Thomas Kerr, M.D., Ph.D.

Thomas A. Kerr, M.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a member of its Division of Digestive & Liver Diseases. A hepatologist, Dr. Kerr specializes in liver diseases and liver transplant medicine.

He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in internal medicine, gastroenterology, and transplant hepatology.

Originally from Canada, Dr. Kerr holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Texas Tech University. He earned his medical degree and doctoral research degree at UT Southwestern. He completed an internal medicine residency, a three-year gastroenterology fellowship, and advanced hepatology/liver transplant training at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

Prior to joining the UT Southwestern faculty in 2015, Dr. Kerr served as an Assistant Professor of internal medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is board-certified in internal medicine, gastroenterology, and transplant hepatology.

Dr. Kerr’s research interests include liver cirrhosis, fatty liver disease, hepatitis C, and liver transplantation. He has published a number of scholarly articles, contributed to several books, and is a guest reviewer for the American Journal of Transplantation and Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology.

He also serves as co-investigator on a number of clinical trials focused on chronic liver conditions.

Dr. Kerr is a member of professional organizations that include the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Transplantation, the American Gastroenterological Association, and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

In 2019, Dr. Kerr was named a Texas Monthly Super Doctor Rising Star. His professional honors also include the 2009 and 2010 Fellow to Faculty Transition Award from the American Gastroenterological Association/Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition, as well as the 2006 Knowlton Incentive for Excellence Award from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Medical School

UT Southwestern Medical School (2004)

Residency

Washington University School of Medicine (2006), Internal Medicine

Fellowship

Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital (2009), Gastroenterology

• Cirrhosis
• Fatty Liver
• Hepatitis C
• Liver Transplantation

Featured Publications

More Than a Rash: Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Liver Transplantation.

Moraveji S, Pedersen MR, Chandramouli S, Kerr TA, Grant LM, ACG Case Rep J 2019 Jul 6 7 e00107

Cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase regulation: A role for farnesoid X receptor and small heterodimer partner in murine hepatic taurine metabolism.

Kerr TA, Matsumoto Y, Matsumoto H, Xie Y, Hirschberger LL, Stipanuk MH, Anakk S, Moore DD, Watanabe M, Kennedy S, Davidson NO Hepatol. Res. 2014 Oct 44 10 E218-28

Liver volume in the cirrhotic patient: does size matter?

Hagan MT, Sayuk GS, Lisker-Melman M, Korenblat KM, Kerr TA, Chapman WC, Crippin JS Dig. Dis. Sci. 2014 Apr 59 4 886-91

IDO1 metabolites activate ?-catenin signaling to promote cancer cell proliferation and colon tumorigenesis in mice.

Thaker AI, Rao MS, Bishnupuri KS, Kerr TA, Foster L, Marinshaw JM, Newberry RD, Stenson WF, Ciorba MA Gastroenterology 2013 Aug 145 2 416-25.e1-4

Intestine-Specific Mttp Deletion Increases the Severity of Experimental Colitis and Leads to Greater Tumor Burden in a Model of Colitis Associated Cancer.

Xie Y, Matsumoto H, Nalbantoglu I, Kerr TA, Luo J, Rubin DC, Kennedy S, Davidson NO PLoS ONE 2013 8 6 e67819

Cholesterol and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: renewed focus on an old villain.

Kerr TA, Davidson NO Hepatology 2012 Nov 56 5 1995-8

Hepatitis C and substance use: new treatments and novel approaches.

North CS, Hong BA, Kerr T Curr Opin Psychiatry 2012 May 25 3 206-12

Dextran sodium sulfate inhibition of real-time polymerase chain reaction amplification: a poly-A purification solution.

Kerr TA, Ciorba MA, Matsumoto H, Davis VR, Luo J, Kennedy S, Xie Y, Shaker A, Dieckgraefe BK, Davidson NO Inflamm. Bowel Dis. 2012 Feb 18 2 344-8

MicroRNAs and liver disease.

Kerr TA, Korenblat KM, Davidson NO Transl Res 2011 Apr 157 4 241-52

Therapeutic RNA manipulation in liver disease.

Kerr TA, Davidson NO Hepatology 2010 Mar 51 3 1055-61

 Featured Books

Gastric Disorders. In The Washington Manual Gastroenterology Subspecialty Consult (Washington Manual Subspecialty Consult), 2nd ed.

Kerr T.A. (2008). Philadelphia, PA, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

A Gastroenterology Consult. In Neurocritical Care

Nguyen Y., Kerr T.A., Azar R. (2009). New York, NY, Cambridge University Press

Transplant Hepatology. In The Washington Manual Gastroenterology Subspecialty Consult (Washington Manual Subspecialty Consult), 3rd ed.

Seetharam A.B., Kerr T.A. (2012). Philadelphia, PA, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

• Fellow to Faculty Transition Award
  American Gastroenterological Association/Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition (2010)
• Fellow to Faculty Transition Award
  American Gastroenterological Association/Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition (2009)
• Knowlton Incentive for Excellence Award
  Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (2006)
• Greg Gurtner Resident Research Award
  Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (2005)
• Alpha Omega Alpha
  Medical Honor Society (2004)
• Barry M. Goldwater Undergraduate Fellowship (Texas Tech University)
  The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program Foundation (1996)
• Barry M. Goldwater Undergraduate Fellowship (Texas Tech University)
  The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program Foundation (1995)

• Dallas County Medical Society (2015)
• American Society of Transplantation (2011)
• American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (2009)
• American Gastroenterological Association (2006)