Mary Ellen Kleinhenz, MD

Professor

Dr. Kleinhenz is a Professor of Medicine in the UCSF Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy-Immunology and Sleep Medicine. She is the Director of the UCSF Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program and Associate Director of the UCSF Cystic Fibrosis Center. Dr. Kleinhenz is also a Transplant Physician of the UCSF Lung Transplant Program.

Dr. Kleinhenz's clinical interests include adult cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis due to conditions other than cystic fibrosis, pulmonary disease from non-tuberculous mycobacteria and lung transplantation. She maintains an active consultative practice in the UCSF Pulmonary Practice at Parnassus.

Dr. Kleinhenz long-term commitment to adult cystic fibrosis care and management. She is a member of the Center Committee of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and participates in the Foundation's Quality Assurance Program. She has championed the training of clinicians in adult cystic fibrosis care; several of her former trainees now staff and direct Adult Cystic Fibrosis Programs across the Nation. Dr. Kleinhenz has directed several trials of potential therapies for cystic fibrosis at UCSF.

Education
M.D., 1975 - School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Honors and Awards
  • Michael Stulbarg Outstanding Teaching Award, UCSF Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine, 2012
  • Pulmonary Academic Award, NHLBI Division of Lung Disease, 1987
  • Fellow, American College of Chest Physicians, 1986
  • The John A. and George L. Hartford Medical Fellowship, The Hartford Foundation, 1982-1986
  • Elton Hoyt II Research Prize, CWRU Department of Medicine, 1980
Publications

  1. Mohanty RP, Moghbeli K, Singer JP, Calabrese DR, Hays SR, Iasella C, Lieber S, Leard LE, Shah RJ, Venado A, Kleinhenz ME, Golden JA, Martinu T, Love C, Ward R, Langelier CR, McDyer J, Greenland JR. Small airway brush gene expression predicts chronic lung allograft dysfunction and mortality. The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2024. PMID: 39115489


  2. Santos J, Wang P, Shemesh A, Liu F, Tsao T, Aguilar OA, Cleary SJ, Singer JP, Gao Y, Hays SR, Golden J, Leard LE, Kleinhenz ME, Kolaitis NA, Shah RJ, Venado A, Kukreja J, Weigt SS, Belperio JA, Lanier LL, Looney MR, Greenland JR, Calabrese DR. CCR5 drives NK cell-associated airway damage in pulmonary ischemia-reperfusion injury. JCI insight 2023. PMID: 37788115


  3. Santos J, Hays SR, Golden JA, Calabrese DR, Kolaitis N, Kleinhenz ME, Shah R, Estrada AV, Leard LE, Kukreja J, Singer JP, Greenland JR. Decreased Lymphocytic Bronchitis Severity in the Era of Azithromycin Prophylaxis. Transplantation direct 2023. PMID: 37575951


  4. Singer JP, Christie JD, Diamond JM, Anderson MA, Benvenuto LA, Gao Y, Arcasoy SM, Lederer DJ, Calabrese D, Wang P, Hays SR, Kukreja J, Venado A, Kolaitis NA, Leard LE, Shah RJ, Kleinhenz ME, Golden J, Betancourt L, Oyster M, Zaleski D, Adler J, Kalman L, Balar P, Patel S, Medikonda N, Koons B, Tevald M, Covinsky KE, Greenland JR, Katz PK. Development of the Lung Transplant Frailty Scale (LT-FS). The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2023. PMID: 36925382


  5. Singer JP, Calfee CS, Delucchi K, Diamond JM, Anderson MA, Benvenuto LA, Gao Y, Wang P, Arcasoy SM, Lederer DJ, Hays SR, Kukreja J, Venado A, Kolaitis NA, Leard L LE, Shah RJ, Kleinhenz ME, Golden J, Betancourt L, Oyster M, Brown M, Zaleski D, Medikonda N, Kalman L, Balar P, Patel S, Calabrese DR, Greenland JR, Christie JD. Subphenotypes of frailty in lung transplant candidates. American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons 2023. PMID: 36740192


  6. Odisho AY, Liu AW, Maiorano AR, Bigazzi MOA, Medina E, Leard LE, Shah R, Venado A, Perez A, Golden J, Kleinhenz ME, Kolaitis NA, Maheshwari J, Trinh BN, Kukreja J, Greenland J, Calabrese D, Neinstein AB, Singer JP, Hays SR. Design and implementation of a digital health home spirometry intervention for remote monitoring of lung transplant function. The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2023. PMID: 37031033


  7. Calabrese DR, Tsao T, Magnen M, Valet C, Gao Y, Mallavia B, Tian JJ, Aminian EA, Wang KM, Shemesh A, Punzalan EB, Sarma A, Calfee CS, Christenson SA, Langelier CR, Hays SR, Golden JA, Leard LE, Kleinhenz ME, Kolaitis NA, Shah RJ, Venado A, Lanier LL, Greenland JR, Sayah DM, Ardehali A, Kukreja J, Weigt SS, Belperio JA, Singer JP, Looney MR. NKG2D receptor activation drives primary graft dysfunction severity and poor lung transplantation outcomes. JCI insight 2022. PMID: 36346670


  8. Kolaitis NA, Gao Y, Soong A, Greenland JR, Hays SR, Golden JA, Venado A, Leard LE, Shah RJ, Kleinhenz ME, Katz PP, Kukreja J, Blanc PD, Smith PJ, Singer JP. Depressive symptoms in lung transplant recipients: trajectory and association with mortality and allograft dysfunction. 2022. PMID: 35354643


  9. Dugger DT, Calabrese DR, Gao Y, Deiter F, Tsao T, Maheshwari J, Hays SR, Leard L, Kleinhenz ME, Shah R, Golden J, Kukreja J, Gordon ED, Singer JP, Greenland JR. Lung Allograft Epithelium DNA Methylation Age Is Associated With Graft Chronologic Age and Primary Graft Dysfunction. 2021. PMID: 34691018


  10. Maheshwari JA, Kolaitis NA, Anderson MR, Benvenuto L, Gao Y, Katz PP, Greenland J, Wolters PJ, Covinsky K, Hays SR, Kukreja J, Calabrese DR, Venado A, Shah RJ, Leard LE, Trinh B, Huang CY, Glidden D, Kleinhenz ME, Golden JA, Sutter N, Tietje-Ulrich G, Criner RN, Arcasoy SM, Christie JD, Diamond J, Singer JP. Construct and Predictive Validity of Sarcopenia in Lung Transplant Candidates. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2021. PMID: 33565917


  11. Anstey KM, Choi L, Dawson D, Kleinhenz ME, Otani IM. Enabling antibiotic allergy evaluations and reintroduction of first-line antibiotics for patients with cystic fibrosis. Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology 2021. PMID: 34048884


  12. DeBolt CL, Gao Y, Sutter N, Soong A, Leard L, Jeffrey G, Kleinhenz ME, Calabrese D, Greenland J, Venado A, Hays SR, Shah R, Kukreja J, Trinh B, Kolaitis NA, Douglas V, Diamond JM, Smith P, Singer J. The association of post-operative delirium with patient-reported outcomes and mortality after lung transplantation. Clinical transplantation 2021. PMID: 33682171


  13. Dugger DT, Fung M, Hays SR, Singer JP, Ellen Kleinhenz M, Leard LE, Golden JA, Shah RJ, Lee JS, Deiter F, Greenland NY, Jones KD, Langelier CR, Greenland JR. Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction Small Airways Reveal A Lymphocytic Inflammation Gene Signature. American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons 2020. PMID: 32885581


  14. Kolaitis NA, Gao Y, Soong A, Greenland JR, Hays SR, Golden J, Leard LE, Shah RJ, Kleinhenz ME, Katz PP, Venado A, Kukreja J, Blanc PD, Singer JP. Primary graft dysfunction attenuates improvements in health-related quality of life after lung transplantation, but not disability or depression. American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons 2020. PMID: 32794295


  15. Dugger DT, Fung M, Zlock L, Caldera S, Sharp L, Hays SR, Singer JP, Leard LE, Golden JA, Shah RJ, Kukreja J, Gordon E, Finkbeiner W, Kleinhenz ME, Langelier C, Greenland JR. Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Recipients Have Suppressed Airway Interferon Responses during Pseudomonas Infection. Cell reports. Medicine 2020. PMID: 32754722


  16. Anstey KM, Lee M, Dawson D, Jue V, Budzik JM, Yu M, Kleinhenz ME, Otani IM. Antibiotic Adverse Reactions in Adult Cystic Fibrosis Patients. The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice 2020. PMID: 32673878


  17. Ortiz-Munoz G, Yu MA, Lefrançais E, Mallavia B, Valet C, Tian JJ, Ranucci S, Wang KM, Liu Z, Kwaan N, Dawson D, Kleinhenz ME, Khasawneh FT, Haggie PM, Verkman AS, Looney MR. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator dysfunction in platelets drives lung hyperinflammation. The Journal of clinical investigation 2020. PMID: 31961827


  18. Perez AA, Hays SR, Soong A, Gao Y, Greenland JR, Leard LE, Shah RJ, Golden J, Kukreja J, Venado A, Kleinhenz ME, Singer JP. Improvements in frailty contribute to substantial improvements in quality of life after lung transplantation in patients with cystic fibrosis. Pediatric pulmonology 2020. PMID: 32237273


  19. Mallavia B, Liu F, Lefrançais E, Cleary SJ, Kwaan N, Tian JJ, Magnen M, Sayah DM, Soong A, Chen J, Saggar R, Shino MY, Ross DJ, Derhovanessian A, Lynch Iii JP, Ardehali A, Weigt SS, Belperio JA, Hays SR, Golden JA, Leard LE, Shah RJ, Kleinhenz ME, Venado A, Kukreja J, Singer JP, Looney MR. Mitochondrial DNA Stimulates TLR9-Dependent NET Formation in Primary Graft Dysfunction. American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology 2019. PMID: 31647878


  20. Kolaitis NA, Calabrese DR, Ahearn P, Venado A, Florez R, Lei HL, Isaak K, Henricksen E, Martinez E, Chong T, Shah RJ, Leard LE, Kleinhenz ME, Golden J, De Marco T, Greenland JR, Kukreja J, Hays SR, Blanc PD, Singer JP. Tacrolimus trough monitoring guided by mass spectrometry without accounting for assay differences is associated with acute kidney injury in lung transplant recipients. American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2019. PMID: 31696925


  21. Perez AA, Singer JP, Schwartz BS, Chin-Hong P, Shah RJ, Kleinhenz ME, Gao Y, Venado A, Leard LE, Golden JA, Kukreja J, Greenland JR, Hays SR. Management and clinical outcomes after lung transplantation in patients with pre-transplant Mycobacterium abscessus infection: A single center experience. Transplant infectious disease : an official journal of the Transplantation Society 2019. PMID: 30924986


  22. Greenland JR, Wang P, Brotman JJ, Ahuja R, Chong TA, Kleinhenz ME, Leard LE, Golden JA, Hays SR, Kukreja J, Singer JP, Rajalingam R, Jones K, Laszik ZG, Trivedi NN, Greenland NY, Blanc PD. Gene signatures common to allograft rejection are associated with lymphocytic bronchitis. Clinical transplantation 2019. PMID: 30849195


  23. Venado A, McCulloch C, Greenland JR, Katz P, Soong A, Shrestha P, Hays S, Golden J, Shah R, Leard LE, Kleinhenz ME, Kukreja J, Zablotska L, Allen IE, Covinsky K, Blanc P, Singer JP. Frailty trajectories in adult lung transplantation: A cohort study. The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2019. PMID: 31005571


  24. Kolaitis NA, Soong A, Shrestha P, Zhuo H, Neuhaus J, Katz PP, Greenland JR, Golden J, Leard LE, Shah RJ, Hays SR, Kukreja J, Kleinhenz ME, Blanc PD, Singer JP. Improvement in patient-reported outcomes after lung transplantation is not impacted by the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a bridge to transplantation. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2018. PMID: 29550072


  25. Kerkhoff AD, Patrick L, Cornett P, Kleinhenz ME, Brondfield S. Severe piperacillin-tazobactam-induced hemolysis in a cystic fibrosis patient. Clinical case reports 2017. PMID: 29225856


  26. Singer JP, Katz PP, Soong A, Shrestha P, Huang D, Ho J, Mindo M, Greenland JR, Hays SR, Golden J, Kukreja J, Kleinhenz ME, Shah RJ, Blanc PD. Effect of Lung Transplantation on Health-Related Quality of Life in the Era of the Lung Allocation Score: A U.S. Prospective Cohort Study. Volume 17 of Issue 5. American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons 2017. PMID: 27743488


  27. Okumura MJ, Kleinhenz ME. Cystic Fibrosis Transitions of Care: Lessons Learned and Future Directions for Cystic Fibrosis. Clinics in chest medicine 2015. PMID: 26857773


  28. Tokman S, Hays SR, Leard LE, Bush EL, Kukreja J, Kleinhenz ME, Golden JA, Singer JP. Prolonged Barium-Impaction Ileus in Two Lung Transplant Recipients With Systemic Sclerosis: Case Report. Transplantation proceedings 2015. PMID: 26707322


  29. Kern RM, Seethamraju H, Blanc PD, Sinha N, Loebe M, Golden J, Kukreja J, Scheinin S, Hays S, Kleinhenz ME, Leard L, Hoopes C, Singer JP. The feasibility of lung transplantation in HIV-seropositive patients. Volume 11 of Issue 6. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2014. PMID: 24964265


  30. Okumura MJ, Ong T, Dawson D, Nielson D, Lewis N, Richards M, Brindis CD, Kleinhenz ME. Improving transition from paediatric to adult cystic fibrosis care: programme implementation and evaluation. BMJ quality & safety 2014. PMID: 24415776


  31. Cox MJ, Allgaier M, Taylor B, Baek MS, Huang YJ, Daly RA, Karaoz U, Andersen GL, Brown R, Fujimura KE, Wu B, Tran D, Koff J, Kleinhenz ME, Nielson D, Brodie EL, Lynch SV. Airway microbiota and pathogen abundance in age-stratified cystic fibrosis patients. Volume 5 of Issue 6. PloS one 2010. PMID: 20585638


  32. Webb EM, Kleinhenz ME, Coakley FV, Chang CI, Westphalen AC, Yeh BM. Colonic wall redundancy at CT in patients with cystic fibrosis. Radiology 2008. PMID: 18647844


  33. Gasper WJ, Sweet MP, Golden JA, Hoopes C, Leard LE, Kleinhenz ME, Hays SR, Patti MG. Lung transplantation in patients with connective tissue disorders and esophageal dysmotility. Diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus 2008. PMID: 18459990


  34. Gasper WJ, Sweet MP, Hoopes C, Leard LE, Kleinhenz ME, Hays SR, Golden JA, Patti MG. Antireflux surgery for patients with end-stage lung disease before and after lung transplantation. Surgical endoscopy 2007. PMID: 17704875


  35. Espiritu JD, Ruppel G, Shrestha Y, Kleinhenz ME. The diffusing capacity in adult cystic fibrosis. Respiratory medicine 2003. PMID: 12814143


  36. Kleinhenz ME, Lewis CY. Chronic ventilator dependence in elderly patients. Clinics in geriatric medicine 2000. PMID: 10984753


  37. Espiritu JD, Kleinhenz ME. Paradoxical embolization in an adult patient with cystic fibrosis. Mayo Clinic proceedings 2000. PMID: 11040860


  38. Goodnough LT, Kleinhenz ME, Goldsmith GH, Ziats NP, Robertson AL. Bovine aortic endothelial cells elaborate an inhibitor of the generation of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated human blood monocyte procoagulant activity. The Journal of clinical investigation 1984. PMID: 6736253


  39. Ellner JJ, Olds GR, Lee CW, Kleinhenz ME, Edmonds KL. Destruction of the multicellular parasite Schistosoma mansoni by T lymphocytes. The Journal of clinical investigation 1982. PMID: 6980229


  40. Kleinhenz ME, Ellner JJ, Spagnuolo PJ, Daniel TM. Suppression of lymphocyte responses by tuberculous plasma and mycobacterial arabinogalactan. Monocyte dependence and indomethacin reversibility. The Journal of clinical investigation 1981. PMID: 6972952