Linda S. Sher, MD

Dr. Sher is a Professor of Clinical Surgery and Director of Clinical Research in the Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Abdominal Organ Transplantation at Keck School of Medicine of USC. After completing her medical school education and surgical residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, Dr. Sher undertook her fellowship training in Liver and Kidney Transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh. Following her fellowship in 1988, Dr. Sher was involved in the establishment of two liver transplant programs in Los Angeles prior to joining the USC program in 2001.

Dr. Sher has participated in and overseen over 50 research projects and is currently very active in the development of the clinical and basic science research components of the USC Abdominal Organ Transplantation Program. She has numerous publications on immunosuppression, chronic rejection, disease recurrence, infection, and prophylaxis and hepatobiliary surgery. Dr. Sher is one of the original editors of Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation and has endeavored over the years to provide the reader with an up to date overview of the entire field of organ transplantation.

• Southeastern Surgical Congress: Society Membership, 1996-2014
• American Liver Foundation: Society Membership, 1995-2014
• International Liver Transplantation Society: Society Membership, 1993-2014
• American Society of Transplant Surgeons: Society Membership, 1993-2014
• American College of Surgeons : Society Membership, 1992-2014
• International Transplantation Society: Society Membership, 1991-2014
• American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases: Society Membership, 1990-2014
• Western Association for Transplant Surgeons: Society Membership, 1990-2014
• Los Angeles Surgical Society: Society Membership, 1990-2014
• United Liver Association: Society Membership, 1990-1997
• American Society of Transplantation: Society Membership, 1989-2014
• University of Pittsburgh: Fellowship, 1986-1988
• Mount Sinai Hospital: Fellowship, 1982-1983
• American Medical Association: Society Membership, 1981-2014

• Spatially resolved immune exhaustion within the alloreactive microenvironment predicts liver transplant rejection Sci Adv. 2024 Apr 12; 10(15):eadm8841. . View in PubMed
• Technical optimization of spatially resolved single-cell transcriptomic datasets to study clinical liver disease Sci Rep. 2024 02 13; 14(1):3612. . View in PubMed
• Normothermic Machine Perfusion of Donor Livers for Transplantation in the United States: A Randomized Controlled Trial Ann Surg. 2023 Nov 01; 278(5):e912-e921. . View in PubMed
• Technical optimization of spatially resolved single-cell transcriptomic datasets to study clinical liver disease Res Sq. 2023 Sep 05. . View in PubMed
• Spatially resolved immune exhaustion within the alloreactive microenvironment predicts liver transplant rejection Res Sq. 2023 Jul 03. . View in PubMed
• LIN28 and histone H3K4 methylase induce TLR4 to generate tumor-initiating stem-like cells iScience. 2023 Mar 17; 26(3):106254. . View in PubMed
• ß-CATENIN stabilizes HIF2 through lncRNA and inhibits intravenous immunoglobulin immunotherapy Front Immunol. 2023; 14:1204907. . View in PubMed
• Transfusion-free Strategies in Liver and Pancreatic Surgery: A Predictive Model of Blood Conservation for Transfusion Avoidance in Mainstream Populations Ann Surg. 2023 03 01; 277(3):469-474. . View in PubMed
• Hepatic stellate cell stearoyl co-A desaturase activates leukotriene B4 receptor 2 – ß-catenin cascade to promote liver tumorigenesis Nat Commun. 2023 05 08; 14(1):2651. . View in PubMed
• Controversy Over Liver Transplantation or Resection for Neuroendocrine Liver Metastasis: Tumor Biology Cuts the Deal Ann Surg. 2023 05 01; 277(5):e1063-e1071. . View in PubMed
• Arterial Anastomosis Using Microsurgical Techniques in Adult Live Donor Liver Transplant: A Focus on Technique and Outcomes at a Single Institution J Reconstr Microsurg. 2022 Jun 28. . View in PubMed
• Microscope-Assisted Arterial Anastomosis in Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Outcomes J Reconstr Microsurg. 2022 May; 38(4):306-312. . View in PubMed
• Smoking enhances suicide risk-a significant role in the COVID-19 pandemic? QJM. 2022 Jan 05; 114(11):767-769.. View in PubMed
• Activated and nonactivated MSCs increase survival in humanized mice after acute liver injury through alcohol binging Hepatol Commun. 2022 07; 6(7):1549-1560. . View in PubMed
• Anonymous Nondirected Living Liver Donation in the United States Transplant Direct. 2022 Jan; 8(1):e1275. . View in PubMed
• Adaptation of Imaging Mass Cytometry to Explore the Single Cell Alloimmune Landscape of Liver Transplant Rejection Front Immunol. 2022; 13:831103. . View in PubMed
• A Programmatic Response, Including Bamlanivimab or Casirivimab-imdevimab Administration, Reduces Hospitalization and Death in COVID-19 Positive Abdominal Transplant Recipients Transplantation. 2022 02 01; 106(2):e153-e157. . View in PubMed
• Assessment of the global practice of living donor liver transplantation Transpl Int. 2021 Oct; 34(10):1914-1927. . View in PubMed
• Post-COVID syndrome and suicide risk QJM. 2021 Apr 27; 114(2):95-98. . View in PubMed
• Effect of COVID-19 on Surgical Training Across the United States: A National Survey of General Surgery Residents J Surg Educ. 2021 Mar-Apr; 78(2):431-439. . View in PubMed
• Potential association between public medical insurance, waitlist mortality, and utilization of living donor liver transplantation: An analysis of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients Clin Transplant. 2021 10; 35(10):e14418. . View in PubMed
• Racial and sex representation in clinical trials: Where are we in abdominal organ transplantation? Am J Transplant. 2021 10; 21(10):3491-3493.. View in PubMed
• Meta-analysis and meta-regression of outcomes for adult living donor liver transplantation versus deceased donor liver transplantation Am J Transplant. 2021 07; 21(7):2399-2412. . View in PubMed
• Re: Manuscript titled, “Liver transplantation for sickle cell disease: a systematic review” HPB (Oxford). 2021 07; 23(7):1135. . View in PubMed
• Health-related quality of life after anonymous nondirected living liver donation: A multicenter collaboration Am J Transplant. 2021 03; 21(3):1056-1067. . View in PubMed
• Impact of Morbid Obesity on Liver Transplant Candidacy and Outcomes: National and Regional Trends Transplantation. 2021 05 01; 105(5):1052-1060. . View in PubMed
• Biliary Internal Stents and Biliary Complications in Adult Liver Transplantation Transplant Proc. 2021 Jan-Feb; 53(1):171-176. . View in PubMed
• Effects of Coronavirus Disease 2019 on Solid Organ Transplantation Transplant Proc. 2020 Nov; 52(9):2642-2653. . View in PubMed
• Rapid Adaptation of a Surgical Research Unit to Conduct Clinical Trials During the COVID-19 Pandemic J Surg Res. 2020 12; 256:76-82. . View in PubMed
• Liver Transplantation in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease in the United States J Surg Res. 2020 11; 255:23-32. . View in PubMed
• Living donor financial assistance programs in liver transplantation: The global perspective Clin Transplant. 2020 11; 34(11):e14073. . View in PubMed
• Long-Term Financial, Psychosocial, and Overall Health-Related Quality of Life After Living Liver Donation J Surg Res. 2020 09; 253:41-52. . View in PubMed
• Global experience and perspective on anonymous nondirected live donation in living donor liver transplantation Clin Transplant. 2020 04; 34(4):e13836. . View in PubMed
• Expanding the use of hepatitis C-positive donors and keeping recipient safety at the forefront Am J Transplant. 2020 03; 20(3):627-628. . View in PubMed
• SPOT GRADE II: Clinical Validation of a New Method for Reproducibly Quantifying Surgical Wound Bleeding: Prospective, Multicenter, Multispecialty, Single-Arm Study Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. 2020 Jan-Dec; 26:1076029620936340. . View in PubMed
• p53 destabilizing protein skews asymmetric division and enhances NOTCH activation to direct self-renewal of TICs Nat Commun. 2020 06 17; 11(1):3084. . View in PubMed
• Outcomes of Liver Transplantation in Patients on Renal Replacement Therapy: Considerations for Simultaneous Liver Kidney Transplantation Versus Safety Net Transplant Direct. 2019 Oct; 5(10):e490. . View in PubMed
• Use of Donation after Cardiac Death Donors at the University of Southern California J Am Coll Surg. 2019 10; 229(4):437-438. . View in PubMed
• Telomerase Variants in Patients with Cirrhosis Awaiting Liver Transplantation Hepatology. 2019 06; 69(6):2652-2663. . View in PubMed
• Transplantation. 2019 04; 103(4):747-754. . View in PubMed
• Variability in intensive care unit length of stay after liver transplant: Determinants and potential opportunities for improvement J Crit Care. 2019 04; 50:296-302. . View in PubMed
• Baicalein Targets GTPase-Mediated Autophagy to Eliminate Liver Tumor-Initiating Stem Cell-Like Cells Resistant to mTORC1 Inhibition Hepatology. 2018 11; 68(5):1726-1740. . View in PubMed
• Living donor liver transplantation: post-operative imaging follow-up of right lobe liver donors Abdom Radiol (NY). 2018 10; 43(10):2673-2678. . View in PubMed
• Extracorporeal cellular therapy (ELAD) in severe alcoholic hepatitis: A multinational, prospective, controlled, randomized trial Liver Transpl. 2018 03; 24(3):380-393. . View in PubMed
• CancerDetector: ultrasensitive and non-invasive cancer detection at the resolution of individual reads using cell-free DNA methylation sequencing data Nucleic Acids Res. 2018 09 06; 46(15):e89. . View in PubMed
• Attitudes and barriers to the use of donation after cardiac death livers: Comparison of a United States transplant center survey to the united network for organ sharing data Liver Transpl. 2017 11; 23(11):1372-1383. . View in PubMed
• Subclinical psychiatric conditions and suicide risk Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2017 10; 136(4):435-436. . View in PubMed
• Complicated gallstone disease: diagnosis and management of Mirizzi syndrome Surg Endosc. 2017 05; 31(5):2215-2222. . View in PubMed
• Fibrin Sealant Patch (TachoSil) vs Oxidized Regenerated Cellulose Patch (Surgicel Original) for the Secondary Treatment of Local Bleeding in Patients Undergoing Hepatic Resection: A Randomized Controlled Trial J Am Coll Surg. 2016 Mar; 222(3):261-8. . View in PubMed
• TLR4 Signaling via NANOG Cooperates With STAT3 to Activate Twist1 and Promote Formation of Tumor-Initiating Stem-Like Cells in Livers of Mice Gastroenterology. 2016 Mar; 150(3):707-19. . View in PubMed
• NANOG Metabolically Reprograms Tumor-Initiating Stem-like Cells through Tumorigenic Changes in Oxidative Phosphorylation and Fatty Acid Metabolism Cell Metab. 2016 Jan 12; 23(1):206-19. . View in PubMed
• Buprenorphine and the treatment of depression, anxiety, non-suicidal self-injury, and suicidality Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2016 07; 134(1):84-5. . View in PubMed
• A multicenter study of 30 days complications after deceased donor liver transplantation in the model for end-stage liver disease score era Liver Transpl. 2015 Sep; 21(9):1160-8. . View in PubMed
• Liver transplantation for metastatic neuroendocrine tumors: Outcomes and prognostic variables J Surg Oncol. 2015 Aug; 112(2):125-32. . View in PubMed
• Phase II study of avatrombopag in thrombocytopenic patients with cirrhosis undergoing an elective procedure J Hepatol. 2014 Dec; 61(6):1253-9. . View in PubMed
• Imaging appearance in acute liver failure: correlation with clinical and pathology findings Dig Dis Sci. 2014 Aug; 59(8):1987-95. . View in PubMed
• Predictive factors of neurological complications and one-month mortality after liver transplantation Front Neurol. 2014; 5:275. . View in PubMed
• Reciprocal regulation by TLR4 and TGF-ß in tumor-initiating stem-like cells J Clin Invest. 2013 Jul; 123(7):2832-49. . View in PubMed
• Calcineurin inhibitor-free mycophenolate mofetil/sirolimus maintenance in liver transplantation: the randomized spare-the-nephron trial Liver Transpl. 2013 Jul; 19(7):675-89. . View in PubMed
• Renal function at two years in liver transplant patients receiving everolimus: results of a randomized, multicenter study Am J Transplant. 2013 Jul; 13(7):1734-45. . View in PubMed
• Outcomes after liver transplantation in patients achieving a model for end-stage liver disease score of 40 or higher Transplantation. 2013 Feb 15; 95(3):507-12. . View in PubMed
• Intra-aortic balloon pump for hemodynamic support in hepatobiliary surgery: report of a case Surg Today. 2012 Aug; 42(8):793-6. . View in PubMed
• Results of live donor liver transplantation in patients with hepatitic C virus infection: the HCV 3 trial experience Clin Transplant. 2012 May-Jun; 26(3):502-9. . View in PubMed
• Cancer stem cells generated by alcohol, diabetes, and hepatitis C virus J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2012 Mar; 27 Suppl 2:19-22. . View in PubMed
• Sirolimus conversion regimen versus continued calcineurin inhibitors in liver allograft recipients: a randomized trial Am J Transplant. 2012 Mar; 12(3):694-705. . View in PubMed
• A randomized, multicenter study comparing steroid-free immunosuppression and standard immunosuppression for liver transplant recipients with chronic hepatitis C Liver Transpl. 2011 Dec; 17(12):1394-403. . View in PubMed
• Removal of a large hepatic neuroendocrine tumor causing Budd-Chiari syndrome using a median sternotomy approach in conjunction with a midline laparotomy incision Am Surg. 2011 Feb; 77(2):E27-9. . View in PubMed
• Blood-management programs: a clinical and administrative model with program implementation strategies Perm J. 2009; 13(1):18-28. . View in PubMed
• Intraoperative umbilical herniorrhaphy during liver transplantation Surgery. 2008 Mar; 143(3):451-2. . View in PubMed
• Ischemic mass effect from biliary surgical clips J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A. 2008 Feb; 18(1):84-7. . View in PubMed
• Living related donor nephrectomy in transfusion refusing donors Transpl Int. 2007 Jun; 20(6):490-6. . View in PubMed
• Utility versus utilization of DCD liver allografts Am J Transplant. 2007 Jan; 7(1):263. . View in PubMed
• Impact of a transfusion-free program on non-Jehovah’s Witness patients undergoing liver transplantation Arch Surg. 2006 Sep; 141(9):913-7. . View in PubMed
• Extended pancreatectomy with resection of the celiac axis: the modified Appleby operation Am J Surg. 2006 Sep; 192(3):330-5. . View in PubMed
• Expanding the donor kidney pool: utility of renal allografts procured in a setting of uncontrolled cardiac death Am J Transplant. 2006 Jul; 6(7):1682-8. . View in PubMed
• Predictors of employment after liver transplantation Clin Transplant. 2006 Jul-Aug; 20(4):490-5. . View in PubMed
• Risk factors for graft survival after liver transplantation from donation after cardiac death donors: an analysis of OPTN/UNOS data Am J Transplant. 2006 Apr; 6(4):791-6. . View in PubMed
• Gallstone-induced inflammatory fibrosis: a relentless clinical course of retained gallstones after laparoscopic cholecystectomy Am Surg. 2006 Apr; 72(4):303-6. . View in PubMed
• A comparison of sirolimus vscalcineurin inhibitor-based immunosuppressive therapies in liver transplantation. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2006 Feb 15; 23(4):513-20. . View in PubMed
• Iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms of the extrahepatic arterial vasculature: management and outcome HPB (Oxford). 2006; 8(6):458-64. . View in PubMed
• Pancreaticoduodenectomy in adults with congenital intestinal rotation disorders Pancreas. 2005 Nov; 31(4):413-5. . View in PubMed
• Transfusion free surgery: single institution experience of 27 consecutive liver transplants in Jehovah’s Witnesses J Am Coll Surg. 2005 Sep; 201(3):412-7. . View in PubMed
• Transfusion-free techniques in pediatric live donor liver transplantation J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2005 Apr; 40(4):521-3. . View in PubMed
• Comparison of a new fibrin sealant with standard topical hemostatic agents Arch Surg. 2004 Nov; 139(11):1148-54. . View in PubMed
• Live donor liver transplantation without blood products: strategies developed for Jehovah’s Witnesses offer broad application Ann Surg. 2004 Aug; 240(2):350-7. . View in PubMed
• Live donor liver transplantation: staging hepatectomy in a Jehovah’s Witness recipient J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Surg. 2004; 11(3):211-4. . View in PubMed
• Left portahepatic shunt: a novel technique to decrease excessive portal venous inflow during live donor liver transplantation J Am Coll Surg. 2003 Dec; 197(6):1056-7. . View in PubMed
• Characteristics and management of splenic artery aneurysm in liver transplant candidates and recipients Am Surg. 2003 Nov; 69(11):933-40. . View in PubMed
• Comparison of outcomes in noncomplicated and in higher-risk donors after standard versus hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy Am Surg. 2003 Sep; 69(9):771-8. . View in PubMed
• Cadaveric organ donor recruitment at Los Angeles County Hospital: improvement after formation of a structured clinical, educational and administrative service Clin Transplant. 2003; 17 Suppl 9:52-7. . View in PubMed
• Histologic evaluation and treatment outcome after sequential radiofrequency ablation and hepatic resection for primary and metastatic tumors Am Surg. 2002 Dec; 68(12):1038-43. . View in PubMed
• Seasonality associated with the serotonin transporter promoter repeat length polymorphism Am J Psychiatry. 1999 Nov; 156(11):1837. . View in PubMed
• Metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma to the right colon manifested by gastrointestinal bleeding Am Surg. 1999 Mar; 65(3):218-21. . View in PubMed
• Survey results of transplant patients’ attitudes on xenografting Psychosomatics. 1998 Jul-Aug; 39(4):379-83. . View in PubMed
• Phase I safety and pharmacokinetic studies of brequinar sodium after single ascending oral doses in stable renal, hepatic, and cardiac allograft recipients J Clin Pharmacol. 1997 Dec; 37(12):1121-8. . View in PubMed
• Transarterial chemoembolization is a safe treatment for unresectable hepatic malignancies Am Surg. 1997 Oct; 63(10):923-6. . View in PubMed
• Efficacy of tacrolimus as rescue therapy for chronic rejection in orthotopic liver transplantation: a report of the US. Multicenter Liver Study Group. Transplantation. 1997 Jul 27; 64(2):258-63. . View in PubMed
• Treatment of the postoperative alcoholic liver transplant recipient with other addictions Liver Transpl Surg. 1997 May; 3(3):322-7. . View in PubMed
• Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt: efficacy for the treatment of portal hypertension and impact on liver transplantation Am Surg. 1996 Oct; 62(10):835-9. . View in PubMed
• Tacrolimus (FK 506) for rescue of chronic rejection following orthotopic liver transplantation Transplant Proc. 1996 Apr; 28(2):1011-3. . View in PubMed
• Enhanced oral cyclosporine absorption with water-soluble vitamin E early after liver transplantation Pharmacotherapy. 1996 Jan-Feb; 16(1):59-65. . View in PubMed
• Failure of liver transplantation to diminish cardiac deposits of amylopectin and leukocyte inclusions in type IV glycogen storage disease Liver Transpl Surg. 1995 Nov; 1(6):373-6. . View in PubMed
• Portal vein patency in candidates for liver transplantation: MR angiographic analysis Radiology. 1995 Oct; 197(1):147-52. . View in PubMed
• Hepatic resection for malignancy in the elderly Am Surg. 1995 Oct; 61(10):889-95. . View in PubMed
• Immunosuppression: now we have choices Hepatology. 1995 Sep; 22(3):996-7. . View in PubMed
• The use of a pig liver xenograft for temporary support of a patient with fulminant hepatic failure Transplantation. 1995 Jun 27; 59(12):1654-9. . View in PubMed
• Intragraft cytokine gene expression in human liver allografts Liver Transpl Surg. 1995 Jan; 1(1):16-22. . View in PubMed
• Acute liver failure due to lymphomaA diagnostic concern when considering liver transplantation. Dig Dis Sci. 1994 Jun; 39(6):1351-8. . View in PubMed
• Immunohistopathologic lesions associated with the rejection of a pig-to-human liver xenograft Transplant Proc. 1994 Jun; 26(3):1074-5. . View in PubMed
• A bioartificial liver to treat severe acute liver failure Ann Surg. 1994 May; 219(5):538-44; discussion 544-6. . View in PubMed
• Hepatic regeneration: current concepts and clinical implications Semin Liver Dis. 1994 May; 14(2):190-210. . View in PubMed
• Liver transplantation in children Am J Gastroenterol. 1994 Apr; 89(4):480-92. . View in PubMed
• The development of Brequinar as an immunosuppressive drug for transplantation Immunol Rev. 1993 Dec; 136:51-70. . View in PubMed
• Pediatric liver transplantation Semin Pediatr Surg. 1993 Nov; 2(4):265-78. . View in PubMed
• Control of cerebral oedema by total hepatectomy and extracorporeal liver support in fulminant hepatic failure Lancet. 1993 Oct 09; 342(8876):898-9. . View in PubMed
• Evaluation of three cytomegalovirus infection prophylactic regimens in liver transplant recipients Transplant Proc. 1992 Aug; 24(4):1466-7. . View in PubMed
• Improved method of porcine renal allografting for transplantation research J Invest Surg. 1991; 4(2):231-6. . View in PubMed
• Hilar cholangiocarcinoma associated with clonorchiasis Dig Dis Sci. 1989 Jul; 34(7):1121-3. . View in PubMed
• Obstructing mucocele of the cystic duct after transplantation of the liver Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1989 May; 168(5):394-6. . View in PubMed
• A team of experts from two leading transplant centers reviews current indications, survival rates, and methods of evaluating candidates for operation. Hosp Rec Study. 1988 Jun; 10(6):62-79. . View in PubMed
• Surgical technique of orthotopic liver transplantation Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 1988 Mar; 17(1):33-51. . View in PubMed
• Long-term prolongation of cardiac allografts by subtherapeutic levels of cyclosporine in rats conditioned with pretransplant blood transfusions and cyclosporine Transplantation. 1985 Jan; 39(1):1-5. . View in PubMed
• Course of enterovesical fistulas in Crohn’s disease Am J Surg. 1984 Jun; 147(6):788-92. . View in PubMed

• Terrault, Norah
• Emamaullee, Juliet
• Genyk, Yuri
• Demetriades, Demetrios