TGMG Hepatology

Nyingi Kemmer, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc., has been a member of the TGMG liver transplant team since July 2011. Prior to her joining the group she was an associate professor of medicine at the University of Cincinnati, OH. Dr Kemmer completed her medical degree at the University of Sokoto in Sokoto, Nigeria and a residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL. Dr. Kemmer went on to complete her gastroenterology training at the University of Texas Medical Group, Galveston, TX, and transplant hepatology fellowship training at the Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA. She is actively involved in clinical research and completed her M.P.H. with a focus on outcomes research and M.Sc. in drug development and pharmacogenomics.

Her research interest is in the area of health related quality of life, clinical outcomes and disparities in liver transplantation. Her research pertaining to transplant immunosuppression, clinical outcomes and disparities in liver transplantation has been published in numerous journals including Liver Transplantation, Transplantation Journal, Transplant Proceedings, Liver International and Hepatology.

She is a member of many professional medical societies and has been a reviewer of abstracts (disparities and outcomes in transplantation) for the American Society of Transplantation annual ATC meetings.

Dr. Kawtar Al Khalloufi is a transplant hepatologist with Tampa General Hospital who is board certified in internal medicine, gastroenterology and transplant hepatology. Prior to joining Tampa General, she served as a transplant hepatologist with Cleveland Clinic Florida's Transplant Center, where she was an abdominal transplant center representative for patient experience. Dr. Al Khalloufi has provided valuable guidance in her field as a clinical assistant professor at Florida Atlantic University. She is a member of the National Liver Review Board, which was established to improve the process of assessing and determining liver transplant priority for candidates with exceptional medical conditions. Before joining Cleveland Clinic Florida in 2017, Dr. Al Khalloufi completed a transplant hepatology fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She was a chief fellow during her gastroenterology fellowship at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she previously had been a chief resident. She also was honored as a chief fellow during her hepatology fellowship at Florida Hospital in Orlando. Fluent in English, French and Arabic, Dr. Al Khalloufi graduated with summa cum laude distinction after studying at Université Hassan II in Morocco. She has dozens of research publication entries to her credit and has completed reviews for the Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology.

Dr. Basem Alkurdi is a transplant hepatologist with board certification in internal medicine and gastroenterology.
He previously served as medical director of the liver transplant program at the Transplant Institute of Florida at Largo Medical Center. Dr. Alkurdi received his medical degree from Aleppo University School of Medicine in Aleppo, Syria. He completed training in internal medicine at Atlantic City Medical Center in New Jersey and later completed his fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology, and advanced training in transplant hepatology, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Fluent in English and Arabic, Dr. Alkurdi has extensive experience in managing all aspects of advanced liver disease, including liver transplantation. His special interest is management of cirrhosis complications, liver transplant and viral hepatitis. Dr. Alkurdi is a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the American Society of Transplantation and the American College of Gastroenterology. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Kiran Dhanireddy, MD, serves as the Vice President & Chief of TGH Transplant Institute, as well as the surgical director of the Center for Advanced Liver Disease and Transplant and the TGH Transplant Institute. Board certified in general surgery, he earned his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and completed a general surgery residency at Georgetown University Medical Center, a research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a fellowship in liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery at UCLA. Dr. Dhanireddy has served in academic, clinical and administrative appointments, including chief of service for hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery at LA County + USC, director of pancreas transplantation at University of Southern California (USC), director of quality at the USC Transplant Institute and chief medical officer at the USC Care Medical Group. Dr. Dhanireddy's clinical interests include liver transplantation, live donor liver transplantation, partial liver transplantation, and surgical management of liver, gallbladder biliary tract and pancreatic diseases. His research areas of interest include liver transplant organ allocation, disparities in access to organ transplantation, and transplant tolerance.

Mei Yi Worton is a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner who takes pride in working with multidisciplinary teams to deliver compassionate, world-class, patient-centered care. Specializing in transplant hepatology, Worton enjoys providing health care education to patients and their families.

Prior to her current role with TGMG Bayshore, Worton served as a registered nurse in Surgical Services at HCA Florida South Tampa Hospital, where she managed care of patients in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). She also gained experience as a registered ICU travel nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic after beginning her medical career as an ICU registered nurse at Tampa General Hospital.

Worton earned her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of South Florida, where she also received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She has professional memberships with the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Florida Nurse Practitioner Network. In January 2023, Worton became a member of American Association for the Study of Liver Disease. Worton is fluent in Cantonese and English.