UC San Diego Health reportedly replaced the chief of the institution's surgical transplantation team for unspecified reasons, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Here are four things to know:
1. Alan Hemming, MD, was hired in October 2009 to launch a multidisciplinary center for the treatment of advanced liver disease at the UC San Diego Medical Center and UC San Diego Health-La Jolla (Calif.) Moores Cancer Center.
2. UC San Diego Health officials confirmed to the publication Dr. Hemming no longer serves as surgical director of kidney and pancreas transplantation, and said he had been replaced on an interim basis by Kristin Mekeel, MD, a board-certified transplant surgeon.
3. Officials did not discuss the situation with The San Diego Union-Tribune, but said in an email it is "hard to say" when a permanent director will be appointed.
4. Dr. Hemming, who The San Diego Union-Tribune reports made $868,000 last year, told the publication June 19, "I am still on [the] faculty," but declined to comment further. He is still listed as a provider and a faculty member on the institutions' websites.