Faces of Cedars-Sinai Dr Todd Brennan Transplant Director Cedars-Sinai Skip to content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Share Email Print CS-Blog Cedars-Sinai Blog Faces of Cedars-Sinai Dr Todd Brennan Transplant Director Aug 09, 2019 Cedars-Sinai Staff Share Tweet Post Cedars-Sinai Transplant Director Dr. Todd Brennan In 2018, Dr. Todd Brennan and his family packed up their lives in North Carolina to return to LA, where he had accepted a role as transplant director at Cedars-Sinai. Now he and his family are settled in and loving their lives in California. We sat down with him to learn more about his journey to Cedars-Sinai and his life outside the hospital. What does an average day look like for you Dr. Todd Brennan: I start my morning on my exercise bike in the garage, where I watch whatever Netflix series I'm on—currently that's Parks and Recreation. After that, I see patients in the hospital or the clinic. And then there are the transplants, which come in at different times. Most of our work is actually at night—between midnight and 6 am. During the day, sometimes I can sneak out with my co-director Dr. Irene Kim and hit the gym. In the evening, I often grocery shop and cook. I like to cook stir fry, lasagna, fish, chicken, beef. I'm in charge of a lot of the cooking in the house! In Discoveries: Triumph for Transplants The transplant surgeries typically happen at night TB: Yes, because the donor cases are procured at various hospitals and they avoid overlapping the elective schedule by doing the donors at night. And if the donor cases come in at night, then we transplant at night. Read: Behind the Scenes: Cedars-Sinai Helipad What kind of activities do you do with your kids TB: My daughter Tori is 11 and my son Ty is 13. We like to play tennis and go biking. We also like to hike—Franklin Park is really nice. And we bike along Santa Monica beach. Sometimes on Sunday we'll watch the polo matches at Will Rogers State Park. In Discoveries: Good Blood What excites you about the future TB: The prospect of artificial organs because the number of deceased donors is limited. The waitlist is always growing and there's not enough living donors. With artificial organs, we could potentially clear the entire list. In Discoveries: Stats: Rejection Overruled How far away are we from that TB: At least a decade. In the Newsroom: March Milestone in Organ Transplants for Cedars-Sinai How do you like to wind down outside of work TB: I listen to audiobooks. I like sci-fi. I love books by Wallace Stegner. He wrote Angle of Repose, All the Little Live Things, and Crossing to Safety. Those are really good books. I want to start a book club and I've already recruited a few other physicians. I used to do one in San Francisco and it was really fun. I also love gardening. I had a beautiful yard in North Carolina—with perennials, flowers, hedges, and grass. I also grew chili peppers and had a bat house for mosquito control. Read: 7 Myths About Organ Donation How do you and your wife juggle your careers and your family life TB: It's difficult. My wife's a pediatrician and professor of pediatrics and immunology at UCLA. We take turns picking up and dropping off the kids. When there are appointments, one of us will need to clear a spot on the schedule and we both try to be flexible. In Discoveries: All Eyes on Transplantation What s it like being back in Southern California after 20 years away TB: I love living here. I have great, supportive colleagues. And the family's really enjoying it too. My wife and kids are very happy, so it's been great. Tags Faces of Cedars-Sinai Transplant Share Tweet Post Popular Categories Health + Wellness Science + Innovation Community Blog & Magazines catalyst Blog & Magazines Home CS-Blog Blog CS Magazine Cedars-Sinai Magazine discoveries magazine Discoveries Magazine Embracing our Community Embracing Our Community Blog & Magazines catalyst Blog & Magazines Home CS-Blog Blog Embracing our Community Embracing Our Community CS Magazine Cedars-Sinai Magazine discoveries magazine Discoveries Magazine Popular Topics In Our Community Faces of Cedars-Sinai Patient Stories Los Angeles Behind the Scenes Make an Appointment Find a Doctor Schedule a Callback Call us 24 hours a day 1-800-CEDARS-1 Support Cedars-Sinai Make a Gift Volunteer Share Email Print Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility