Christopher J Sonnenday, MD, MHS
Darrell A Campbell Jr
M.D. Collegiate Professor of Transplant Surgery
Center Director
Associate Chair
Department of Transplant Surgery
Associate Professor of Surgery
Associate Professor of Health Management and Policy
Department of Surgery, Section of Transplantation
1500 E. Medical Center Drive, UH South F6689A
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
[email protected]

Available to mentor
Christopher J Sonnenday, MD, MHS
Associate Professor
  • About
  • Qualifications
  • Center Memberships
  • Research Overview
  • Recent Publications
    • About

    Chris Sonnenday is the Darrell A. Campbell, Jr, M.D., Collegiate Professor of Transplant Surgery at the University of Michigan, and Transplant Center Director for UM Health. He also serves Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery, Surgical Director of Living Donor Liver Transplantation, and Surgical Director of the Multidisciplinary Liver Tumor Program for Michigan Medicine. Dr. Sonnenday's clinical interests focus on liver transplantation including liver donation, and the treatment of liver cancer.

    Qualifications
    • Fellow in Surgical Oncology and Assistant Chief of Service
      Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 3400 N. Charles St., 2008
    • Fellow in Transplantation
      The University of Michigan, Department of Surgery, 2008
    • Senior Resident in Surgery
      Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 3400 N. Charles St., 2005
    • Research Fellow
      Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 3400 N. Charles St., 2003
    • Resident in Surgery
      Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 3400 N. Charles St., 2000
    • Intern in Surgery
      Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 3400 N. Charles St., 1998
    Center Memberships
    • Center Member
      Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation
    Research Overview

    • Preservation strategies for deceased donor organs prior to transplantation
    • Multi-modality therapy of advanced hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies
    • Transplant utilization and allocation
    • Racial and geographic disparity in complex surgical care, including transplantation
    • Donor and recipient selection in liver tranplantation
    • Frailty as a metric in patient selection for liver transplantation and complex surgical care

    Recent Publications See All Publications
    • Chapter
      Leak After Bariatric Surgery
      Howard R, Obeid N. 2024 Sep 13; Clinical Scenarios in Surgery: Decision Making and Operative Techniques,
    • Chapter
      Morbid Obesity
      O'Neill S, Obeid N. 2024 Sep 13; Clinical Scenarios in Surgery: Decision Making and Operative Technique,
    • Chapter
      Splenic Flexure Colon Cancer
      Bobel M, Kwakye G. 2024 Sep 13; Clinical Scenarios in Surgery,
    • Journal Article
      Challenges With the Implementation of Machine Perfusion in Clinical Liver Transplantation.
      De Goeij FHC, De Meijer V, Mergental H, Guarrera JV, Asthana S, Ghinolfi D, Boteon YL, Selzner N, Kalisvaart M, Pulitano C, Sonnenday C, Martins PN, Berlakovich G, Schlegel A. Transplantation, 2024 Jun 1; 108 (6): 1296 - 1307. DOI:10.1097/TP.0000000000004872
      PMID: 38057969
    • Journal Article
      Universal intraoperative systemic heparin administration during liver transplantation: A case series.
      Diaz S, VanWinkle C, Roney E, Kumar SS, Douville NJ, Englesbe M, Sonnenday CJ, Waits S, Schaefer SL. Liver Transpl, 2024 Jun 1; 30 (6): 661 - 667. DOI:10.1097/LVT.0000000000000329
      PMID: 38190234
    • Chapter
      Liver Transplantation for Hilar Cholangiocarcinoma.
      Sonnenday CJ. Surg Clin North Am, 2024 Feb; 104: 183 - 196. DOI:10.1016/j.suc.2023.09.004
      PMID: 37953035
    • Journal Article
      ASO Author Reflections: Hepatic Resection as the Primary Treatment Modality for Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Orthotopic Liver Transplantation.
      Matar AJ, Oppat KM, Bennett FJ, Warren EAK, Wehrle CJ, Li Z, Rajendran L, Rokop ZP, Kubal C, Biesterveld BE, Foley DP, Maeda M, Nguyen MH, Elinoff B, Humar A, Moris D, Sudan D, Klein J, Emamaullee J, Agopian V, Vagefi PA, Dualeh SHA, Sonnenday CJ, Sapisochin G, Aucejo FN, Maithel SK. Ann Surg Oncol, 2024 Sep 14; DOI:10.1245/s10434-024-16237-1
      PMID: 39277547
    • Journal Article
      Financial toxicity in living donor liver transplantation: A call to action for financial neutrality.
      Kaplan A, Aby ES, Scott S, Sonnenday C, Fox A, Mathur A, Olthoff K, Heimbach J, Ladin K, Emamaullee J, NALLDIG Consortium . Am J Transplant, 2024 Oct; 24 (10): 1742 - 1754. DOI:10.1016/j.ajt.2024.05.012
      PMID: 38763318
    Featured News & Stories
    News Release
    University of Michigan kicks off 42nd annual Blood Battle against Ohio State University with the American Red Cross
    This year’s Blood Battle includes a new way to participate for those not able to donate on U-M’s campus.
         Michigan Medicine General Surgery Resident Joy Obayemi
    Department News
    Beyond missions: Building a sustainable kidney transplant program in Rwanda
    Jeffrey Punch brings just one bag, a carry-on typically packed with a week's worth of underwear, socks and shirts, a jacket, three pairs of pants, a shaving kit and loupes. The pants are worn twice each to save on packing space. A mini pharmacy also collects frequent flier miles in case travel-related illness strikes
         A scientific diagram of immunofluoresence
    Department News
    Donor pancreas tissue helps define ‘new normal’ in pancreatic cancer research
    A research partnership between Michigan Medicine and Gift of Life Michigan has revealed a new pathway to understanding the progression of pancreatic cancer.