In todays episode we heard from:

Calvin Meaney is a pharmacist and clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice at the University at Buffalo with specialization in kidney disease. He provides clinical care to patients at the Erie County Medical Center, where he precepts pharmacy students and residents. Calvin’s recent research has focused on anemia management in dialysis patients and reducing polypharmacy in older adults.

Desirée de Waal, MS, RD, CD, FAND is a Renal Dietitian and Research Coordinator at University of Vermont Medical Center. She has published a variety of articles and book chapters including the value of Medical Nutrition Therapy in Kidney Failure; Hyperlipidemia; Potential Harms of High Protein Diets for Athletes; Bariatric Surgery; Kidney Stones with Metabolic Syndrome; Weighty Issue of Treatment Options for Obese Dialysis Patients; and Nickel Allergy Masquerading as Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Desirée has spoken at multiple conferences on a variety of subjects including sodium, magnesium, home dialysis, obesity, adherence, supplements, and time constraints. She has volunteered as part of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Nutrition Care Manual as Renal Expert, Managing Editor for Renal Nutrition Forum and has participated in Evidence Analysis Library projects. She has been on the National Kidney Foundation Renal Dietitian Spring Clinicals Planning Committee. Desirée was awarded 2013 Vermont's Dietitian of the Year Award and NKF Council of Renal Nutrition 2025 Recognized Renal Dietitian. She is a Board member of the Vermont Affiliate for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics plus Treasurer for the Vermont Kidney Association.

Show Notes:

Herbal Remedies

Vitamins and CKD

CKD Medicines

Integrative Medicine: Search About Herbs from Memorial Sloan Kettering

In this episode we heard from: 

Andrew Allers was diagnosed incidentally with clear-cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) in 2015 after a soccer injury. After a radical nephrectomy and four years of monitoring, Andrew's stage IV diagnosis was made in 2019 with metastases in his rib, hip, lungs and lymph nodes. The bone tumors were radiated, and after two rounds of an immunotherapy combination, a serious auto-immune reaction necessitated a pause in treatment while Andrew's care team figured out a solution. With regular IVIG infusions to manage the adverse reactions, a single-agent immunotherapy was restarted in early 2020 and within a few months a set of scans showed remarkable improvement -- tumors still visible, but "clinically unmeasurable" in the words of his oncologist. Just over a month later, a vision issue took Andrew to the local ER where he was diagnosed with two brain metastases, one of which was in the occipital lobe. The following day an emergency craniotomy was performed, followed by a round of brain radiation. Over the next 18 months, a series of 4 more brain tumors were discovered, radiated and added to the monitoring schedule. Since beginning a TKI in 2022 Andrew has been free of new brain metastases, and the immunotherapy continues to keep the lung and lymph node tumors at bay. After retiring in 2023, Andrew has become active in the Kidney Cancer community, participating in the research grant review process in the CDMRP & KCRP and as a Legislative Advocate for KidneyCAN, an advocacy group that campaigns for federally funded research into Kidney Cancer treatments.

Julia Stevens, PharmD, BCOP  is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Ambulatory Oncology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. She collaborates with medical oncologists to care for patients with kidney cancer. Her primary clinical responsibilities include educating patients and caregivers, monitoring and supporting those on oral therapies, minimizing the financial toxicity of treatment, and providing drug information and treatment recommendations to her team. Dr. Stevens is also a member of the Kidney Cancer Association Clinical Advisory Board.

Rimda Wanchoo, MD is a Professor of Medicine at the Zucker School  of Medicine and full time nephrologist at Northwell Health in NY. She graduated from medical school in India followed by residency at St. Barnabas in New Jersey and fellowship at NY Presbyterian at Weill Cornell.  Her interests are taking care of patients with cancer and kidney diseases, glomerular disease and end stage kidney disease. She has been at Northwell for the last 14 years . She also serves as director of quality for the division and medical director of the largest joint venture dialysis unit in the health system. She has published and spoken on several onconephrology topics internationally. She serves as an associate editor for JON and CKJ. She is one of the founding members of American Society of Onconephrology (ASON).

Kidney Cancer  Kidney Cancer: Treatment and Living Well  Voices for Kidney Health  Kidney Cancer Association (KCA)  KidneyCAN 

In this episode we heard from: 

Dr. Annabel Biruete is an Assistant Professor and Registered Dietitian in the Department of Nutrition Science at Purdue University and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Division of Nephrology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Her broad clinical interest is nutrition in kidney diseases. Dr. Biruete’s research aims to study the effects of nutritional and pharmacological therapies for chronic kidney disease on the gastrointestinal tract and gut microbiome. Additionally, Dr. Biruete is interested in improving outcomes in the Hispanic/LatinX community living with chronic kidney disease, primarily targeting nutritional interventions using language- and culturally-concordant lifestyle educational materials.

Melissa Tuff has been living with chronic kidney disease for 30 years. Her journey began in 1996 on her 17th birthday when she “crashed” into dialysis following a misdiagnosed UTI. She was on in-center hemodialysis for 9 and a half years until she received a life-changing kidney transplant that lasted 11 years. In 2016 her kidney rejected and since then, she continued treatment with 4 years of peritoneal dialysis and 6 years of solo home hemodialysis.

She utilizes her Social Media pages for digital education & patient empowerment by hosting educational TikTok Live sessions while performing solo home hemodialysis; offering real-time insight into dialysis life and empowering others to take an active role in their treatment. Her goal is to build a support community and reduce the stigma around kidney disease by fostering open, educational, and uplifting conversations online while providing resources and guidance as to how one can live long and well on dialysis.

Dr. Jaime Uribarri is a practicing nephrologist and clinical investigator in NYC. He has been in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NYC, since 1990, where he is currently Professor of Medicine and Director of the Renal Clinic and the Home Dialysis Program at the Mount Sinai Hospital. In parallel with his clinical activities, Dr Uribarri has been very active in clinical investigation for more than 40 years. His main areas of research have been on acid-base and fluid and electrolytes disorders as well as nutrition in chronic kidney disease and diabetic patients. He has published well over 200 peer-reviewed papers, written many chapters in books and edited several books. He has lectured extensively on these research topics in New York City as well as in national and international meetings.

High Phosphorus

Mineral and Bone Disorder (CKD-MBD)

Secondary Hyperparathyroidism (SHPT)

ASN Kidney Health Guidance on Potassium and Phosphorus Food Additives

In this episode we heard from: 

Dr. Nadine J. Barrett is a Professor in the Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy in the Division of Public Health Sciences and the inaugural Senior Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Equity in Research at Wake Forest School of Medicine, she is Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement for Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Clinical Translational Science Institute and the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity. Prior to joining Wake Forest, Dr. Barrett served 13 years in senior leadership roles at Duke University, as the Founding Director of both the Duke Center for Equity in Research and the nationally awarded, Duke Cancer Institute's Office of Health Equity. She is also President of the national Association of Cancer Care Centers, in Washington DC.

A medical sociologist by training, Dr. Barrett is a health disparities researcher, expert equity strategist, and a nationally recognized leader in facilitating authentic community, healthcare, and academic partnerships to advance health equity. She develops multi-level interventions to address implicit bias, structural and systemic racism, and inequities that limit access to quality research and trustworthy health care among underserved and marginalized populations. Dr. Barrett brings an equity lens to her work and collaborations to enhance healthcare systems, close the disparities gap in health outcomes, and increase diverse and broad representation in research participation and the research workforce.

Glenda Roberts: Prior to joining the Mount Sinai Center for Kidney Disease Innovation as the Director of Communications and Patient Engagement, Glenda V. Roberts was an Information Technology executive with over 35 years of experience with top-caliber corporations, including General Electric, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson. She was also the Executive Director of the Seattle Transplant House, and the Director of External Relations & Patient Engagement at the University of Washington Center for Dialysis Innovation (CDI) and the Kidney Research Institute (KRI). Before going on dialysis, Glenda managed the progression of her disease for over 40 years using diet and exercise. Since her transplant in 2010, she’s completed nine half marathons. Based upon her personal experience with kidney disease, Glenda is a passionate activist for kidney research and patients living with kidney disease. She’s involved in myriad patient-centered national and international health care transformation initiatives.  All are focused on addressing patient preferences and improving patient-reported outcomes.   Glenda brings the patient voice to several NIH/NIDDK government and industry research efforts (Kidney Precision Medicine Project, APOLLO), as well as the American Society of Nephrology’s Current & Emerging Threats (C-ET) Steering Committee. She’s the inaugural co-chair of the Critical Path Institute’s Biomarker Data Repository Governance Committee, and a member of the Kidney Health Initiative (KHI) Board of Directors. Additionally, she contributes to the Advisory Boards of LifeCenter Northwest and Home Dialyzors United, and over 15 other industry and academic research advisory committees/boards focused on transplantation, kidney, cardiovascular, and metabolic health. As an ambassador for the National Kidney Foundation, the American Kidney Fund, and the American Association of Kidney Patients, Glenda’s advocacy tirelessly advances the voices, needs, and aspirations of the kidney community worldwide.

Luz Baqueiro serves as a patient advocate with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), providing feedback and helping develop new initiatives to better support the Latin American community affected by chronic kidney disease. She also raises awareness of the barriers faced by patients living with renal failure while educating and supporting her community in Georgia. In 2019, Luz was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). With limited resources  in Georgia, she relied on emergency in-hospital dialysis for a year. In August 2021, through self-determination, self-education, and the support of her family and community, she received a kidney transplant.

Clinical Trial Information Hub

What is a Clinical Trial?

Are Clinical Trials Safe?

This episode is supported by eGenesis and United Therapeutics

In this episode we heard from: 

Vineeta Kumar is the lead nephrologist for UAB's Living Kidney Donor and Incompatible Kidney Transplant programs. She is an expert in kidney transplantation, living kidney donation, incompatible kidney transplant, kidney paired donation and cardiovascular outcomes after kidney transplantation. Kumar also engages in research in the prevention, treatment and prognosis of antibody mediated rejection. She has been named a "Top Doctor" by U.S. News & World Report each year since 2012.

She has been lead facilitator of the UAB Schwartz Rounds since 2009, a program that brings together nurses, physicians, social workers, and other providers to discuss delivery of compassionate care. She was awarded the Brewer-Heslin Endowed Award for Professionalism in Medicine for the highly skilled and compassionate medical care she provides to her patients. Kumar was recently named "Best Educator" by the 2018, 2019 and 2020 UAB Medical School classes. She has previously served on the Education Committee for the American Society of Transplantation.

Leonardo V. Riella, M.D., Ph.D. is the Harold and Ellen Danser Endowed Chair in Transplant Surgery at Harvard Medical School and the Medical Director of Kidney Transplantation at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research focuses on mechanisms of immune regulation and the development of novel therapies to promote transplant tolerance. In addressing kidney disease recurrence post-transplantation, he founded and leads the TANGO Consortium, the largest global effort dedicated to studying glomerular disease recurrence. In March 2024, Dr. Riella led the world’s first successful kidney xenotransplant from a gene-edited pig into a living human. He now leads the first FDA-approved pilot study in kidney xenotransplantation and is conducting high-dimensional immune profiling studies to characterize the human xeno-immune response and guide immunosuppressive strategies. Find out more about Dr. Riella's research here.  

Xenotransplantation Information

This episode is supported by eGenesis and United Therapeutics

In this episode we heard from: 

Tim Andrews is a pioneering kidney patient whose experience has helped shape the emerging field of xenotransplantation. A longtime resident of Concord, New Hampshire, Tim lived with end‑stage kidney disease and endured more than two years on dialysis before stepping into the unknown and signing up for a kidney xenotransplant. On January 25, 2025, he became one of the earliest recipients of a pig kidney and went on to live with the organ for a record 271 days before it was removed due to declining function, an achievement that provided valuable data for researchers around the world. After returning to dialysis, Tim continued his transplant journey and recently received a human kidney transplant, becoming the first person in this group of xenotransplant pioneers to transition from an animal organ to a human donor organ. His courage, resilience, and willingness to participate in cutting‑edge medical research have offered hope to patients facing long transplant wait times and contributed meaningful insights to the scientific community.

Towana Looney is a trailblazing kidney patient whose journey has now made history. After donating a kidney to her mother in 2000 and later developing chronic kidney disease herself, Towana began dialysis in 2016. As a highly sensitized patient with 100% antibodies, she was told she would never qualify for a human kidney transplant. In 2024, Towana was offered a rare and groundbreaking opportunity: to receive a genetically modified pig kidney. She bravely said yes, becoming one of the earliest recipients of a kidney xenotransplant and helping open the door to a new era in transplantation. Towana lived with the xenokidney for 130 days before it was removed. While she has returned to dialysis, her courage has given hope to patients everywhere and invaluable scientific knowledge to the researchers advancing xenotransplantation.

Xenotransplantation Information

In this episode we heard from:

Nicole McCormick is a Nurse Practitioner with AdventHealth Porter Transplant Institute in Denver, CO. She has been working in Transplant Nephrology since 2015, and she worked as a heart transplant coordinator starting in 2012. Nicole attended the University of Colorado for her Doctor of Nursing Practice as well as her Master’s, and she received her Bachelor of Nursing from Thomas Jefferson University. Nicole enjoys spending time with her family and fur babies. She enjoys strength training and teaches yoga in her community. Nicole is an avid reader and lifelong student.

Anne Bina-I live in Casper, WY but I was born and raised in WI.  When I was 9 I had strep throat and a couple months later I was in the hospital with nephritis.  Doctors told my parents that it could reoccur later in my life.  I attended the University of WI where I met my husband.  He was in the Air Force ROTC, so after we graduated he began his military career. I was blessed with two daughters - Jenny & Kris. Some 30 years later (1992)my husband was stationed at Whiteman AFB, MO.  I had just completed my master’s degree, and I was diagnosed with kidney failure with FSGS - all related back to my case of strep. My husband retired from the Air Force in 1998 and we returned to WI. I was placed on the UNOS Transplant list in 1998 at U of WI Transplant Center.  By August of 1999, my kidney function had gotten to the point that it it was time to start dialysis. For me at least, I was only on dialysis for less than 2 months when a coordinator from U of Wisconsin called me on Oct 15th 1999 that they had a kidney for me.  She told me that my donor was a 16 year old that had been involved in a car accident.  Later, I received a picture of “Ryan” my donor, from his family.  He is indeed my HERO! Here I am almost 26 years later - LIFE IS GOOD! From 2008 till we moved to Casper in 2016 , I was the Director of a non-profit helping seniors in the Milwaukee area.  And for the last 20 years I have been trying to “give back” by being a volunteer and public speaker, first in Wisconsin with the WI Donor Network and now here in Wyoming with the WY Donor Alliance.  I have also become active with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).  Besides being an Ambassador with their on-line site, HealthUnlocked;  I have also become a Kidney Advocate.  This has involved working with the Wyoming Legislature trying to get the “Living Donor Protection Act”(LDPA) passed.  Governor Gordon signed it into WY Law on February 24, 2023.

Transplant Information  

 Therapeutic needs in solid organ transplant recipients: The American Society of Transplantation patient survey

 In this episode we heard from:

Lydia Johnson, MSW -Lydia is a social worker based in Massachusetts. They previously worked in direct care as a dialysis social worker and now serve at the national level as a leader in support of home dialysis social workers and the growth of home dialysis in the kidney care community.

Malkia White -Malkia was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy when she was only 6 years old.  In 2017, she began doing nocturnal dialysis for 3 years, 3 nights a week from 9pm – 3am while maintaining a full-time job. In November of 2021 she received a kidney transplant. She celebrates life by continuing to advocate for kidney health and shares her story to encourage people and give others hope.

Shannon Glynn -Shannon Glynn is committed to having face-to-face conversations and dialogue to champion the issues central to the National Kidney Foundation mission. She received her life-saving kidney from her friend Molly in March of 2009 after being on peritoneal dialysis for seven months. And while Shannon thinks that petitions championing the issues are important, she wants to meet with representatives to discuss the concerns surrounding kidney issues today so that they can take action. Shannon believes that care and coverage are essential for transplant patients. She is passionate about the intersection of mental health, kidney disease, and overall wellness.   

NKF Peers

This episode is supported by Moderna. 

In today's episode we heard from: 

Mary Baliker has been a dedicated healthcare advocate for the past 40 years, and is involved in several kidney initiatives regionally, nationally and globally. Mary was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease at the age of nine and since then has undergone hemodialysis and received four kidney transplants. As a result of this life-long journey, Mary cherishes her life and possesses a strong desire to help improve the healthcare experience, health outcomes and quality of life for patients with kidney disease. In addition to publishing multiple peer reviewed articles related to the kidney patient experience, Mary is the author of Maria Never Gives Up, a story written to help children and families facing chronic illnesses. Her book is distributed across transplant and dialysis centers nationwide and is available for purchase online

William Werbel, MD, PhD is a transplant infectious diseases physician and scientist at Johns Hopkins focused on optimizing protection against infections in immunocompromised persons. He completed clinical and research fellowship in infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins following MD training at the University of Michigan and internal medicine residency and chief residency at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. He is the current Associate Director for Epidemiology and Quantitative Sciences in the Johns Hopkins Transplant Research Center and principal investigator of the national Emerging Pathogens of Concern in Immunocompromised Persons (EPOC) cohort study. He receives NIH funding to study the landscape of infections in transplant recipients and evaluate the real-world impact of vaccination using a combination of epidemiological and laboratory approaches.

Additional Resources:

Vaccines for CKD Patients

Vaccine Integrity Project

IDSA Immunization Resources

Emerging Pathogens of Concern in Immunocompromised Persons (EPOC) Study

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

On today's episode we heard from:

Melanie Betz, MS, RD, CSR, FNKF, FAND is a nationally recognized renal dietitian and the Founder & CEO of The Kidney Dietitian. She is a Certified Specialist in Renal Nutrition and a Fellow of both the National Kidney Foundation and the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. Melanie has published extensively on kidney stone prevention and nutrition, and has presented at numerous state, national, and international conferences on the topic. Through her clinical work, research, and educational outreach, she is dedicated to helping patients and professionals understand the critical role of diet in kidney health.

Mark Garofoli, PharmD, MBA, BCGP, CPE, CTTS is a Clinical Associate Professor at West Virginia University School of Pharmacy and a Clinical Pain & Addiction Pharmacist. With expertise in pain management, substance use disorders, and geriatric care, he brings both clinical and personal perspectives to kidney stone discussions. Mark has shared his experience through the Pain Pod podcast, PAINWeek presentations, and a published article detailing his own kidney stone journey.

Mary Raines, CRA is a retired clinical research associate with more than 30 years of experience in medical research. After learning she needed a kidney transplant, she dedicated herself to advocacy and now serves as a Patient Advocate with the National Kidney Foundation and other kidney health organizations. Mary brings both professional expertise and personal experience to her work, amplifying the voices and needs of people living with kidney disease.

Andrew Rule, MD, MSc is a Professor of Medicine and Consultant Nephrologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He divides his time between clinical care, research, and education, with a particular focus on kidney stone disease and its link to chronic kidney disease. Dr. Rule has published extensively on the epidemiology of kidney stones and provides specialized care in the Mayo Clinic’s nephrology stone clinic.

Bryan Tucker, DO, MS, FASN is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in Nephrology at Baylor College of Medicine, where he serves as a clinician educator teaching medical students, residents, and fellows while caring for patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings. He holds a master’s degree in nutrition from Columbia University and completed his nephrology fellowship at Yale. A Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology, Dr. Tucker has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and is an active contributor to The Kidney Commute podcast.

Additional Resources:

Kidney Stone Information

Earn CME Credit Here

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

In today's episode we heard from:

Taylor Coffman is an actor, writer, podcast-maker, and mother with pregnancy-triggered aHUS. As a performer, she can be seen in Silicon Valley, Feud: Bette and Joan, and Life In Pieces, among others. Following her remission, Taylor also started work as a patient advocate helping those with life-changing diagnoses. She’s a patient expert and the author of Rare Disease Girl substack, sharing her journey and life-navigation tools weekly

Dr. Ramy Hanna ia an Associate Professor of Medicine and Nephrology at the University of California Irvine. He’s a clinician-educator who’s devoted to patient education and research on kidney diseases like aHUS. Dr. Hanna is focused on working with underserved communities, as well as improving the diagnostic process and treatment outcomes for patients.

Dr. Holly Koncicki graduated from the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and completed her Internal Medicine Residency and Fellowship training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is triple board certified in Internal Medicine, Nephrology and Palliative Medicine and Hospice. She is one of a few physicians who has trained in an integrated program of Nephrology and Palliative Medicine and is part of a small group of experts in this field. Though she cares for patients with all types of kidney problems, her specialty is caring for older patients with kidney impairment. She is widely published and has spoken nationally on topics including decision making in advanced kidney disease and symptom management. Her research focuses on communication tools to improve communication between patients and providers around discussion of treatment options for kidney disease. In 2020, she was honored by receiving the Cullman Family Physician Communication Award.  She prides herself in learning each patient’s narrative that she treats, so she can best understand how to care for them.

Additional Resources:

Learn More About aHUS

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In today's episode we heard from:

Holly Kramer, M.D., MPH, is a practicing nephrologist who conducts research connecting nutrition and kidney health. Her connection to the National Kidney Foundation was inspired by her mom, who was a dialysis nurse and helped create some of the first dialysis units in Northwest Indiana. Dr. Kramer finds being on the NKF Board important, because it is the largest, patient-centered organization focusing on kidney disease. Her long-term goal is to increase national funding for kidney disease research and to heighten awareness about chronic kidney disease.

Jane DeMeis  became involved with the National Kidney Foundation when she was diagnosed in 2018 with stage 4 kidney disease. She is currently on home hemodialysis and the transplant waitlist. Ms. DeMeis was the Director of Education and Organizational Development for U R Medicine Home Care. Part of her responsibilities was working with clinicians in teaching them how to present education to patients. She also was the Chairperson of the Patient Family Centered Care program and worked with improving home care through patient advocacy.  In 2018, Ms. DeMeis retired. She had been fighting CKD along with Psoriatic Arthritis for many years and needed to focus on her health.  She currently serves as a member of NKF's Kidney Advocacy Committee, as an Ambassador for NKF's online communities, and also as a NKF Peer mentor. Her other volunteer activities include being on the Board of the Perinton Food Shelf and working with clients as the Lead Verifier.  She and her husband sing with the Perinton Senior Chorus and enjoy working in their garden.

Patrick Gee is a Community Activist, fighting against systemic issues such as poverty, social and racial injustices, criminal justice reform, and education reform. Patrick worked for the Virginia Department of Corrections and the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, where during his time in service, he acquired several awards and recognitions. In April 2013, Patrick was diagnosed with Stage 3b End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD). He began doing Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) in December 2013. On April 21, 2017, Patrick received a kidney transplant. Patrick has been very passionate in his pursuit to speak on behalf of the underserved, undervalued, and disenfranchised communities of color. Because of this, he serves as an advocate and kidney patient expert for a number of organizations including the NKF, CMS, FDA, KHI, AKF, AAKP and HDU.  Patrick was the 2025 winner of NKF's Celeste Lee Castillo Patient Engagement Award. 

Additional Resources:

GLP-1 Receptor Agonists

NKF Supports Proposal to Expand Access to Weight-Loss Medications

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

In today's episode we spoke to: 

Dr. Vinay Nair, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/ Northwell and the medical director of kidney transplantation for Northwell Health. Dr. Nair’s clinical and research interests include novel immunosuppressive protocols, kidney paired exchange and infectious and malignant complications after transplantation. He serves as part of CERCA (coalition to end racism in clinical algorithms), the editorial board and reviewer of several nephrology and transplant journals, and has served in the UNOS kidney transplantation committee. Dr. Nair has published on various transplant related topics and co-authored book chapters on immunosuppression and post-transplant malignancy. He is an advocate for equality in medicine and has spoken at several community outreach events on the importance of chronic kidney disease recognition and kidney transplantation.

Michele Bibby is President of MAB Consulting Services. Michele provides mental health education, advocacy, and policy analysis to public and private entities. Michele designs and delivers mental health workshops and training.  Michele delivers public speeches and presentations on mental health topics. Michele Bibby previously enjoyed a successful career in Human Resources Management in the Private and Public Sector.  Michele has a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) Certification. Michele is a Certified Peer Specialist and a Certified Mediator. Michele serves as Board Chair for Via Hope a Texas Mental Health Nonprofit.  Michele also serves on the National Kidney Foundation “Kidney Advocacy Committee” and the “Health Equity Sub Committee”. Michele holds a B.A. in Government from The University of Texas at Austin (1984). 

Morgan Reid is the Regional Patient Advocacy Manager for Ardelyx, Inc.  Previously, she worked at the National Kidney Foundation as the Senior Director of Healthcare Policy and Strategy. She is a tireless patient advocate and also a kidney recipient herself.

Brittany Dickerson- I am a dedicated mother, motivational speaker, and compassionate life coach living with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). I use my kidney failure battle to educate and help others regarding kidney disease and transplantation. My personal journey has fueled my passion for helping others navigate life's challenges with courage and grace. Through partnership with the National Kidney Foundation, I have had the opportunity to mentor others and to be a guest for the National Kidney Foundation Podcast channel. My dedication to kidney awareness has led me to pursue becoming a National Kidney Foundation Advocate. I use my voice to spread my powerful message of perseverance and hope. My goal is to continue making an impact on individuals facing adversity, offering guidance, support, and being a shining example of strength in the face of hardship. 

Additional Resources:

Removing Race-Based eGFR

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

In this episode we heard from:

Dr. Cerrene Giordano is a dermatologist and Mohs Micrographic surgeon at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. She specializes in treating skin cancers, particularly in patients who are high risk such as those who have received organ transplants, have weakened immune systems, or a genetic predisposition to skin cancer development. Her expertise includes skin cancer surgery, wound reconstruction, and the management of skin cancers such as melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma, to name a few. Dr. Giordano is also involved in research aimed at improving pain management following dermatologic surgeries and exploring advanced imaging techniques to enhance surgical outcomes.

Kent Bressler is a retired RN who was diagnosed with FSGS in 1984, and received a living donor transplant from his brother Kip in 1987. Kent is an active advocate for preemptive kidney transplant and has on the recommendation of NKF worked closely with the DoD and PCORI as a consumer peer reviewer. He is an NKF peer mentor and advocate who has collaborated on an editorial “Change in Albuminuria and GFR as End Points for Clinical Trials in Early Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease,” published in AJKD in 2019. He will also be participating in the development of the new NKF Patient Network serving on the Data Input and Integration Committee. He has been an active hill advocate for the NKF for six years and was the proud recipient of the 2017 Richard K. Salick Advocacy Award. Kent is also an Army Veteran and retired from the Veterans administration as an RN. He is the co-founder of Kidney Solutions a not for profit program in Texas that assists patients and families in the transplant process and in finding a donor. He is currently an assistant team leader for Region 7. Kent and Cathy Bressler have been married for 56 years and their family consists of Gretchen and Todd Rossington and their son Colt and Celeste and Alex Brown and their children John Banks, Catherine and Alexis Brown.

Risa Simon is a passionate author, speaker, mentor, kidney patient coach and advocate. As the founder and CEO of The Proactive Path and the TransplantFirst Academy, her mission is to help all kidney disease patients advocate for their best life possible—the life she now lives. As a preemptive kidney transplant recipient, Risa was able to circumvent the need for dialysis. This is her hope for all eligible kidney patients. Risa gives back a good portion of her time by serving on various advisory committees, such as the National Kidney Foundation’s (NKF’s) Kidney Action committee, the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) program and convention committees and she chairs the Phoenix Chapter’s Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) education committee.  She is also a member of the PKD Legacy Society and serves as a Peer Mentor for the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). Risa’s message is all about empowering kidney patients to bring their voice to life. 

Additional Resources:

Dr. Cerrene Giordano

Protect the Skin You're In

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In this episode we heard from: 

Briana Douglas is currently a Peer Mentor for the National Kidney Foundation. At 17 yrs old, she was diagnosed with Lupus Nephritis. She was then diagnosed with end stage 5 kidney disease, in 2016, and immediately had to start dialysis. After starting hemo dialysis, she remained on treatment for 7 years, experiencing home hemo, peritoneal, nocturnal and in center-hemo dialysis. In 2024, she received a kidney transplant and is now living really well with her new transplant. She also takes pride in being a peer Mentor for NKF to help others with similar experiences.

Dr. Pascale Khairallah, MD, MS, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She specializes in chronic kidney disease and kidney transplantation. Dr. Khairallah has been recognized with multiple awards for excellence in patient care and teaching. She has multiple publications in the field of chronic kidney disease mineral and bone disorders and kidney transplant outcomes.

Annabel Biruete is an Assistant Professor and Registered Dietitian in the Department of Nutrition Science at Purdue University and an Affiliate in the Division of Nephrology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Her broad clinical interest is nutrition in kidney diseases. Her research aims to study the effects of nutritional and pharmacological therapies for chronic kidney disease on the gastrointestinal tract and gut microbiome. Additionally, she is interested in improving outcomes in the Hispanic/Latine community living with chronic kidney disease, primarily through language- and culturally-concordant interventions.

Additional Resources:

High Potassium Information

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

In today's episode we heard from:

Jess Walters (they/them) is a mixed-media artist, Board Certified Patient Advocate (BCPA), and independent scholar from Charlottesville, Virginia. They are a multiply-neurodivergent, queer, nonbinary person with Alport syndrome, a rare genetic disorder which caused late-onset deafness and kidney failure at age 29. In 2018, after undergoing two months of peritoneal dialysis, Walters received a kidney transplant from a living donor at the University of Virginia, where they currently serve as an inaugural FusionLab Arts Research Fellow at the Center for Health Humanities and Ethics in the School of Medicine. Their research focuses on the intersections of art and health, navigating accommodations in cultural arts spaces to promote individual and community wellbeing by including disabled, neurodivergent, and chronically ill participation and perspectives. They regularly participate in Kidney Patient Summits with the National Kidney Foundation and have served as a member of their Diversity & Health Equity Advisory Committee for 4 years.

Marissa Argentina, LMSW is a licensed social worker who has been in the field of nephrology since 2010. She has worked for the National Kidney Foundation since 2015 and has been working on the NKF Peers program 2017. She is currently the Patient Programs Director at the National Kidney Foundation. She had previously worked as a dialysis center social worker in the Bronx, NY.

Additional Resources:

The Impact of Unequal Care for LGBTQ+ Kidney Patients

NKF Online Community: LGBTQIA

NKF Peers

Jess Walters Art

Rivanna Area Queer Center

New City Arts Initiative

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In today's episode we heard from:

Maura Casey grew up in an Irish-American family in Buffalo, New York, the youngest of six children. For more than 30 years, Casey was an opinion writer for three New England newspapers and The New York Times, where she had a seat on the exalted Times editorial board. Over the course of her career, Casey won 45 state, regional and national awards for her writing. She and her husband Pete have two adult children and two grandchildren. They live on a small Connecticut farm with their two dogs and a barn cat. Casey writes a weekly column, Casey’s Catch, and when the breeze is right, she coasts on Long Island Sound in her sailboat, Second Wind. “Saving Ellen” (Skyhorse Publishing, April 1, 2025) is her first book.

Additional Resources:

Saving Ellen; A Memoir of Hope and Recovery

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In today's episode we heard from: 

Ruthie Eastman is a former massage therapist and office administrator.  She is passionate about health and exercise and rides her three-wheel assisted tricycle regularly.  She is a new NKF Peer Mentor for Care Partners.

Jim Eastman has experienced two life-changing issues where Ruthie provided the role of Care Partner.  A traumatic brain injury in 1990 established a basis and need for care for Jim.  While bumpy in the beginning, we worked it out in couple’s therapy.  When CKD entered our lives, the patient/care partner dynamic had been experienced.  Three years of PD and eight years post-transplant, Ruthie continues to be a Care Partner extraordinaire!

Michelle Rowlett, MSW, LICSW is a dedicated nephrology social worker with 25 years of healthcare experience, including 16 years in kidney care. She currently serves as Social Work Supervisor and CKD Program Lead at Puget Sound Kidney Centers, supporting patients and families through chronic kidney disease, dialysis, and major life transitions.

Additional Resources:

Life Stress Inventory

NKF Peers

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Host: Anna Gaddy, MD, FASN, FNKF

Guests: Lauren Drew, JD, Beth Burbridge

Additional Resources:

Becoming a Living Donor

NKF Advocacy

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Kerry K. Willis PhD- Dr Willis is the Chief Scientific Officer of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). Since joining NKF in 1998, her major focus has been on the analysis and application of clinical evidence to improve care and outcomes for people living with kidney disease. She oversees all NKF-sponsored research and professional education programs, including the Spring Clinical Meetings; population health programs that facilitate health system and practice engagement around CKD as a quality improvement target; the Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI) clinical practice guidelines; KDOQI quality measurement initiative; and four peer-reviewed journals devoted to chronic kidney disease. She led the development of and currently manages the Kidney CARE (Community Access to Research Equity) Study, the first national CKD patient registry to combine patient-reported data with clinical data from electronic health records.    

Rachel Claudin, BS, CCLS- Rachel Claudin is the Patient-Centered Research Director at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). Her main work for the past three years has been focused on the advancement of the KidneyCARE Study. As a person living with Lupus Nephritis, she is excited for the patient-entered data collected by the Study to increase and improve kidney care research. Previous to the NKF, Rachel worked in hospital and hospice settings advocating for patients utilizing the shared decision-making model of healthcare.

Cari Maxwell- Cari has lived with Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) since 1989, and her personal experience, along with the experiences of her father and two siblings, fuels her advocacy for advancements in PKD treatment. She participated in the Tolvaptan Reprise trial, which led to the first-ever FDA-approved treatment for ADPKD—a treatment she continues to benefit from today. As a member of the NKF Kidney Advocacy Committee, Cari is passionate about promoting patient education, early detection, and scientific progress through patient-centered clinical research. She is dedicated to ensuring that others have access to life-changing treatments and are empowered to advocate for their health through proactive care. Cari currently works in health care cost containment strategies, where she applies her expertise to enhance patient access and outcomes.

Sandy Gilbert PhD- Sandy Gilbert is the Senior Director of Patient Outcomes Research at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), where she manages the KidneyCARE (Community Access to Research Equity)™ Study. Since joining NKF in 2024, her focus has been on developing and overseeing this pioneering national kidney disease patient registry, the first to integrate patient-reported data with clinical data from electronic health records. The goal of the Registry is to generate critical insights into disease progression, treatment outcomes, and health disparities, in support of NKF’s mission to improve kidney health and drive innovation in kidney research and healthcare. Sandy works closely with teams of researchers and health system partners to expand the study’s reach and ensure that it reflects the needs of diverse patient populations, including those from underserved communities.

Additional Resources:

KidneyCare Study Information

Contact Information:

Call: 212.889.2210 ext.134 M-F 10am-4pm CT 

Email: kidneycarestudy@kidney.org

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Michelle Massey, PCT Cassandra Watkins, Hemodialysis patient Reginald Gramling, Hemodialysis patient Gurley Benson, Charge Nurse at dialysis center Ebony McKinley, Dialysis social worker Belinda Benbow, Dialysis Facility Administrator William Henderson, Regional Vice President of Operations for the Capital Division for U.S. Renal Care

Additional Resources:

Hemodialysis Information

Find Support with NKF Peers

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Professor Cameron Wolfe is a Transplant Infectious Disease specialist at Duke University.  He was a previous Chair of the Disease Transmission Advisory Committee (DTAC), working with the federal transplant administration to ensure safe and successful transplantation in the US.  Cameron is the current secretary of the Infectious Disease section of The Transplantation Society, an international society representing transplant professionals and patients globally.  His research focusses on safe transplantation for patients and donors living with HIV and hepatitis, and managing respiratory viruses and emerging pathogens.

Keith Plummer was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2010, coming out of surgery with one kidney functioning at 20 percent. Thanks to a great Nephrologist and a lot of hard work, he was able to hold off dialysis for close to a decade. Keith was on home hemodialysis for 4 years before receiving a transplant 1.5 years ago.

Keith first got involved with advocacy about 6 years ago as he lobbied for the TRSA, making many visits to the state capitol to fight for industry and employees. Over his time on dialysis, Keith have moved from part time to being fully retired which has given more time to advocate. He is an advocate for the DPC and has participated in the last four fly-ins in Washington DC. He has been advocating with the NKF for the past 2 years and look forward to helping kidney patients in New York and across America.

Brittany Dickerson is a dedicated mother, motivational speaker, and compassionate life coach living with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). She uses her kidney failure battle to educate and help others regarding kidney disease and transplantation. Through partnership with the National Kidney Foundation, Brittany has had the opportunity to mentor others and to be a guest for the National Kidney Foundation Podcast channel. Her dedication to kidney awareness has led her to pursue becoming a National Kidney Foundation Advocate. Brittany uses her voice to spread a powerful message of perseverance and hope. Brittany's goal is to continue making an impact on individuals facing adversity, offering guidance, support, and being a shining example of strength in the face of hardship.

Additional Resources:

Safe Living After Transplant

Find Support with NKF Peers

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Christine Corbett, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, CNN-NP, FNKF is the newly appointed Assistant Research Professor at George Washington University and Executive Director for the Coalition for Supportive Care of Kidney Patients. She is a practicing Nurse Practitioner specializing in kidney palliative care, and a Trauma-Sensitive HeartMath Certified Practitioner. Dr. Corbett has over 25 years of nephrology experience and four years of experience in Palliative Care. Her doctoral focus was shared decision-making, advance care planning and appropriate palliative care referral for select patients with chronic kidney disease. In the past four years she developed, implemented, and managed the Comprehensive Conservative Kidney Care Clinic for patients who choose to forego dialysis at an academic safety net hospital in Kansas City.

Bobbie Reed is on a mission for her son and for the millions of others living with chronic kidney disease. A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Family Consumer Science degree, Bobbie is the office manager at her family's insurance business. She wants to pay it forward by helping others with their struggles in dealing with kidney disease. As part of the NKF’s Kidney Advocacy Committee, Bobbie is not only the Pennsylvania Liaison, but is the immediate past Region 2 leader for the group.  She continues to help her son navigate his kidney disease journey and, in addition, use her experience to benefit and advocate for many others afflicted with kidney disease.

Sara Hicklin and her family has a genetic kidney disease called Polycystic Kidney Disease or PKD. With this family and personal history, Sara is passionate about educating others about kidney disease, along with recruiting and educating potential organ donors. She is also fascinated by the advances in treatment options in three generations and wants to contribute in a small way to what may become available for treatment of kidney disease in generations to come.

Additional Resources

Coalition for Supportive Care

Palliative Care Resources

Palliative Care Resources

Advanced Directives

The Patient Will See You Now by Eric Topol

Palliative Care in Nephrology

Definitions from the episode:

• Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA)
• Portable Medical Orders (POLST): https://polst.org/

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Dr. Jay Wish is Professor of Clinical Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis and Chief Medical Officer for Outpatient Dialysis at Indiana University Health.  He is past president of the National Forum of ESRD Networks, served on the Board of Directors of the Renal Physicians Association and the American Association of Kidney Patients and was the recipient of the latter’s Visionary Award in 2005. He has over 150 articles, reviews, and book chapters published, particularly in the areas of ESRD quality oversight/improvement, accountability, anemia management and vascular access.

Dr. Katie Cardone is an associate professor at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Albany, NY. She is a clinical pharmacist with a clinical practice and research program focused on improving care in patients with kidney disease in outpatient nephrology and dialysis. She co-led the publication of pharmacy practice standards for pharmacists caring for people with kidney disease. She is a member of the Board of Pharmacy Specialties Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Council and is a fellow of the National Kidney Foundation, the American Society of Nephrology, and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

Quenton Turner Gee has been on in-center hemodialysis for about 2 years. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 CKD in 2020. After a battle with COVID-19, it quickly progressed to end-stage kidney disease. Since starting on dialysis, he’s been advocating for mental health and policies improving access to transplants and kidney innovations.

Additional Resources:

Phosphate Lowering Agents

High Phosphorus Information

NKF Peers

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Dan Emerson is the Director of Digital Marketing at the National Kidney Foundation. Starting in 2018, he has worked to engage with the kidney community and provide them with resources and information to support them on their health journey. In June of 2024, Dan donated his kidney to an anonymous recipient through a non-directed donation. He lives in upstate New York with his husband and son.

Additional Resources:

Dan's Story

How do I donate a kidney?

NKF Peers

Becoming a Living Donor (Kidney Learning Center)

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Joshua Rein, DO, FASN, is a board-certified nephrologist, kidney physiologist, and certified hypertension specialist. He is an Assistant Professor in the Barbara T. Murphy Division of Nephrology in the Department of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in NYC and a Staff Physician at the James J. Peters, Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He received his medical degree from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, completed internal medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and completed clinical and research nephrology fellowships at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Rein is interested in the effects of cannabis and cannabinoids on kidney health and disease given their widespread growing popularity despite an uncertain impact on health. Dr. Rein’s research, funded by a Veterans Affairs Career Development Award, utilizes preclinical animal models to characterize the kidney endocannabinoid system and examine the physiological impact of cannabinoids on the regulation of fluid and electrolyte balance by the kidney. His clinical research focuses on the risks, benefits, and clinical significance of cannabis consumption among people with kidney disease and those at risk for developing kidney disease.

Additional Resources:

Nephrologist's Guide to Cannabis

Cannabis Usage Study

AJKD Blog

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Jennie Wilson, MSN, RN has been working in Home Dialysis for over a decade and currently oversees several centers in the New York Metro Area that provide training and care to home dialysis patients. Her interest in population health and healthy equity has led to her passion for educating patients on their dialysis modality options. She has partnered with the National Kidney Foundation on various projects to share the clinical and lifestyle benefits of home dialysis.

Brittany Dickerson- I am a dedicated mother, motivational speaker, and compassionate life coach living with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). I use my kidney failure battle to educate and help others regarding kidney disease and transplantation. My personal journey has fueled my passion for helping others navigate life's challenges with courage and grace. Through partnership with the National Kidney Foundation, I have had the opportunity to mentor others and to be a guest for the National Kidney Foundation Podcast channel. My dedication to kidney awareness has led me to pursue becoming a National Kidney Foundation Advocate. I use my voice to spread my powerful message of perseverance and hope. My goal is to continue making an impact on individuals facing adversity, offering guidance, support, and being a shining example of strength in the face of hardship. 

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Bethany Cruz has over a decade of experience in kidney transplant education and is a dedicated outreach coordinator at the Houston Methodist J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center in Houston, Texas. Specializing in preemptive and living donor kidney transplant education, Bethany is passionate about improving access to living donation for all patients in need of a kidney transplant. Through her work, Bethany strives to raise awareness to make a meaningful impact in the lives of those affected by kidney disease.

Daniella Duke is a chronic kidney disease patient, since childhood. Her disease became more active in her 20s, and she received a living-donor kidney transplant in 2000. In 2021, she received her second kidney transplant from a deceased donor.  Both of these transplants were pre-emptive, and Daniella has never been on dialysis. She is grateful for having been the recipient of two kidney transplants and advocates for chronic kidney disease patients to receive the care they need. In addition, Daniella is a physician, specializing in medical and surgical dermatology, has a master’s in public health, and is the proud mother of twins, Andy and Juli. Dr. Duke has navigated both her professional and personal life, blending the experiences, knowledge, and perspectives of both a physician and a chronic kidney disease/transplant patient. She deeply empathizes with the issues, concerns, and medical challenges that kidney disease patients face on a day-to-day basis.

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Dr. Jesse Roach is a strategist and clinician whose work focuses on improving access to kidney health by removing barriers to care through policy, partnerships, and research. He is currently the Senior Vice President for Government Relations at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), where he leads the NKF’s advocacy efforts. Dr. Roach received his medical degree and completed a residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina. He completed a combined fellowship in pediatric and adult nephrology at the University of Michigan Medical School. He resides in Washington, DC.

Lauren Drew is the Director of Congressional Relations at NKF, and formerly worked at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and on Capitol Hill. She's original from New Jersey and an alumna of the George Washington University and the Villanova School of Law. 

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Keely Lenoir, BS, currently serves as the Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) Program Manager, providing technical assistance and support related to emergency management to ESRD Networks, providers, patients, and other stakeholders. Keely has over 15 years of experience in the field of healthcare emergency management, including over eight years with the Florida Department of Health, Hillsborough County, Office of Public Health Preparedness, where she served as the Special Needs Shelter Program Coordinator.

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Jennie Wilson, MSN, RN has been working in Home Dialysis for over a decade and currently oversees several centers in the New York Metro Area that provide training and care to home dialysis patients. Her interest in population health and healthy equity has led to her passion for educating patients on their dialysis modality options. She has partnered with the National Kidney Foundation on various projects to share the clinical and lifestyle benefits of home dialysis.

Bell Maddux was first diagnosed with MPGN when she was fifteen years old. She went through college, got married and started her career before she became eligible for transplant. She was fortunate to receive a living donation from her father without having to be on dialysis. Then, after 10 years with her father’s kidney, Bell started in-center dialysis, and switched to home-hemodialysis in 2021. Bell is optimistically awaiting “the call” for a deceased donor, but in the meantime, she stays busy with her husband raising their two children, 7 and 12. She is a Peer Mentor and Patient Advocate with the National Kidney Foundation and has an 18-year career as a digital producer for a NY advertising agency.

Additional Resources:

Compare Medicare Providers 

Home Dialysis Information

Home Hemo Information

NKF Peers

Health Unlocked

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Andy Thompson is a nephrology physician assistant. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and master’s degree in physician assistant sciences at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He has been practicing nephrology for about 7 years in south-central Indiana. In his spare time, he enjoys reading/listening to audio books, going for walks, and spending time with his wife and children and dog.

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Dr. Tatsuo Kawai is a professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and the A. Benedict Cosimi Chair in Transplant Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also director of the Legorreta Center for Clinical Transplantation Tolerance. He was awarded the Martin Research Prize at MGH in 2009 and the New Key Opinion Leader Award by the Transplantation Society in 2010 for this work. In the field of xenotransplantation, he has collaborated extensively with eGenesis over the past five years, achieving over two years of survival for genetically edited kidney xenografts in nonhuman primates, which was published in Nature in 2023. In March 2024, he successfully performed the world first kidney xenotransplantation from the pig with 69 genomic edits in a living patient with end stage renal disease. 

Vineeta Kumar MD, FAST, FASN  is the lead nephrologist for the Living Kidney Donor and Incompatible Kidney Transplant programs at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. She is an expert in kidney transplantation, living kidney donation, incompatible kidney transplant, kidney paired donation and cardiovascular outcomes after kidney transplantation.

Peter Reese, MD, PhD, is an NIH-funded transplant nephrologist and epidemiologist. His research focuses on: a) developing effective strategies to increase access to solid organ transplantation; b) improving the process of selecting and caring for living kidney donors; c) determining outcomes of health policies on vulnerable populations with renal disease, including the elderly; d) testing strategies to improve important health behaviors such as medication adherence; and e) transplant ethics. He was a recipient of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, was elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and was a Greenwall Faculty Scholar in bioethics. He is a past chair of the Ethics Committee for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which oversees organ allocation and transplant regulation in the US, and is an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. He co-led the THINKER, USHER, MYTHIC, and SHELTER trials involving transplanting HCV-infected donor organs into uninfected recipients. His work has been generously funded by foundations and the NIH, including a K-24 to support mentoring.

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Dr. Jenny Flythe, MD -is a nephrologist and clinical investigator at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Kidney Center, Associate Professor and Vice Chief of Nephrology and Hypertension at the UNC School of Medicine, and Director of Dialysis Services at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, NC. She conducts patient-oriented qualitative, epidemiologic, and prospective research aimed at improving outcomes and experiences among individuals with kidney disease.

Precious McCowan, BS, MS, ESRD- At the age of nine, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes; living with this condition for over 25 years progress my kidney failure.  By the age of twenty-seven, I was placed on in-center hemodialysis. In 2010 I received both a kidney and pancreas transplant; unfortunately, I had to return to dialysis and insulin shortly after transplantation.  In 2019 I received my second kidney transplant. Before my second kidney transplantation, I did dialysis for nine years. I have served as a Facility Patient Representative (FPR) for my dialysis facility throughout this challenging yet rewarding journey. I heartily work to advance patient health engagement and renal education to better care while on dialysis. Acquiring the passion for assisting those affected by End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) promoted my affiliation with the ESRD Medical Review Board (MRB) and the ESRD Patient Advisory Council (PAC) of Texas. Also, I am a member of the Kidney Patient Advisory Council; as an advocate partnering with ESRD caregivers and medical professionals to effectively meet the needs of those living with kidney disease.

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Dr. David Collister (he/him) is a Kidney Doctor, Clinician-Scientist and Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta. He has a PhD in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University. His research program is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Kidney Foundation of Canada and focuses on randomized controlled trials of interventions for uremic symptoms, cannabinoids, the responsiveness of uremic symptoms to the initiation of dialysis, metabolomics, proteomics and the intersection of gender diversity and kidney disease.

Keila Turino Miranda (she/her) is a first year PhD Student in the Cardiovascular Health and Autonomic Regulation Laboratory at McGill University. Ms. Turino Miranda’s work focuses on understanding and addressing the unique healthcare needs and disparities faced by transgender, gender-diverse, and non-binary (TGD) individuals in the realms of nephrology and cardiology using a patient-oriented approach.

Cameron T. Whitley, Ph.D. (he/they) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Western Washington University. He studies issues concerning the environment, human-animal relationships, and transgender-affirming medicine. He got involved with studying transgender-affirming medicine when he was diagnosed with kidney failure and received a kidney transplant while writing his dissertation. Through this process, he coauthored one of the first articles addressing the discrepancies in evaluating kidney function for transgender people. He has over five dozen publications featured in places like Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Academic Emergency Medicine, Clinical Chemistry, and Annual Review of Sociology.

Additional resources:

Kidney Function in a Gender Diverse Landscape

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Dr. Joshua J. Wilder- My name is Joshua Wilder and I am a 35 year old foot and ankle surgeon. I identify as a cis, gay, black, man who currently lives in Atlanta, GA. I am a native of Pittsburgh, PA with an upbringing in Cincinnati, OH. I was born with Prune Belly syndrome which required me to have a kidney transplant at 9 years old. I was on season 44 of the grammy-nominated, reality tv show Survivor 44. My favorite pastime is living life to the fullest.

Brian Sims served as one of the most visible out elected officials in the United States and is one of the premier policy experts in the current landscape, serving as the Managing Director of Government Affairs & Public Policy at Out Leadership. His tenure at this renowned global advisory organization is marked by his leadership in founding and steering a pivotal division dedicated to advocating for LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion within the business sector. Sims brings a wealth of experience from his distinguished career in public service and policy advocacy, leveraging his deep expertise to shape and guide strategies that champion LGBTQ+ rights on a global scale.

Additional resources:

https://www.outcarehealth.org/

https://www.kidney.org/newsletter/impact-unequal-care-lgbtq-kidney-patients

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Anthony Tuggle is the Afiniti President of Customer Operations, and a former Board Member of the National Kidney Foundation and of NKF Serving Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. Tuggle is responsible for expanding global contact center operations, accelerating business development, overseeing product deployment and engaging clients to generate value for enterprises, customers and employees. Prior to joining Afiniti, Tuggle served as Vice President – Customer Care, Sales and Service Centers at AT&T where he led more than 30,000 sales leaders and has built a culture that fosters a passion for winning. He models a "find-a-way" mindset in his approach to leadership and inspires his team to embrace the importance of agility. Tuggle is the acclaimed author of I'm Better Not Bitter: My Personal Journey - Kidney Transplant Recipient's Story of Winning in Business & Life and Moving Forward, which shares how he has overcome obstacles, is self-motivated, and creates a work culture of success. Notably, Tuggle led efforts in his local community as the 2018-2020 Chairman of the Atlanta Kidney Walk, which raised more than $500,000 for NKF. He also has partnered with AT&T to raise more than $200,000 to date.

Additional resources:

NKF Peers

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Dorothy Muench, LCSW is a post-transplant social worker with the Abdominal Organ transplant department with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for the past 7 years. In this capacity, she works with numerous individuals who have received a kidney or pancreas transplant and works to provide concrete and emotional support. Before this, Dori worked in dialysis for close to 10 years and has seen and heard the effects people have while on dialysis. She works hard to advocate for people to be transplant and find living donors so they can decrease as much time on dialysis as possible. Dori lives in North Carolina with her husband, 2 daughters and golden retriever.

Sue George is a kidney patient, with 27 years of experience who started on dialysis in 1997. She received a transplant in July of 1999 but had many setbacks. In October of 2000 she lost her transplanted kidney. Sue went back on dialysis and has been ever since. She now works with NKF as a Peer Mentor and work with KCM of Lincoln as a Mentor and try to improve how dialysis is introduced into patients' lives. She feels she has a lot of understanding of dialysis and transplant to help patients deal with the emotional side of the process. Sue is married to her husband Marty of 17 years, and they have 3 wonderful grown children. They also have 1 dog and 1 cat. She works as a secretary at St John Lutheran Church.  In her free time she loves to read and garden.

Additional resources:

NKF Peers

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Shuvo Roy, PhD is a bioengineer focusing on the development of medical devices to address unmet clinical needs through strong collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach. Dr. Roy is a professor at the University of California, San Francisco in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (BTS). In addition, he serves as the Technical Director of The Kidney Project and is a founding member of the UCSF Pediatric Device Consortium. He has developed and currently teaches a course on medical devices, diagnostics, and therapeutics and regularly lectures on the medical device design process to UCSF graduate students and to national and international academic and industry audiences. He is the author of more than 100 publications and co-author of three book chapters, and holds multiple patents for device developments.

Additional Resources 

Transplantation Resources (Transplants For All)

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Nichole Jefferson is a kidney transplant recipient and active member of NKF’s Kidney Advocacy Committee. She has attended every Kidney Patient Summit with NKF in Washington, D.C. since 2014, representing the states of Iowa and Texas. Presently, she is the Co-Chair of the NKF Kidney Advocacy Committee’s Diversity & Health Equity Advisory Committee. In this position, she shares her experiences and advocates for kidney disease awareness and needs.  This is a way for her to pay it forward to her community.

Anne Huml, MD, MS is a transplant nephrologist and clinical researcher in the Department of Kidney Medicine within the Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute.  She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. One of her primary research focuses is on health disparities in kidney disease, particularly on access to kidney transplant. She has worked on research teams to: improve access to the kidney transplant waiting list through the use of patient navigators; evaluate deceased donor organ offers to patients at the top of the waiting list; and investigate access to kidney transplant and transplant outcomes in large, national databases.

Additional Resources 

Transplantation Resources (Transplants For All)

Underutilized Kidneys

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Amanda Hays, MS, RDN, LD is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in Austin, TX with over a decade of experience serving thousands of people across all stages of chronic kidney disease. As the owner of Relish Nutrition Therapy, she specializes in taking the most powerful, research-based medical nutrition therapy recommendations and practically implementing them into real life without sacrificing the joy of food. She believes a healthy diet starts with a healthy relationship with food and that everyone with kidney disease deserves access to quality care and support. .

Jane DeMeis, MS, ODCP became involved with the National Kidney Foundation when she was diagnosed in 2018 with stage 4 kidney disease. She was the Director of Education and Organizational Development for U R Medicine Home Care. She is now a certified Kidney Coach. She has supported local cooking classes with recommendations for kidney friendly meals. She works with patients who have just been diagnosed with CKD at either level 3 b or 4 and have been given a diet to follow and need help on how to manage their eating and living with CKD diagnosis. 

Additional Resources 

Nutrition and Kidney Health

Kidney-Friendly Recipes

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In this episode we spoke with, 

Melissa Fry, MSW, CAPSW is a dialysis social worker at Mile Bluff Medical Center. She has worked in the dialysis unit for the past 25 years. She has focused on assisting her patients with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. She has used music as one technique to assist her patients with coping with various life stressors.

Steven Light is an artist from Swindon UK. He used his art as a way to express himself though a second wave of kidney failure, and created an exhibition around this experience called ‘Fistula’. His brother lovingly donated a kidney to him in July 2022 and both have fully recovered.

Additional Resources 

Effect of music therapy on dialysis patients

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In this episode we spoke with,

Jen Hernandez RDN, CSR, LDN- Jen Hernandez is a registered dietitian and a certified specialist in renal nutrition. She has served the kidney community in dialysis clinics as well as with the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii to help spread awareness of kidney disease and strive for prevention with early detection and interventions. In 2018, Jen founded Plant-Powered Kidneys. Jen uses her virtual private practice to help people in all stages of kidney disease, from stage one through transplant, to provide evidence-based nutrition guidelines and recommendations. The clients and students of Plant-Powered Kidneys learn and implement the fundamentals to keep their kidney function so that they can delay or even prevent kidney failure and the need for dialysis.

Additional Resources 

Superfoods 

Superfoods Blog

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In this episode we heard from: 

Dr. Joseph Vassalotti MD

Dr. Vassalotti is the Chief Medical Officer of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. At NKF, his major focus is implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in chronic kidney disease (CKD). He led collaborations to develop the Kidney Health Evaluation for Adults with Diabetes quality measure to improve evidenced based estimated glomerular filtration rate and albuminuria testing to guide detection, risk stratification and interventions proportional to risk in the U.S. He also served as PI for an AARP-funded Kidney Health Evaluation for Adults with Diabetes to analyze quality measure satisfaction with detection, evidenced-based therapies and health equity. Currently, he serves as Principal Investigator for the Kidney Score Platform, an NKF educational project funded by the Veterans Administration Center for Innovation to improve awareness and education among Veterans with and at risk for CKD in the primary care setting. He is also a co-investigator for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s CKD Surveillance Project. Dr. Vassalotti typically sees approximately 40 patients per week and has over 100 publications in peerreviewed journals.

Anthony Gucciardo

Anthony is responsible for forging and maintaining relations with key external stakeholders across a wide range of industries, to advance NKF’s mission and objectives, along with those of its partner organizations.  Anthony oversees two national Corporate Development Teams, focused on securing revenue necessary to ensure NKF programmatic excellence and impact.  He has been with the Foundation since 2002. Prior to NKF, Anthony was a Hematopoietic Stem Cell Technologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where he was responsible for processing autogeneic/allogeneic bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells for transplantation. He holds a master’s degree in Biochemistry from Columbia University.

Kent Bressler

Kent is a retired RN who was diagnosed with FSGS in 1984, and received a living donor transplant from his brother Kip in 1987. Kent is an active advocate for preemptive kidney transplant and has on the recommendation of NKF worked closely with the DoD and PCORI as a consumer peer reviewer. He is an NKF peer mentor and advocate who has collaborated on an editorial “Change in Albuminuria and GFR as End Points for Clinical Trials in Early Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease,” published in AJKD in 2019. He will also be participating in the development of the new NKF Patient Network serving on the Data Input and Integration Committee. He has been an active hill advocate for the NKF for six years and was the proud recipient of the 2017 Richard K. Salick Advocacy Award. Kent is also an Army Veteran and retired from the Veterans administration as an RN. He is the co-founder of Kidney Solutions a not for profit program in Texas that assists patients and families in the transplant process and in finding a donor. He is currently an assistant team leader for Region 7. Kent and Cathy Bressler have been married for 50 years and their family consists of Gretchen and Todd Rossington and their son Colt and Celeste and Alex Brown and their children John Banks, Catherine and Alexis Brown.

Additional Resources: 

Find Clinical Trials 

Clinical Trial Q&A 

Xenotransplantation Info 

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In this episode we heard from, 

Gary Petingola MSW, RSW

Gary has had a strong presence with the National Kidney Foundation - Council of Nephrology Social Workers since 2000 having co-planned the Professional Councils Conference in Toronto.  As a regular presenter at the NKF Spring Clinical Meetings, Gary recently participated in a NKF Live Facebook event on the topic of Vaccines, Pandemic Fatigue, and Mindfulness. Gary’s book - The Response: Practising Mindfulness In Your Daily Life (2020) was inspired by his work in nephrology. Gary is qualified to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction through the Center for Mindfulness, UMASS and Certified through the Mindfulness Center, Brown University School of Public Health. Gary has co-founded Mindfulness on the Rocks - Meditation Solutions for Maximum Life Impact. 

Additional resources: 

Books: Petingola, G. The Response: Practising Mindfulness in Your Daily Life (2020) Kabat-Zinn, J. Wherever You Go There You Are – Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life Websites and Apps:

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindful Meandering Journey

Headspace Calm Insight Timer Ten Percent Happier

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Morgan Reid

Morgan Reid is the Director of Transplant Policy & Strategy for the National Kidney Foundation, implementing strategies and creating patient-centric policies that promote equitable kidney transplantation access. A kidney transplant recipient herself, with personal experience as a chronic kidney disease, kidney failure, and dialysis patient, she has a deep passion for improving organ donation and transplant processes.

Haley Jensen 

Haley Jensen, MPH MBA, is Director of Transplant Programs for the National Kidney Foundation. She is responsible for leading growth and strategy for transplant educational programs, as well as overseeing organization-wide initiatives to ensure Transplants for All through research, innovation, awareness, and professional education. Haley is a kidney transplant recipient with years of volunteer advocacy and peer mentorship experience. She is passionate about ensuring every patient has the opportunity to receive the gift of life.

Additional resources: 

Transplants for All Resources

Transplants for All Blog 

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Additional resources: 

Sexuality and Kidney Disease

Data from the CDC 

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On today's episode we heard from: 

Dr. Joshua J. Wilder- My name is Joshua Wilder and I am a 35 year old foot and ankle surgeon. I identify as a cis, gay, black, man who currently lives in Atlanta, GA. I am a native of Pittsburgh, PA with an upbringing in Cincinnati, OH. I was born with Prune Belly syndrome which required me to have a kidney transplant at 9 years old. I was on season 44 of the grammy-nominated, reality tv show Survivor 44. My favorite pastime is living life to the fullest.

Rep. Jeff Currey- A lifelong resident of East Hartford by way of County Limerick, and a proud son, brother, and uncle, is currently serving a fifth term representing the 11th Assembly District, which is made up of parts of East Hartford and Manchester. Jeff, a former Deputy Majority Leader who chaired the Screening Committee on behalf of Majority Leader Rojas, currently serves on the Appropriations, Commerce, and Judiciary Committees. Starting in the 2023 legislative session, Jeff shifted leadership roles to take on the House Chair of the Education Committee, which he has served on since joining the legislature in 2015. Jeff has also worked tirelessly to bolster protections for living organ donors. As a kidney transplant recipient himself, Jeff introduced legislation in 2020 and 2021 to prohibit insurers from discriminating against living organ donors.

Additional Resources:

Pride Month Blog Article 

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Kathleen St. Jean

Kathleen’s background makes her uniquely suited to lead the team at 34 Lives with CEO Chris Jaynes. She began her career at Merck & Co., Inc., with a number of leadership roles in Sales, Professional Learning & Development and Customer Strategy. She was known for her creativity, forward thinking and passion to always put customers and patients first. In her last role at Merck, Kathleen served as sales lead for the commercialization of two adherence software products with a goal of improving health outcomes.In Phase Two of her career, Kathleen served as Director of Business Development for Imedex and Executive VP at SeaStar Medical. The latter focused on therapies designed to reduce the consequences of excessive inflammation on vital organs. Kathleen and Chris worked together at both companies and decided to combine their knowledge of healthcare and interest in transplantation into solving the current organ transplant crisis in the US. They founded 34 Lives (formerly Renovera) in March 2021 as a Public Benefit Company (PBC) to serve and honor organ donors, recipients and those who care for them.

Kevin Longino

Kevin Longino has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Kidney Foundation since 2015. He first became involved with the organization in 2008 as a volunteer advocate, and in 2012 he joined the national Board of Directors. As CEO, Kevin leads a team headquartered in New York, NY, and field offices around the country. NKF is supported by thousands of volunteers nationwide and serves millions of patients and healthcare providers seeking support and education every year. In 2004, Kevin received a life-saving kidney transplant after at-home peritoneal dialysis and is now 19 years “kidney strong”. He readily shares his story and uses his experience to help other kidney disease patients.

Additional Resources:

NKF Innovation Fund 

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Jessica Kolansky

In 2013, Jessica’s Dad was diagnosed with end stage renal disease. When Jessica and her brother learned of the diagnosis, both immediately volunteered to be tested for compatibility, despite Dad’s exclaiming “I didn’t raise you for spare parts!” Both were eligible donors, but Jessica pulled the big sister card and became the living donor on June 3, 2014. Jessica and her Dad are each doing well as they approach their 9th kidneyversary.Jessica initially got involved with the National Kidney Foundation while researching what to expect as a living donor and quickly signed up for the Philadelphia Kidney Walk. She received a call shortly thereafter from a member of the local NKF office and an instant bond was formed. Team Papa K has been among the top fundraisers in Philly for the last nine years. Jessica was honored to join the Board of Advisors for Eastern PA and NJ and enjoys working with the Kidney Advocacy Committee to advocate for kidney patients across the country.  Jessica and her husband Daniel, also a kidney donor to his father, live in Philly with their dog Paco. 

Alexandra Tatooles LCSW, ACM-SW

Lexi Tatooles is the living donor social worker at Rush University Medical Center. She is also the outpatient ambulatory care social worker for the cardiology and vascular department. She received my Master’s in Social Work at UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work in 2018 and from there started her social work career at Rush in 2019. Although she wears many hats in her current roles, she really enjoys getting to work with the various disciplines within the hospital setting and coming from a perspective of looking at patients from a holistic approach to better advocate for patients’ needs and identify barriers. When she is not at work she love to get outside and explore my Bucktown neighborhood with her fiancé and their 90lb goldendoodle named Charlie.

Additional Resources:

NKF Peers

CKD and Mental Health 

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Professor Paul Bennett

Paul has experience in both academia and industry in Australia and the US. He also is Director of Research, Clinical Medical Affairs, Satellite Healthcare based in San Jose, California. Paul's program of research underpins his mission to positively impact the lives of people with chronic kidney disease. Research exploring peer support, laughter and happiness, resistance exercise, patient-reported outcomes, patient activation and home dialysis has contributed to this mission. Paul is an investigator on four current Category 1 studies (3 x NHMRC studies and 1 Canadian (CIH)) that will improve the lives of people with chronic kidney disease. Paul is an active leader in the International Society of Nephrology (ISN), The Global Renal Exercise (GREX) Network, The International Society of Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM) and The Renal Society of Australasia (RSA). Paul's most recent impactful work was leading the ISPD and GREX global exercise and activity recommendations for people with peritoneal dialysis.

Kimberly Harrigan

My name is Kimberly Harrigan and I have been on in center dialysis for six years. I have found that family connection at my clinic and we enjoy laughing together while we are getting connected to our machines. Life has thrown me a lot of curve balls, but I have been able to keep fighting and laughing.

Additional Resources: 

Laughter Therapy Information

Professor Paul's Research Publication

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In this episode we spoke with, 

Carol Murray is a Quality Manager for Boston Scientific in Minnesota. On June 12, 2019, she donated a kidney to her husband who was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease in 2015. Introduced to the National Kidney Foundation too and through the transplant journey Carol became passionate about ways to draw attention to need for living donors as well as advocating for living donors. Working with the National Kidney Foundation on a local level she has participated in the Big Ask:Big Give, Kidney Walks, and Advocacy Day. With a strong desire to provide help and hope for others Carol has been involved in several roles with a few different non-profit organizations. Carol has a B.S degree in Quality Management from the University of Minnesota Crookston, and an A.A.S in Manufacturing Technology from Hennepin Technical College. 

Golnaz Ghomeshi Friedman, RD, is a Senior Dietitian and Certified Clinical Transplant Dietitian for UC Davis Health Transplant Program and has been working in this role since 2014. Golnaz values the importance and impact of nutrition in the transplant population and has been involved in a variety of projects directly impacting patient care. She has developed and modified policies that have made a significant impact on the decision-making process for transplant patient selection. Golnaz has worked with the transplant team and served as co-investigator on various research projects including those centered around assessment of malnutrition, functional status and frailty in transplant candidates.

Melanie Pina was diagnosed with lupus nephritis in 2018, and in 2021 she became a peritoneal dialysis patient. Melanie started sharing her journey online since April 2022 and recently had weight loss surgery to be on the transplant list. Now she is waiting for a transplant and hopefully, her second shot at life will come soon. 

Additional Resources: 

Melanie's Blog Article 

5 Exercises for Kidney Patients

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On this episode we spoke with, 

Harriett Oppenheim

Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Harriett Oppenheim has over fifteen years of experience working in the public sector. Harriett graduated from Jackson State University in May 2005 in Jackson, Mississippi where she received her Bachelors Degree in English. Before beginning law school Harriett served as the Project Organizer for the Mississippi Women’s Health Project with the ACLU of Mississippi. Harriett attended the University Of Mississippi School Of Law where she received her Jurist Doctorate in May 2008.  After graduating law school Harriett then served as Law Clerk for the Honorable Lillie Blackmon Sanders of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Natchez, Mississippi. She also served as Advocacy Coordinator/Attorney for the ACLU of Mississippi’s Juvenile Justice Program. Harriett is now a Senior Trial Attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the Jackson Area Office. Harriett is a Member of the Mississippi Bar Association, American Bar Association, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., National Employment Law Association, American Constitution Society, and Magnolia Bar Association. She is married to Jed Oppenheim and has a two year old son.

Dr. Andrea Oliverio

Dr. Andrea Oliverio is a nephrologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the reproductive health of people with kidney disease and improving patient-centered reproductive counseling in this population. She sees patients with all stages and types of kidney disease in clinic and has a particular focus on young adults and people with glomerular disease.

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Additional Resources: 

Dobbs Ruling Puts Kidney Patients in Jeopardy

Find information about abortion policies in your state

Information on contraception and abortion

Find and connect with abortion clinics, services and resources by state

In this episode we spoke with, 

Joseph A. Vassalotti . MD

Dr. Vassalotti is the Chief Medical Officer of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. At NKF, his major focus is implementation of evidence based clinical practice guidelines in chronic kidney disease (CKD). He led collaborations to develop the Kidney Health Evaluation for Adults with Diabetes quality measure to improve evidenced based estimated glomerular filtration guide detection, risk stratification and interventions rate and albuminuria testing to proportional to risk also served as PI for an AARP in the U.S. He funded Kidney Health Evaluation for Adults with Diabetes to analyze quality measure satisfaction with detection, evidenced Platform based therapies and health equity. Currently, he serves as Principal Investigator for the Kidney Score , an NKF educational project funded by the Veterans Administration Center for Innovation to improve awareness and education among Veterans with and at risk for CKD in the primary care setting. He is also a coinvestigator for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s CKD Surveillance Project. Dr. Vassalotti typically sees approximately 40 patients per week and has over 100 publications in peer reviewed journals.

Jane DeMeis

Ms. DeMeis became involved with the National Kidney Foundation in 2018 after she was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease. Previously, Ms. DeMeis had been in stage three since 2010 and also developed diabetes. Ms. DeMeis attended classes, read and took training and became very knowledgeable about nutrition and lifestyle for CKD. She is a certified Kidney Coach. Ms. DeMeis is the Chairperson of the Perinton Ambulance Corps and when COVID allows will be bringing kidney education to their Community Outreach program. 

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Additional Resources: 

Early Diagnosis of Kidney Disease: Incentivizing Comprehensive Testing

On today's episode we spoke with: 

Catherine C. Wells, DNP, ACNP, CNN-NP, FNKF

Dr. Wells have been practicing as a Nephrology Nurse Practitioner in Mississippi for 19 years. She is an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner trained at The University of Mississippi with a Nephrology specialty via Vanderbilt University. Dr. Wells obtained my Doctorate of Nursing Practice from the University of South Alabama in 2010. She is certified as a Nephrology Nurse Practitioner since 2008. She spent 3 years in private Nephrology practice treating dialysis and CKD patients. In 2006, Dr. Wells joined the faculty of the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). At UMMC her clinical practice is general Nephrology with clinical expertise in acute and chronic renal replacement therapies. She teaches locally and nationally, and supports the research efforts of the Division of Nephrology.

Anthony Reed

As a former dialysis patient, and now living with a kidney transplant, Ant knows what it takes to not only live with kidney disease but to live beyond kidney disease. He has shared his story and lessons he has learned on a nationwide level and continues to work towards the betterment of kidney patients worldwide. 

Additional resources:

Episode transcript

Learning to Follow Your Dialysis Fluid Restrictions

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On this episode, we spoke with: 

Brittany Glazar

 Brittany has been a Clinical Exercise Physiologist at the University of Delaware for 3 years working in their Exercise and Functional Training Lab. Each day she gets the chance to work with individuals with all stages of CKD including transplant, as well as apparently healthy individuals and those with Parkinson’s disease.

Wilson Du

Wilson is a kidney transplant recipient from Alameda, California.  Prior to receiving his transplant in 03/2022, he was on hemodialysis for 5.5 years.  During his time on dialysis, he managed to lose over 130lbs, completed various physical competitions (10K, half marathons, triathlons), and also rode his bike 500+ miles down the coast of California.  He has now dedicated his life to helping other patients live their best life through his gym in California.  He is known as the Renal Warrior.

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

On this episode, we spoke with:

Lilia Cervantes, MD

Dr. Cervantes received her undergraduate degree at CU Boulder and completed both her medical degree and internal medicine residency at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.  Her background as a first generation Latina inspired her deep commitment to becoming a physician as well as her community service, advocacy, and research focused on promoting social justice in medical education and care.  Dr. Cervantes has worked for over 12 years as an internal medicine hospitalist at Denver Health, the safety-net hospital, and has dedicated her career to creating a healthcare workforce that is diverse as well as conducting research to improve person-centered and clinical outcomes among Latinx patients on dialysis.  The catalyst for her interest in improving outcomes for Latinx patients with chronic kidney disease was a former undocumented Latina patient with kidney failure who struggled with emergency dialysis (dialysis in the emergency department when critically ill) and ultimately died. Funded by the RWJF and the Doris Duke Foundation, Dr. Cervantes discovered the worse outcomes of undocumented immigrants who rely only on emergency dialysis. In 2019, as a result of Dr. Cervantes’ research and stakeholder engagement, Colorado Medicaid opted to include the diagnosis of kidney failure as a qualifying condition under Emergency Medicaid thereby expanding access to standard dialysis.  In addition to her work with the undocumented kidney failure community, Dr. Cervantes is developing culturally tailored interventions that will address the social challenges faced by racial/ethnic minorities with chronic kidney disease.

Luz Baqueiro

Luz was diagnosed with end stage renal disease in 2018 and has recently received a kidney transplant. Luz started dialysis in the ER for almost a year this being the she did not qualify for any government assistance like Medicaid or the marketplace because she is not a born US citizen. She joined the NKF Advocacy Team after experiencing firsthand what is like not to be able to receive the care you need simple because you are not a citizen she felt she need it to raise awareness on this issues, to share her story and the story of many others who are not getting the proper care they so desperately need.

Additional resources:

Exercise: What You Should Know

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En este episodio, conversamos con:

Lilia Cervantes, MD

La Dra. Cervantes obtuvo su título universitario en la Universidad de Colorado en Boulder. Al finalizar, ingresó a la Escuela de Medicina de la Universidad de Colorado para completar su grado doctoral y posteriormente realiza su residencia en medicina interna. Ser latina de primera generación fue la inspiración de su gran compromiso de convertirse en médico, al igual que su servicio a la comunidad, su activismo e investigación, centrada en la promoción de la justicia social en la educación y atención médica. La Dra. Cervantes ha ejercido por más de 12 años como médico internista en Denver Health, hospital de red segura, y ha dedicado su carrera en crear un equipo diverso de profesionales de la salud. De igual manera, ha dirigido investigaciones para mejorar el desempeño clínico y fomentar una atención centrada en la persona entre los pacientes latinxs en diálisis. El motivo de su interés por mejorar los resultados de los pacientes latinxs con enfermedad renal crónica fue a raíz de una paciente latina indocumentada con insuficiencia renal, quien luchó contra la diálisis de urgencia (diálisis en la sala de emergencias cuando se encuentra en estado crítico) hasta que falleció. Financiado por la RWJF y la Fundación Doris Duke, la Dra. Cervantes descubrió los peores desenlaces de los inmigrantes indocumentados que dependen únicamente de la diálisis en urgencias.  Como resultado de su investigación y la participación de las partes interesadas, en el 2019, Colorado Medicaid optó por incluir el diagnóstico de insuficiencia renal como una de las condiciones que cualifican para Medicaid de Emergencia, ampliando así el acceso a la diálisis estándar. Además de su trabajo con la comunidad de personas indocumentadas con insuficiencia renal, la Dra. Cervantes está desarrollando intervenciones culturalmente adaptadas que abordarán los retos sociales a los que se enfrentan las minorías raciales y étnicas con enfermedad renal crónica.

Luz Baqueiro

Luz fue diagnosticada con una enfermedad renal en etapa terminal para el año 2018 y recientemente ha recibido un trasplante de riñón. Al no ser ciudadana americana de nacimiento, Luz, no contaba con los requisitos necesarios para recibir asistencia del gobierno, como el Medicaid; por lo que tuvo que comenzar diálisis en salas de emergencias por casi un año. Luego de conocer personalmente lo que significa no poder recibir los cuidados necesarios por el simple hecho de no ser ciudadano, decide unirse al grupo de activistas de la NKF y así poder crear conciencia sobre estos temas, compartir su historia y la de muchas otras personas que no reciben los cuidados adecuados que tan desesperadamente necesitan.

Recursos adicionales:

Open Letter to State Medicaid Directors

Sé parte del Grupo de Activistas/Defensores

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In this episode, we spoke with:

Jessianna Saville, RD

Jessianna Saville RD, CSR LDN is a renal dietitian with over 12 years experience. After working 8 years in the dialysis setting, she decided to fully concentrate her energy on her virtual practice and helping provide early nutrition intervention for kidney disease clients. She is the founder and owner of KidneyNutritionInstitute.org, a collective of expert renal dietitians that serve all areas of kidney disease. She is also the founder of RenAlign, a non-profit that advocates for nutrition as a first line therapy for kidney disease through the RenaLIFE and Ren.Nu programs. She and her team develop training resources for other renal dietitians at RenalNutritionMastery.com, helping them stay up-to-date on all things renal nutrition and guiding them through setting up their own private practice. Her passion for good food shows up in the kidney-friendly recipes her team creates on the blog and the amount of time she spends cooking herself. Along for the ride with Jessianna are her three children and husband, a very old dog, 2 kittens, and 4 friendly backyard chickens.

Dawn Edwards

Self-described 25+ Year chronic kidney disease Warrior, Dawn P. Edwards, a nocturnal home hemodialysis patient, has experienced first-hand, every renal replacement modality including a kidney transplant, rejection and return to dialysis. Dawn is dedicated to improving the quality of life of people with kidney disease, and is also a resource to her community, sharing her story and educating patients, professionals and the public about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and the relationship between hypertension, diabetes and kidney disease, especially among people of color and low socioeconomic status. Dawn has served the community for over 25 years through the IPRO ESRD Network of New York in multiple roles including employment as their Community Outreach Coordinator. She is an NKF Kidney Advocate and Peer Mentor and also currently serves on many kidney disease related boards.

Additional resources:

Potassium and Your CKD Diet

Kidney-friendly recipes

Episode transcript

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In this episode, we spoke with:

Dan Weiner, MD

Dan Weiner is a nephrologist at Tufts Medical Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. His clinical interests include home and in-center dialysis, hypertension and CKD. His research has focused on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease in CKD; clinical trials in CKD, dialysis and hypertension; decision-making in advanced CKD; and policy. He works closely with the American Society of Nephrology on kidney disease policy. He is DCI's Medical Director of Clinical Research, and he is the Editor-in-Chief of the NKF's journal, Kidney Medicine, and the NKF's Primer on Kidney Diseases, the 8th edition of which will be published in early 2022.

Patrick Gee

Patrick Gee is a Community Activist, fighting against systemic issues such as poverty, social and racial injustices, criminal justice reform, and education reform. Patrick worked for the Virginia Department of Corrections and the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, where during his time in service, he acquired several awards and recognitions. In April 2013, Patrick was diagnosed with Stage 3b End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD). He began doing Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) in December 2013. On April 21, 2017, Patrick received a kidney transplant. Patrick has been very passionate in his pursuit to speak on behalf of the underserved, undervalued, and disenfranchised communities of color. Because of this, he serves as an advocate and kidney patient expert for a number of organizations including the NKF, CMS, FDA, KHI, AKF, AAKP and HDU.  

Additional resources:

COVID-19 resources

What you need to know about COVID-19 in 2022

COVID-19 vaccine and treatments for people with kidney disease

Regional resources for COVID-19

Kidney disease and COVID-19

Episode transcript

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!

In this episode, we spoke with:

Hannah Wesselman

Hannah Wesselman is a PhD candidate at the University of Notre Dame studying the genetic mechanisms underlying kidney development in Dr. Rebecca Wingert's lab. Prior to her dissertation work, Hannah worked with Dr. Larissa Myaskovsky at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Research on Health Care, and their collaboration continued as Dr. Myaskovsky moved to the University of New Mexico Center for Healthcare Equity in Kidney Disease. During this time, Hannah worked directly with kidney transplant patients, and later published in CJASN on social determinants and race disparities in kidney transplant. Inspired by the strength of the kidney community, Hannah has returned to bench science in the hopes of identifying new treatment targets and has continued to connect with kidney patients through NKF advocacy.

Holly Kramer, M.D., MPH

Holly Kramer, M.D., MPH, is a practicing nephrologist who conducts research connecting nutrition and kidney health. Her connection to the National Kidney Foundation was inspired by her mom, who was a dialysis nurse and helped create some of the first dialysis units in Northwest Indiana. Dr. Kramer finds being on the NKF Board important, because it is the largest, patient-centered organization focusing on kidney disease. Her long-term goal is to increase national funding for kidney disease research and to heighten awareness about chronic kidney disease.

Joseph V. Bonventre, M.D., PhD

Dr. Bonventre is the Samuel A. Levine Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Constantine L. Hampers Distinguished Chair at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is Chief of the Renal Division and Founding Chief of the Engineering in Medicine Division of the Brigham and Women's Hospital. In addition to his B.S. with distinction in Engineering Physics from Cornell, Dr. Bonventre holds M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in Biophysics from Harvard University.  He has honorary doctorate degrees from Mt. Saint Mary’s College and from the Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology in Norway. He was Director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology for 10 years. 

Additional resources:

Kidney Research

NKF Research Connect

NKF Patient Network

Become an Advocate

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!

In this episode, we spoke with:

Ansara Piebenga, parent of a child with kidney disease

Ansara Piebenga is the mother of two daughters. Her younger daughter was diagnosed at four months of age with a rare, genetic disease called primary hyperoxaluria. She received a year of daily (seven days a week!) hemodialysis and nightly peritoneal dialysis while being fed only through a gastric-tube.  Once she grew large enough (10 kilograms) she received a combined kidney and liver transplant at Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at only 16 months of age.  Ansara's younger daughter is now a teenager who enjoys driving, playing lacrosse, and petting her three dogs.  Her daughter will celebrate 15 years with her transplanted organs this June and their entire family will thank her donor's family once again for their selfless and generous gift.  Ansara has mentored other families facing chronic kidney disease since 2007. She volunteers for Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, the Medical University of South Carolina, the Improving Renal Outcomes Collaborative, Transplant Families, the National Kidney Foundation, the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

Dr. Susan P. Wong, nephrologist

Susan Wong is an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington and a nephrologist and bioethics consultant at the Seattle VA. She leads a research program on treatment practices for advanced kidney disease with a focus on dialysis practices, conservative management without dialysis, and end-of-life and kidney palliative care. When she's not working, she enjoys spending her time gardening and with her 3 beautiful children.

Dr. Taylor House, nephrology fellow

Dr. Taylor House is a senior pediatric nephrology fellow at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital, and she will be joining the faculty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in the fall. She performs research focused on supporting the flourishing of children with kidney disease and their families through the integration of palliative care into routine nephrology care. She has a specific interest in improving communication between patients, caregivers, and clinicians surrounding kidney disease decision-making.

Elizabeth Fortune, kidney patient

Elizabeth Fortune was diagnosed with cancer in 2011. Two significant developments came from her fight with cancer. First, she and her husband started their own non-profit to support fellow cancer survivors and their caregiver. Second, she was left with End-Stage Renal Disease as a result of chemotherapy. She has been on dialysis since her diagnosis in April 2014.  She is a member of NKF's Kidney Advocacy Committee. She also enjoys knitting, reading, writing about her experience with cancer and kidney failure, and traveling with her husband. They also have the greatest cat, Mr. Meowington.

In this episode, we spoke with:

Doris Lew

Doris Lew, a transplant recipient since 2016, just celebrated her six-year kidney-versary on May 12th. She received her kidney from a living donor after a year of peritoneal dialysis as a part of a ten-way chain. She was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy and is continually learning about her kidney disease. She has two grown sons and currently lives in Oakland, CA, with her husband and two dogs.

Manusca Belony

Manusca Belony has been living with kidney disease since 2019 and has recently begun peritoneal dialysis. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two children.

Marissa Argentina, LMSW

Marissa Argentina is the Patient Programs Director at the National Kidney Foundation whose primary role is overseeing patient support initiatives to improve kidney patient outcomes. She has provided oversight to the NKF Peers program since 2017. Prior to joining the National Kidney Foundation, Marissa worked as a dialysis center social worker.

Additional resources:

More information on NKF Peers (You can also call 855.NKF.PEER or email us at nkfpeers@kidney.org)

Participant Form

Mentor Application

Episode transcript

Depression and Dialysis

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!

In this episode, we spoke with:

Dorothy Muench, LCSW

Dori Muench is a post-transplant social worker with the Abdominal Organ transplant department with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for the past 5 years. In this capacity, she works with numerous individuals who have received a kidney or pancreas transplant and works to provide concrete and emotional support. Before this, Dori worked in dialysis for close to 10 years and has seen and heard the effects people have while on dialysis. She works hard to advocate for people to be transplant and find living donors so they can decrease as much time on dialysis as possible. Dori lives in North Carolina with her husband, 2 daughters and golden retriever.

Gisela Delgado

At the age of 14, Gisela was rushed to the emergency room after having Coca Cola colored urine. It took 6 months of various testing to eventually be diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy via kidney biopsy. The doctors told her and her parents that there was no cure, no proven treatment and that this disease would likely lead to kidney failure in 20-25 years. This was very upsetting and also left the family with a lot of unanswered questions. At the age of 30, Gisela was then rushed to the emergency room with flu-like symptoms. The doctors flagged GFR and Creatinine levels. She was then put on a course of meds to help with Proteinuria and to treat high blood pressure. At the age of 38 Gisela reached end stage kidney failure requiring a kidney transplant. Luckily she was able to receive a pre-emptive transplant from a living donor (her brother). For those that do not know - a kidney transplant is still considered a type of treatment for kidney failure. Today Gisela is a huge advocate for living donation and volunteers with The IgA Nephropathy Foundation as their Director of Brand + Creative. She looks forward to being “in the room where it happens” as the foundation is working hard with several Pharmaceutical partners to not only finding treatment but a cure for IgA Nephropathy.

Morgan Reid

Morgan Reid joined the National Kidney Foundation as the Director of Transplant Policy & Strategy in November 2021. In this role, Morgan will implement strategies and help create policies that promote equitable access to quality kidney healthcare and transplantation. Before joining NKF, Morgan worked for two Organ Procurement Organizations and a well-known transplant center. She has a deep passion for improving organ donation and transplant processes. A dear college friend donated a kidney to Morgan on January 9, 2007, after several years of dealing with an IgA Nephropathy diagnosis with nearly two years on peritoneal dialysis. She will use her personal experience and professional expertise to advocate for underserved communities that face barriers to kidney transplantation.

Additional resources:

Information on living donation

Looking for a living donor

Kidney Donation: How to Make the Ask

The Top 3 Reasons People Are Afraid to Ask for a Kidney—and How to Overcome Them

5 Ways To Inspire Living Kidney Donation

Living Donation: Sample Letter to Family and Friends

Episode transcript

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!

We dedicate this episode to the Parson Family, who made the selfless decision to delay their grieving process and permit the doctors at the University of Alabama to maintain Jim Parsons’ body functioning on a ventilator so this scientific and medical breakthrough could be possible.

In this episode, you will hear from:

Jayme Locke, MD, MPH

Dr. Locke is an abdominal transplant surgeon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who specializes in innovative strategies for the transplantation of incompatible organs, disparities in access to and outcomes after solid organ transplantation, and transplantation of HIV-infected end-stage patients. Her research interests include complex statistical analysis and modeling of transplant outcomes and behavioral research focused on health disparities.

Dr. Locke is an Associate Editor for Transplantation and is a regular peer reviewer for several journals, including the American Journal of Transplantation and the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology to name a few. She is an invited member of the ASTS Providing Better Access to Organs Task Force and Diversity Affairs Committee, the AST Kidney-Pancreas Committee, The Transplantation Society Young Member Committee, and the United Network for Organ Sharing Pediatric Transplant Committee. Dr. Locke is the recipient of numerous honors and has most recently received the American Transplant Congress Young Investigator Award, the Birmingham Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40 Award, and was named one of AL.com’s 2015 Women Who Shape the State. 

Jessica Washington

Jessica Washington is an NKF patient advocate who was diagnosed with stage 2 kidney disease in 2019 after being diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease. She works in the software industry as a Data Analyst and also enjoys freelance writing, in particular sports writing, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. She has been extremely motivated to advocate for the National Kidney Foundation to help others fight for better understanding, awareness, support, early detection and anything else she can do to make it easier for so many out there dealing with this disease.

More information:

How Genetically Altered Pigs Could Help Kidney Transplantation

Episode Transcript

In this episode, you will hear from:

Tania Kasongo

Tania was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and raised in Ohio. She is very passionate about health and wellness. She is a living kidney donor and donated her kidney in 2014 for her father. Tania graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Mass Communications and a minor in French. She works as an Events Marketing Manager for the American Chemical Society, and has her own event planning business, Yowa Events. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering and is very involved in her community. She has volunteered for various organizations such as New York Cares, Ronald McDonald House charities, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Habitat for Humanity, and many more. She is also a strong advocate for diabetes, kidney health, and organ donation. Other activities Tania enjoys are exercising, traveling, cooking, and horticulture.

Jennifer Bruns, LMSW

Jennifer is a social worker who has worked with kidney patients for the past 23 years in the fields of dialysis, transplant and inpatient care. Jennifer has also served on the executive committee for the Council of Nephrology Social Workers and she is a living kidney donor.

Miriam Goodwin

Miriam is the Director of Health Policy for the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). In this capacity, she helps to define and execute NKF’s public policy agenda with the federal government, working closely with patients, patient advocates, and professionals to ensure that public policy has the priorities of kidney patients at its center.  Prior to joining NKF, Miriam was a member of the policy team at Roche/Genentech, where she worked to shape the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) commitments for the PDUFA V and PDUFA VI reauthorization cycles.  Miriam earned her MPP from the George Washington University and a BA in biology from Earlham College. She is also a living kidney donor. 

Further resources on living donation:

General Information on Living Donation

How do I donate a kidney?

Infórmate Acerca de la Donación de Riñón en Vida para Hispanos/Latinos (Learn About Living Kidney Donation for Hispanics/Latinos)

For additional information, visit kidney.org/livingdonation. 

In this episode, you will hear from:

Marva Moxey-Mims, MD, FASN

Dr. Moxey-Mims is Professor of Pediatrics at George Washington University School of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Nephrology at Children’s National Health System, Washington, D.C.  Dr. Moxey-Mims serves as the Study Chair of the APOLLO Steering Committee and Chair of the Publications & Presentation Committee.

Jonah Odim, MD

Dr. Odim is Chief of the Clinical Transplantation Section at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Dr. Odim serves as a representative of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the APOLLO Steering Committee and member of the Dissemination Working Group.

Glenda V. Roberts 

Glenda is the Director of External Relations & Patient Engagement for the Center for Dialysis Innovation at the University of Washington Kidney Research Institute.  Glenda serves as a member of the APOLLO Community Advisory Committee, the Recruitment Committee, and the Dissemination Working Group.

Sylvia E. Rosas, MD, MSCE

Dr. Rosas is a nephrologist and epidemiologist at the Joslin Diabetes Center and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Sylvia serves as the Principal Investigator of APOLLO Clinical Center 09 (Harvard University) and member of the Dissemination Working Group.

Krista Lentine, MD, PhD, FAST, FAST

Dr. Lentine is Medical Director of Living Donation, Co-Director of Clinical Research, and Mid-America Transplant/Jane A. Beckman Endowed Chair in Transplantation at Saint Louis University (SLU). Krista serves as co-Principal Investigator for APOLLO Clinical Center 03 (Johns Hopkins | SLU), member of the Data, Ancillary Studies, and Publications & Presentation Committees, and chair of the Dissemination Working Group.

Denay Richards

Ms. Richards and her family were born in the Caribbean when her mother was diagnosed with ESRD. They moved to the United States, where her mother was told that she had about 3 months to live. On August 29th, 2000, Denay’s father donated a kidney to her and in 2020 they celebrated their 20 year - “kidneyversary.” As a child, Denay loved helping her mother with the dialysis process, organizing medications, and attending hospital visits. It was this exposure to the medical field that encouraged Denay to pursue a career in surgery. In 2019 she graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Molecular Biology and as of 2021 is an MD/PhD student in a dual degree program with Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Princeton University. In 2019, she earned a double board qualification as a fitness nutrition specialist and personal trainer under the International Sports Sciences Association. In 2020, Denay was diagnosed with an APOL1 mutation that is more prevalent in the African American community and has been linked to early kidney failure. Denay says that her diagnosis has empowered her to expand education about renal health, fitness/nutrition, and genetic predispositions for kidney failure to the world, especially disenfranchised populations that are at greater risk.

Genetics and kidney disease: https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/genetics-kidney-disease

In this episode, you'll hear from:

Dr. Mariana Markell 

Dr. Markell is a graduate of Yale University and New York Medical College and received her Residency and Fellowship training at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and UCLA Medical Center. At SUNY Downstate she has served as the Director of Inpatient Dialysis and created the first Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Program in New York City. She currently continues to care for general and transplant nephrology patients while serving at the Medical Director of Kidney Transplantation. Her research interests include the impact of social determinants of health and issues in women’s health in the person with kidney disease.

Katie Reed

Katie Reed has autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial MUC1 kidney disease (ADTKD-MUC1) and is a recent recipient of a successful kidney transplant. Katie is a board member for the Rare Kidney Disease Foundation, which focuses on raising awareness of ADTKD, building up the ADTKD community, and advocating for patients and families. Katie and her husband reside in North Carolina and are parents to two young children. In their free time, you can find the Reeds out and about at local parks, watching a thrilling game of preschool-aged soccer, cheering for the Steelers, or taking over Disney World in matching family shirts. Professionally, Katie is a Managing Director with Afton Partners, a consultancy focused on funding policy, governance, and sustainability strategies for education and human services organizations.

Cari Maxwell 

Cari was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) in 1989. Through healthy living and choices, she managed her disease on her own for many years following the example of her father, who experienced ESRD in the early 1980s. A registered organ donor provided a near-perfect matching kidney to him and that gift of life granted Cari and her family 31 additional years with him before he passed away in October of 2018. Advancements in treatment for PKD patients are very close to Cari’s heart, not only for herself but also for her other two siblings and oldest child that are diagnosed with ADPKD and for the likelihood that her two younger children may also be one day. She was fortunate to be able to participate in the clinical trial for the first-ever FDA-approved treatment for PKD – a treatment she still benefits from today.

Cari is a member of the National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Advocacy Committee, and she champions patient education, early detection, and scientific advancement through patient-oriented clinical research. She hopes that through her commitment to the awareness of chronic kidney diseases, others will take an active role in their health journey through early detection, healthy choices, and becoming a strong voice of advocacy for themselves and others. Cari is a wife and mother to three daughters and works full-time as the Director of Culture & Operations for a growing technology integration firm near Hershey, PA.

For more information on pregnancy and kidney disease, visit https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/pregnancy.

On this episode you will hear from:

Katherine Tuttle, MD

Dr. Tuttle is Executive Director for Research at Providence Health Care, Co-Principal Investigator of the Institute of Translational Health Sciences and Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington. Dr. Tuttle earned her medical degree and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. She was a fellow in Metabolism and Endocrinology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her Nephrology fellowship training was performed at University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. 

Dr. Tuttle's major research interests are in clinical and translational science for diabetes and chronic kidney disease. She has published over 250 original research contributions and served two terms as Associate Editor for the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and the American Journal of Kidney Disease. Dr. Tuttle has received many honors and awards including the Medal of Excellence from the American Association of Kidney Patients, Garbed Eknoyan Award from the National Kidney Foundation, the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award in Science, and two Outstanding Clinical Faculty Awards at the University of Washington. Dr. Tuttle served on the Board of Directors for the Kidney Health Initiative and has chaired numerous kidney and diabetes related working groups and committees for organizations including the NIDDK/NIH, the National Kidney Foundation, the American Society of Nephrology, the International Society of Nephrology, and the American Diabetes Association.  

Jane DeMeis, patient

Ms. DeMeis became involved with the National Kidney Foundation when she was diagnosed in 2018 with stage 4 kidney disease. Ms. DeMeis was the Director of Education and Organizational Development for U R Medicine Home Care. Part of her responsibilities was working with clinicians in teaching them how to present education to patients. She also was the Chairperson of the Patient Family Centered Care program and worked with improving home care through patient advocacy.  In 2018, Ms. DeMeis retired. She had been fighting CKD along with Psoriatic Arthritis for over 8 years and needed to focus on her health.  She currently serves as a member of NKF's Kidney Advocacy Committee, as an Ambassador for NKF's online communities, and also as a NKF Peer mentor. Ms. DeMeis is the Chairperson of the Perinton Ambulance Corps and when Covid allows will be bringing Kidney education to their Community Outreach program. Her other volunteer activities include working with clients for the Perinton Food Shelf, on the Executive Board of the Perinton Historical Society as the Director of Communications, as a member of the Fairport Village Tree Board, and sings with the Perinton Senior Chorus.

Looking for tips on how to limit your sodium? We have you covered.

In this episode, you will hear from:

Melissa Prest, DCN, MS, RDN, CSR, LDN

Melissa Prest is the Foundation Dietitian for the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois. In this role, she focuses on nutrition education for individuals at risk for and/or diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.  Melissa is also involved in program planning for patients and professionals.  Prior to working with NKFI, Melissa practiced in a dialysis center providing medical nutrition therapy for individuals treated with renal replacement therapy. Melissa completed her doctorate in clinical nutrition from Rutgers University and her master’s degree in clinical nutrition from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.  Dr. Prest holds multiple local, state, and national volunteer leadership roles with the Chicago Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Illinois Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Illinois Council on Renal Nutrition, the NKF Council on Renal Nutrition, the Renal Dietitian Practice Group and serves a as National Media Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “In addition to being able to form a long-term patient-clinician relationship, what I most enjoy about working with persons living with chronic conditions is seeing the impact of making healthy behavior changes on their quality of life.”

Chef Duane Sunwold

Chef Duane is a CKD patient who put his disease into remission by changing his diet and following his doctor’s recommendations. Duane is currently a culinary arts instructor at the Inland Northwest Culinary Academy.  He has spent his culinary career cooking in the Pacific Northwest and was a private chef for the Bill Gates family.  Duane has presented his culinary accomplishments to medical professionals and patients around the United States.  Duane has also participated on a PCORI research grant with Washington State University and was a core member on a CDC’s sodium reduction grant for the Spokane Regional Health District. 

For more information on sodium and a CKD diet, visit here. 

For tips on limiting your sodium, visit here. 

In this episode, you will hear from:

Mallika L. Mendu, MD, MBA

Mallika Mendu, MD, MBA is Executive Medical Director of Clinical Operations for Brigham Health, in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Mendu is also a practicing nephrologist and Associate Medical Director of Mass General Brigham Population Health Management. She received her MD and MBA degrees from the Yale School of Medicine and Yale School of Management. During her internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she was involved in the Medicine Management Leadership Track and developed an interest in addressing system-level deficiencies in quality and care delivery by implementing innovative interventions. She pursued nephrology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Mendu’s administrative responsibilities are focused on care continuum management and inpatient operations. Her research efforts relate to care delivery innovation, quality and safety and population health. 

Glenda Roberts

Glenda is a passionate activist for kidney research and patients living with kidney disease. She’s involved in myriad patient-centered national and international health care transformation initiatives. All are focused on addressing patient preferences and improving patient-reported outcomes. Glenda brings the patient voice to a number of NIH/NIDDK government and industry research efforts, as well as, the ASN COVID-19 Response Team and the ASN COVID-19 Transplant Subcommittee. She’s a member of the ISN, the Kidney Health Initiative (KHI) Patient and Family Partnership Council (PFPC); Can-SOLVE CKD International Research Advisory Committee; Home Dialyzors United Advisory Board and she’s has been an Ambassador for the American Association of Kidney Patients since 2018.

Learn more about what this means for people living with kidney disease: https://www.kidney.org/newsletter/changes-to-egfr-calculation-and-what-means-people-living-kidney-disease 

Download and subscribe to "The Journey Continues" in Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you like to listen.

In this episode, you will hear from:

Dr. Isaac Acquah, MD, MPH

Dr. Isaac Acquah is a physician and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Outcomes Research  at Houston Methodist Hospital. He holds an MD degree from the University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry, and a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is particularly concerned about health care disparities and social determinants of health. Prior to moving to the United States, he practiced in both rural and urban settings where he directly experienced the influences of these determinants on a person’s health. His current work as a postdoctoral fellow involves understanding health care disparities among different patient populations and how they affect patient outcomes.

Beth Witten

Beth Witten is a renal social worker. She has worked with dialysis and transplant patients for over 40 years. She has been an NKF employee and volunteer and past chair of NKF's social work council. Beth ran CKD classes for many years. She consults with the nonprofit Medical Education Institute. Beth speaks and writes on choosing a treatment, paying for treatment, working and living your best life with kidney disease.  

Charles Pecoraro

Charles Pecoraro is a dialysis patient who is also currently on the transplant waitlist at Mayo Clinic in Florida.  In June 2019 he was diagnosed and treated for Malignant Melanoma Cancer.  In follow up visits with his PCP, they found he had high blood pressure.  He experienced debilitating emotional, mental, and physical symptoms from CKD that ultimately affected his ability to continue working and he lost the business he had owned for many years.  He also experienced delays in care due to insurance issues and ultimately started on dialysis emergently in March 2020. Charles is a kidney advocate with NKF. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• dol.gov (U.S. Department of Labor)
• ssa.gov/redbook or (800) 772-1213 (Social Security Disability Insurance)
• Healthcare.gov
• Medicare.gov
• Needymeds.org and mat.org (Medicine Assistance Tool)
• Benefits.gov
• Unitedway.org
• shiphelp.org or (877) 839-2675 (State Health Insurance Programs)

In this episode, you will hear from:

CT Representative Jeff Currey:

Rep. Jeff Currey is a United States State Senator in Connecticut who who was re-elected to a fourth term in 2020 to serve the 11th Assembly District. Currey, who went public with his kidney failure prognosis in 2020, received a kidney transplant from a longtime friend in January 2021. In May he supported and advocate for the Living Donor Protection Act (HB 6387) in Connecticut, which prohibits insurers from discriminating against living organ donors and creates a committee to promote kidney donation in the state.

Armand Halter:

Armand Halter is a patient-advocate from Connecticut who has led NKF’s efforts to pass a state version of the Living Donor Protection Act (HB 6387) in Connecticut, including testifying on February 11th. He has also been a mentor to fellow advocates and helped organize Connecticut advocates in their efforts to pass bills and raise awareness in the state legislature.

For more information on NKF's advocacy efforts and how to become an advocate yourself, visit voices.kidney.org. You can also email us directly at advocacy@kidney.org.

In this episode you will hear from Irene Blanco, M.D., M.S., a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Associate Dean for Office of Diversity Enhancement. She specializes in the treatment of people with autoimmune diseases, such as lupus. You will also hear from Shanika Chuying, a person living with lupus nephritis.

For more information on lupus and lupus nephritis, visit kidney.org/atoz/content/lupus. You can find a full transcript of the conversation at kidney.org/doctor-patient-dialogue.

In this episode, you will hear from:

Joseph A. Vassalotti, MD:

Nephrologist Joseph A. Vassalotti, MD, is the Chief Medical Officer of the National Kidney Foundation and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY. He received his medical degree with Distinction in Research from the SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine and completed an Internal Medicine Residency and Nephrology Fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. At NKF, his major focus is implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in chronic kidney disease (CKD), including the NKF’s Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI), particularly through guidance of the NKF’s primary care initiative, called CKDintercept. He has served as co-principal investigator for the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), demonstration project “CKD Health Evaluation and Risk Information Sharing” (CHERISH), which aimed to identify individuals at high risk for kidney disease in the U.S. and as an investigator for the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored clustered practice randomized trial entitled, “Evidenced-Based Primary Care for Kidney Disease.”

For more resources on COVID-19 for kidney patients, visit www.kidney.org/coronavirus

In this episode, you will hear from:

Brittany Sparks, RDN, CSR:

Brittany Sparks is a registered dietician and board-certified specialist in renal nutrition. Her private practice focuses heavily in helping those with chronic kidney disease. She provides evidenced based medical nutrition therapy and enjoys speaking nationally on nutrition-related topics. She also creates recipes and teaches how to follow through with nutrition recommendations in the kitchen.

Eric Singer:

Eric Singer was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in 2007 and currently advocates for whole food, plant-based diets.

Additional resources:

Finding a dietitian - https://bit.ly/378LNtG

Finding a dietitian - https://bit.ly/3xcfa8Q

KDOQI guidelines: https://bit.ly/3rIxxRC

Plant-based Recipes: https://bit.ly/3ycxNLt

More plant-based info: https://bit.ly/3BUr8aP

In this episode, you will hear from:

Dinushika Mohottige, MD, MPH:

Dr. Mohottige is a Nephrologist and Medical Instructor in the Division of Nephrology at Duke University Hospitals. She received a B.A. in Public Policy and a Health Policy Certificate from Duke University in 2006, where she was a Robertson Scholar. She then earned an MPH in Health Behavior/Health Education from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and a medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, followed by Internal Medicine and Nephrology training at Duke University. She now works under the mentorship of Dr. Ebony Boulware and Dr. Clarissa Diamantidis to engage in patient and community-centered, inequity-focused research around the impact of socio-structural factors on kidney health and kidney transplantation.

Mitchell R. Lunn, MD, MAS, FACP, FASN:

Dr. Lunn is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Nephrology of the Department of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. As an internist and nephrologist with a strong interest in technology and sexual and gender minority health, Mitch’s research is designed to characterize the health and well-being of these populations. Mitch is the co-director of PRIDEnet, a participant-powered research network of SGM people that engages SGM communities at all stages of the biomedical research process: research question generation and prioritization, study design, recruitment, participation, data analysis, and results dissemination. He currently serves on the American Society of Nephrology’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

PA State Representative Brian Sims:

Brian Sims is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 182nd district. Elected in 2012, Sims is also a lawyer and activist on LGBTQ+ civil rights. Sims is the first openly gay elected state legislator in Pennsylvania history. In January of 2020, he donated his kidney to his friend. He has been vocal about supporting organ and tissue donation. Currently, he is a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania in the 2022 election.

We answer the following questions:

1. Is it safe to get the COVID-19 vaccine if you have kidney disease?
2. Should I go to the doctor to determine if I have developed antibodies from the COVID-19 vaccine?
3. If I don’t develop antibodies after getting the COVID-19 vaccine, should I get another one?
4. I am a transplant recipient. Will the vaccine protect me if I get COVID-19, even if it’s only 50% effective?
5. I am a dialysis recipient. Will the vaccine protect me if I get COVID-19, even if it’s only 50% effective?
6. I’m a transplant patient. Does my family need to continue wearing a mask around me and others?
7. Is it safe for a transplant or dialysis patient to work in an office without a mask with a coworker who is not vaccinated and won’t wear a mask?
8. I am immunosuppressed and vaccinated, but my grandson is not. Should I continue wearing a mask around him?
9. Is it safe for fully vaccinated family members to be around transplant and dialysis patients without a mask?
10. If someone already had COVID-19 do they need two doses of the vaccine?
11. If a transplant or dialysis patient did not get second shot in time, can they start the process over?
12. Did the new masking guidelines from the CDC create a false sense of security?
13. What should kidney patients do if they get COVID-19?

In this episode, you will hear from:

Joseph A. Vassalotti, MD:

Nephrologist Joseph A. Vassalotti, MD, is the Chief Medical Officer of the National Kidney Foundation and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY. He received his medical degree with Distinction in Research from the SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine and completed an Internal Medicine Residency and Nephrology Fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. At NKF, his major focus is implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in chronic kidney disease (CKD), including the NKF’s Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI), particularly through guidance of the NKF’s primary care initiative, called CKDintercept. He has served as co-principal investigator for the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), demonstration project “CKD Health Evaluation and Risk Information Sharing” (CHERISH), which aimed to identify individuals at high risk for kidney disease in the U.S. and as an investigator for the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored clustered practice randomized trial entitled, “Evidenced-Based Primary Care for Kidney Disease.”

For more resources on COVID-19 for kidney patients, visit www.kidney.org/coronavirus

In this episode, you will hear from:

Dr. Kerry Willis:

Dr. Kerry Willis is Chief Scientific Officer at the National Kidney Foundation and co-developer of the Patient Network. Dr. Willis received her PhD in Molecular Genetics from New York University Medical Center and has been with NKF since 1998. She founded NKF's Medical Activities division and made it a priority to identify and apply the best science available to improve kidney disease patient care and outcomes.

Dr. Lesley Inker:

Lesley A. Inker, MD, MS is a nephrologist who serves as Director of the Kidney and Blood Pressure Center and Director of the Kidney Function and Evaluation Center at Tufts Medical Center. She is also chair of the NKF Patient Network Steering Committee. Dr. Inker’s research has established her as an expert in the implementation of estimated glomerular filtration rate by clinical laboratories, as well as an expert in estimating and measuring kidney function.

Dr. Alex Chang:

Dr. Alexander Chang is a nephrologist, assistant professor of Clinical Research and co-director of the Kidney Health Research Institute at Geisinger. He is engaged in research dedicated to preventing and delaying CKD progression and its complications. His research areas include interventional studies focused on improving lifestyle behaviors in patients with hypertension and patients with early CKD; using observational data from Geisinger and other large cohorts to identify potential avenues to improve management of CKD and hypertension; and health system interventions to improve early recognition and optimized management of early kidney disease. Dr. Alex Chang also serves as NKF Patient Network PI for Geisinger site.

Curtis Warfield:

Curtis Warfield is a kidney patient and patient stakeholder on the Patient Network Advisory Committee. In 2012 he was diagnosed with Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) due to FSGS. In 2016, he received a kidney from his daughter’s college sorority sister. Curtis, a passionate advocate for CKD, organ donation and living donors provides peer counseling with the NKF Peer Program. He also serves as member of NKF’s Kidney Advocacy Committee, where he advocates with members of Congress for kidney and organ donor issues.

Cari Maxwell:

Cari Maxwell is a kidney patient and patient stakeholder on the Patient Network Advisory Committee.  She was diagnosed with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease in 1989 and has been an active supporter of the National Kidney Foundation. She hopes that through her commitment to the awareness of chronic kidney diseases, others will take an active role in their health journey through early detection, healthy choices, and becoming a strong voice themselves in advocating for those that cannot.

Learn more about the NKF Patient Network by visiting www.kidney.org/nkfpatientnetwork.

In this episode, you will hear from:

Dr. Sarah Schrauben:

Dr. Schrauben is a researcher and Assistant Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology in the Division of Renal, Electrolyte, and Hypertension, and Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics at the Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Schrauben's research focuses on the impact of health behaviors and modifiable risk factors in the development and management of chronic kidney disease and its complications, as well as addressing implementation gaps of evidence-based care in CKD.

The episode is moderated by NKF patient advocate Jessica Washington. Jessica was diagnosed with stage 2 kidney disease in 2019. She has been extremely motivated to advocate for the National Kidney Foundation to help others fight for better understanding, awareness, support, and anything else she can do to make it easier for so many out there dealing with this disease.

Learn more about Dr. Schrauben’s research by visiting www.kidney.org/newsletter/are-mobile-apps-wave-future-kidney-care.

In this episode, you will hear from:

Dr. Frita Fisher: Dr. Frita is the founder and president of her own nephrology practice (Midtown Atlanta Nephrology, P.C.), and the medical director of a non-profit dialysis unit.  She now spreads her medical knowledge as a medical expert commentator, and has appeared as a medical expert on shows such as 11 Alive News NBC, the Emmy Award Winning Paternity Court, and others. Her YouTube channel (Dr. Frita) has over 270,000 subscribers. 

Gary Petingola, MSW, RSW:

Gary has received formal training with Dr. Jon Kabat- Zinn, founder of The Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School; the Centre for Mindfulness Ireland; the OMEGA Institute for Holistic Studies; Shambhala Mountain Center; the Harvard Medical School; and the Community for Mindful Living. Gary has recently published his first book titled The Response – Practicing Mindfulness In Your Daily Life. 

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccines for kidney patients, visit www.kidney.org/coronavirus/vaccines-kidney-disease