novartis Fellow in Transplantation. While in Maryland, he was trained in kidney, pancreas and liver transplantation and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in transplant immunology.

Dr. Sener joined the Division of Urology in 2009 and was the first surgeon to receive the Schulich Clinician Scientist award from Western University. Dr. Sener has been the recipient of many local, national and international research contribution awards including the Western University Dean’s Award of Excellence, the Canadian Society of Transplantation Research Excellence Award and the Vanguard Award from the American Society of Transplant Surgeons. He has published over 120 peer-reviewed articles and 145 conference abstracts. Dr. Sener is the Chairman of Urology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Chief of Urology at London Health Sciences Center and St. Joseph’s Health Care London and is the Director of the Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Fellowship program at Western University.

In addition to a general urology and kidney/pancreas transplant directed clinical practice, Dr. Sener maintains an active basic sciences and translational research laboratory focusing on the innate immune responses to allograft function as well as in developing novel methods of mitigating organ injury associated with transplantation. His laboratory has pioneered the use of hydrogen sulphide in mitigating organ injury associated with transplantation, in modulating neovascularization and metastasis of renal cell carcinoma cell lines and in mitigating tissue fibrosis following chronic urinary obstruction. He is the Founder of the Canadian Association of Chairs of Surgical Research and is heavily involved in promoting research and education through his national and international active roles in both Urology (American Urological Association Research Advocacy Committee, AUA Northeastern Section Board of Directors; Canadian Urological Association Research and Education Committees and as President of the Urological Society for Transplantation and Renal Surgery) and Transplant organizations (Canadian Society of Transplantation Research Committee and American Society of Transplant Surgeons Vanguard Committee).

RESEARCH INTERESTS / SPECIALIZATION:

1.  Surgical Education Research:
    - Use of real-time learner/teacher physiological variables in improving surgical education

2.  Fundamental Sciences and Surgical Innovation:
     - Microbiota and renal transplantation
     - Normothermic organ preservation
     - Application of gasotransmitters in minimizing transplant related organ injury
     - Novel temperature control devices in transportation or biologicals

3. Quality Improvement and Patient Centred Research
     - Impact of hydrogen sulphide organ preservation in clinical transplantation