James Gardner, MD, PhD Assistant Professor, Transplant Surgery, UCSF Biography James (Jay) Gardner, MD, PhD, is a transplant surgeon specializing in kidney, liver, and pancreas transplants for both pediatric and adult patients. His research in the Diabetes Center explores immune tolerance and extrathymic Aire-expressing cells (eTACs). Dr. Gardner earned his BA from Harvard, and MD and PhD (Genetics) from UCSF. He completed general surgery residency and transplant fellowship at UCSF. He is the first surgeon to be awarded the UCSF Physician-Scientist Scholar Program (PSSP).