Medical Director, Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Center
Assistant Professor of Medicine, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine
Dr. Rajendra S. Baliga, FACP, FASN, is medical director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Center at Tampa General Hospital and is the program director of the transplant nephrology fellowship program at the University of South Florida. After his residency in Internal Medicine at St Francis Hospital in Evanston, IL, Dr. Baliga completed his nephrology fellowship at the University of Florida in Gainesville followed by a fellowship in transplant nephrology at the University of Chicago. Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in internal medicine and nephrology, Dr. Baliga was the recipient of numerous awards including the Domestic Young Investigator Award at the American Transplant Congress in 2004, and the Harry Kurz, M.D. Memorial Award for excellence in teaching by a resident in 2001. His clinical interests include all aspects of nephrology including general nephrology, dialysis, hypertension and transplantation.
Surgical Director, Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Center
Program Director, Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship
Dr. Anthony Watkins is the surgical director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Center at Tampa General Hospital. The board-certified general surgeon specializes in kidney/ pancreas transplantation and laparoscopic donor nephrectomies. Prior to joining Tampa General, Dr. Watkins was an attending transplant surgeon and clinical assistant professor of surgery at NYU Langone Health. He previously served as the program director for the General Surgery Residency Program, surgical director of the Skills Acquisition & Innovation Laboratory and assistant professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, N.Y. He also was a longtime attending surgeon at NewYork- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Dr. Watkins is credited with several publications, book chapters and abstracts in areas of his expertise. His research is centered around issues involving organ transplantation, surgical education, improving transplant access and outcomes, and diversity in medicine. Dr. Watkins has received numerous accolades for his surgical and teaching efforts, including the National Medical Association’s Top Healthcare Professionals Under 40 award in 2013, New York Super Doctors’ New York Rising Star in 2015, six Castle Connolly Top Doctor awards and the Renewal Organization’s Kidney Kindness Award in 2019.
