Nhu Thao Nguyen Galván, MD, MPH

N. Thao N. Galván, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine and an Abdominal Transplant Surgeon specializing in pediatric and adult liver and kidney transplantation and uterus transplantation. She serves as Medical Director of the Uterus Transplant Program and Surgical Director of Pediatric Kidney Transplantation at Texas Children’s Hospital. She also founded and directs the Portal Vein Thrombosis Institute, a multidisciplinary program dedicated to advancing the management of complex portal hypertension.   

Dr. Galván’s academic work integrates translational science, clinical outcomes, surgical innovation and transplant policy. During her academic training, she was a CPRIT fellow investigating the genomics of hepatocellular carcinoma and contributed to The Cancer Genome Atlas in collaboration with the NIH. She has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications and received research support from the Southwest Pediatric Device Consortium and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons–Natera Socioeconomic and Racial Disparities Grant. She serves as site principal investigator for multiple multicenter studies and maintains collaborations spanning transplant medicine, bioengineering, and molecular biology, including partnerships with UCSF, Rice University, and UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.   

Dr. Galván has established innovative clinical programs and developed multidisciplinary approaches to complex transplantation challenges. Her contributions include an internal paired kidney donation program across Baylor-affiliated transplant centers, system-level transplant safety protocols implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic that has been used to inform international protocols, and the development of a uterus transplant program, Houston's first and one of the few active programs in the country. Her work emphasizes translating scientific evidence into clinical practice, improving access to transplantation, and developing sustainable systems that advance patient care.  

Her professional service includes the American Society of Transplant Surgeons Ethics Committee, the Texas Medical Disclosure Panel, and the Health Policy Scholar program at Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy. She is an Associate Member of the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, and a traveling fellow and active member of the James IV Association of Surgeons. 

Education

Organizations

Honors and awards

2025 - Baylor College of Medicine Young Alumnus Award, Houston, TX 

2025 - Graduate Medical Education Faculty Teaching Award, BCM SOM, Houston, TX

2025-30 - Associate Member of the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, American Academy of Surgery, Chicago, IL

2024 - Graduating Class Outstanding Teaching Award, BCM School of Medicine, Houston, TX 

2024 - Alpha Omega Alpha, Houston, TX 

2023-2025 - James IV Travelling Fellowship, North American fellow

2019 - Women of Excellence, Baylor College of Medicine - (The Women of Excellence Project seeks to recognize Baylor woman faculty, staff, students and trainees who exemplify excellence as well as Baylor’s other values of respect, integrity, innovation and teamwork.)

* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.

Nguyen NT, Cotton RT, Harring TR, Guiteau JJ, Gingras MC, Wheeler DA, O'Mahony CA, Gibbs RA, Brunicardi FC, Goss JA. "A Primer on a Hepatocellular Carcinoma Bioresource Bank using the Cancer Genome Atlas Guidelines: Practical Issues and Pitfalls." World J Surg.

Harring TR, Guiteau JJ, Nguyen NT, Cotton RT, Gingras MC, Wheeler DA, O'Mahony CA, Gibbs RA, Brunicardi FC, Goss JA. "Building a Comprehensive Genomic Program for Hepatocellular Carcinoma." World J Surg.

Nguyen NT, Harring TR, Goss JA, O’Mahony CA. "Neuroendocrine Liver Metastases and Orthotopic Liver Transplantation: The US Experience." Int J Hepatol.

Nguyen NT, Vierling JM. "Acute Liver Failure." Curr Opin Organ Transplant.

Nguyen NTT Harring TR, Liu H, Goss JA, O’Mahony CA. "Transplanting Whole Livers from Donors Less than 6 Kilograms—is it prudent?." J Surg Res.

Covington K, Donehower LA, Creighton C, Slagle BL, Goss JA, Nguyen NTT, Gibbs RA, Wheeler D et al.. "Viral Subtypes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma are Associated with Different Mechanisms of WNT/CTNNB1 Alteration." Cancer Research.

Nguyen NTT, Harring TR, Liu H, Goss JA, O’Mahony CA. "Biliary Reconstruction in Pediatric Liver Transplantation: A Case Report of Biliary Complications and Review of the Literature." J Liver.

Yoeli D, Galvan NT, Ashton DJ, Kumm KR, Kueht ML, Witte ED, Miloh TA, Cotton RT, Rana A, O’Mahony CA, Goss JA. "Portosystemic shunt as a bridge to liver transplantation in infants: A comparison of two techniques." Pediatr Transplant. Pubmed PMID: 28295949.

Kumm K, Galván NTN, et al.. "Are Drowned Donors Marginal Donors? A Single Pediatric Center Experience." Pediatric Transplantation.

Rana A, Kueht M, Desai M, Lam F, Miloh T, Moffett J, Galván NT, Cotton R, O’Mahony C, Goss J. "No Child Left Behind: Liver Transplantation in Critically Ill Children." J Am Coll Surg. Pubmed PMID: 28167225