Shuchi Anand, MD, MS

Director of the Center for Tubulointerstitial Kidney Disease at Stanford University

Shuchi Anand M.D. M.S. is Director of the Center for Tubulointerstitial Kidney Disease at Stanford University. She received her Medical Degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and completed her internal medicine training at Brigham and Women's Hospital (Partners Healthcare, Harvard Medical School) in Boston. She completed her Masters in Clinical Epidemiology and nephrology fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Dr. Anand is engaged in clinical research aimed at advancing the care of patients with kidney disease living in low-resource settings using practical tools. She has active projects in collaboration with University of Utah promote exercise programming for underserved populations, with Center for Chronic Disease Control in India to study risk factors for kidney disease in South Asians, and with Kandy Hospital Sri Lanka to investigate chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology affecting agricultural communities. During the COVID19 pandemic Dr Anand also participated in partnership to elucidate sero-epidemiology, vaccine acceptance and response to vaccination among patients on dialysis. She is part of two NIH consortia focused on improving the health of underserved populations.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)

Member, Congressional Kidney Cuacus

A lifelong resident of Portland, Oregon, Congressman Earl Blumenauer is one of Oregon's innovative leaders. Raised in SE Portland, Earl attended Centennial High School. While still a college student at Lewis and Clark College, he led the campaign in Oregon to lower the voting age. He was a key player just two years later as one of the youngest legislators in Oregon's history in a landmark session for school funding, ethics reform and Oregon's groundbreaking land use laws.

As a Multnomah County Commissioner and member of the Portland City Council, Earl's innovative accomplishments in transportation with light rail, bicycles and the street car, planning and environmental programs and public participation helped Portland earn an international reputation as one of America's most livable cities.

Elected to the US House of Representatives in 1996, Earl has been a tireless advocate for the 3rd Congressional District. He's recognized for his creative, innovative policies and accomplishments, and also his political leadership in Oregon and nationwide. He tackles controversial issues and finds ways to break ideological and partisan gridlock with a unique approach to problem solving that brings people together.

He is currently a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Ranking Member of the subcommittee on Trade and a member of the subcommittee on Health. Earl is also serving as a senior member on the Budget Committee. Earl has been a champion for rebuilding and renewing our nation's infrastructure, economic security for families, protection of public lands, stopping gun violence, ending the prohibition of marijuana, and criminal justice reform.

Lisa Bonebrake

Executive Director of Alport Syndrome Foundation

Lisa Bonebrake is an Alport syndrome patient, caregiver, advocate, and Executive Director of Alport Syndrome Foundation, a patient support organization led by and dedicated to individuals living with this rare genetic kidney disease. In 2014, after her youngest son was diagnosed with Alport syndrome, Lisa began writing grant applications, attending patient advocacy events, and planning patient programs for the organization as a volunteer. Her son's diagnosis led to the understanding of her own misdiagnosis stretching back more than four decades. With 30 years of experience in nonprofit administration, she joined the staff of Alport Syndrome Foundation in 2018. In 2021, her then 19-year-old son experienced ESRD and dialysis, and was given the gift of life through living kidney donation by his then 21-year-old brother. Lisa has published articles from the patient and caregiver perspective in the Journal of Glomerular Diseases and in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. She has advocated on Capitol Hill for legislation related to CKD and served on multi-stakeholder working groups for which she has presented findings to the Congressional Kidney Caucus and the Rare Disease Legislative Caucus. Lisa is motivated to help improve the lives of other patients and families living with kidney disease, both pre-and-post transplant, and to support much needed advancements in treatment options/cures for rare kidney conditions.

Najat Bouchkouj, MD

Acting Associate Director for Pediatrics in the Office of Clinical Evaluation (OCE), Office of Therapeutic Products (OTP), Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, FDA

Dr. Bouchkouj joined the FDA in 2016 as a clinical reviewer in the office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies (OTAT), now known as OTP, at CBER. She earned her medical degree from Damascus University, Syria and completed a residency in Pediatrics at the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Bouchkouj then completed a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology Oncology at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC. During her fellowship, she worked on tumor microenvironment in rhabdomyosarcoma in the laboratory of Dr. Terry Fry, NCI, NIH. Following her fellowship, she was an Instructor at Harvard Medical School and worked as an Emergency Room attending physician at Boston Children's Hospital. Subsequently, she joined the Division of Pediatric Hematology Oncology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. She continues to serve as a consulting oncologist at Children's National Health System.

Cary Boyd-Shiwarski, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor in Medicine in the Renal-Electrolyte Division at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Cary Boyd-Shiwarski, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist with a longstanding interest in renal physiology, starting with her PhD at Dartmouth College, then MD at University of Pittsburgh, and now a career in Nephrology. She is an Assistant Professor in Medicine in the Renal-Electrolyte Division at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her research focuses on the role of with-no-lysine kinases (WNKs)¬—integrating WNK function at the molecular level with physiology, including blood pressure and electrolyte regulation. Dr. Boyd-Shiwarski and her collaborators recently discovered that WNK kinases form signaling scaffolds in the kidney during stress, called WNK bodies. These scaffolds are a type of biomolecular condensate that enhance cellular signaling and improve cellular fitness during stress. Over the past decade the field of biomolecular condensates has grown exponentially and made transformative advances in our understanding of cellular organization. Yet question remain, including how condensates are relevant for physiology, pharmacology, and disease. Dr. Boyd-Shiwarski is currently addressing these topics through her research supported by KidneyCure and the Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar investigating the effects of calcineurin inhibitors on WNK body biomolecular condensates in the kidneys. Dr. Boyd-Shiwarski is excited to take these benchtop discoveries and translate them into patient care. To achieve this, she has established the Center for Inherited Kidney Diseases, an outpatient clinic focused on patients with rare diseases, as well as collaborating with the Starzl Transplant Institute. Being part of groundbreaking work in both the laboratory and clinic has been incredibly rewarding.

Congressman Larry Bucshon, MD (IN-08)

Co-Chair, Congressional Kidney Caucus

Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. (pronounced: "Boo-shon") represents the Eighth District of Indiana, which encompasses all or part of 21 counties in Southern and West Central Indiana. First elected to the House of Representatives in 2010, Dr. Bucshon currently serves as a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Energy and Commerce Committee is the oldest standing legislative committee in the House of Representatives and has a broad jurisdiction over our nation's energy, health care, telecommunications and consumer product safety policies. On the committee, Dr. Bucshon serves as Vice Chair of the Health Subcommittee, and is a member of the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee and the Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee. During his first two terms in Congress, Dr. Bucshon served on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee - where he served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Research in the 113th Congress. Before coming to Congress, Dr. Bucshon was a practicing physician and surgeon specializing in cardiothoracic surgery. During his time in private practice, Dr. Bucshon performed hundreds of heart surgeries and served as President of Ohio Valley HeartCare. His outstanding work and leadership in this field led to him being honored as the St. Mary's (now Ascension St. Vincent) Medical Staff Physician of the Year in 2006. Dr. Bucshon also served as Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Medical Director of the open heart recovery intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital. During his time in practice, Dr. Bucshon was board certified in Cardiothoracic Surgery by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

John Carroll, MD

Co-founder of Vexev

Dr John Carroll is a co-founder of Australian medical imaging company Vexev. Vexev is developing an automated 3D ultrasound system and software for upper limb imaging, with application in vein mapping and vascular access scanning for patients with late and end stage kidney disease.

Since 2018, as co-founder of Vexev, John and the team have been developing the robotic tomographic ultrasound (RTU) modality. They have iterated multiple prototypes of their technology, have published in the Journal of Vascular Access and will soon commence clinical work in the US. The team hopes to assist clinicians in the management of ESKD patients' vascular accesses at scale, through proactive and accessible imaging at the point of care (e.g dialysis centers and Nephrology practices).

Deidra C. Crews, MD, ScM, FASN

Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) School of Medicine

Deidra C. Crews, MD, ScM, FASN, is Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) School of Medicine, where she also serves as Associate Director for Faculty Development in the Division of Nephrology as well as Deputy Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity.

Dr. Crews studied medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri and completed both her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in nephrology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She also earned an ScM in clinical epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Crews's research interests span many issues in health equity, exploring the intersection of clinical practice and public policy. These interests include the burden of kidney disease among socially disadvantaged populations; addressing social and behavioral risk factors for kidney disease and hypertension, such as food insecurity and unhealthy dietary patterns; and optimizing care processes for people living with kidney failure. Her work has earned her the Johns Hopkins President's Frontier Award (2018), the W. Lester Henry Award for Diversity and Access to Care from American College of Physicians (2019), the ASN Distinguished Leader Award (2019) and election to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (2020).

Dr. Crews has served ASN and the kidney community extensively. Among her many appointments, she was a member of the NKF-ASN Task Force on Reassessing the Inclusion of Race in Diagnosing Kidney Diseases, a member of the Kidney Week Education Committee (which she co-chaired in 2021), and a member of the Continuous Professional Development Committee. She was previously a member of the Chronic Kidney Disease Comprehensive Care Model Task Force, chair of the Chronic Kidney Disease Advisory Group, and chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Bruce F. Culleton, MD

Chief Executive Officer of ProKidney

Dr Culleton is Chief Executive Officer of ProKidney, a clinical-stage biotechnology company with a transformative proprietary cell therapy platform with the potential for treating Chronic Kidney Disease using a patient's own cells. Previously, he was Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at CVS Kidney Care. Before joining CVS Heath, he was Vice President Global Clinical Development and World Wide Vice President, Medical Affairs, Medication and Procedural Solutions at Becton Dickinson, and previously Vice President, Renal Therapeutic Area at Baxter Healthcare. Prior to beginning his industry career in 2007, Dr Culleton was a Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary.

Dr Culleton holds a Bachelor's degree in Medical Science and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. He completed a specialization in Internal Medicine and Nephrology through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, as well as a fellowship in Clinical Epidemiology at Boston University, Framingham Heart Study.

Gary C. Curhan, MD, FASN

Practicing Nephrologist at Brigham Women's Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School

Dr. Curhan is a practicing nephrologist at Brigham Women's Hospital and Professor of Medicine (Part-time) at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Curhan was the Chief Medical Officer at OM1, a leading health outcomes and technology company focused on Real-World Data to generate Real World Evidence. Dr. Curhan has published widely on many medical conditions including chronic kidney disease, kidney stones, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, gout, hearing loss and others. His research in several large cohort studies, including the Nurses' Health Studies and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, focuses on the prevention of common diseases by investigating scientifically and clinically important questions and has been continuously supported by the NIH for over 30 years. Previously, Dr. Curhan was the Editor-in-Chief of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. He has also served on many national and international advisory committees.

Manisha Dadhania, MBA

Senior Director of Global Marketing Mozarc Medical

Manisha Dadhania brings over 18 years of experience in the medical device sector where she has primarily led businesses focused on chronic disease and care coordination. She has made meaningful contributions by leveraging a strategic approach for overcoming barriers and increasing access to therapies beyond standard of care. Her roles in research & development and operations have uniquely complemented her leadership in product marketing at Covidien, HeartWare, and most recently, Medtronic. Manisha's current role is the Senior Director of Global Marketing for the renal care division. Her responsibilities include new product strategy, global market development/expansion, portfolio management, and commercial launch. In her role, she leads the Home & Chronic Therapies product marketing organization dedicated to elevating the patient experience and driving adoption for novel, home dialysis technologies across both PD and HHD. She holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University and an MBA from Babson College.

Carrie DiMarzio

CEO and Board Member of BMI OrganBank

Carrie DiMarzio is CEO and Board Member of BMI OrganBank. She has dedicated her career to creating a better future for those in need of organ transplants through her leadership skills and expertise in science and engineering. BMI OrganBank is developing novel medical devices to eliminate the waitlist for lifesaving organ transplants through better organ assessment, preservation, and transport technologies. Carrie is shepherding their first FDA-approved product to market. Her prior achievements include gaining FDA Emergency Use Authorization for a novel ventilator during the COVID-19 pandemic and serving as CEO of Industrial Hard Carbon, a developer of high-technology thin film coatings.

Lashodya Dissanayake, MD, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of South Florida

Dr. Dissanayake is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of South Florida with an overall research goal to understand how renal pathophysiology impacts cardiovascular diseases. Studying kidneys has a personal meaning for her as she is from Sri Lanka, a country with a higher prevalence of CKD of unknown etiology. In the process of her Ph.D. career, she became interested in studying how uric acid homeostasis affects kidney health and diseases as well as blood pressure control. The debate around asymptomatic hyperuricemia is extremely relevant to informing the clinical guidelines of CKD. She believes continuing to study this topic in her postdoctoral fellowship will help her become an expert in this field while producing new insights. She has also been involved in several other projects relating to renal physiology, including the investigation of amino acid metabolism, purinergic signaling, circadian rhythm regulation, ion channel regulation in the context of salt-sensitive hypertension, autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, and diabetes. Dr. Dissanayake has been a member of the American Society of Nephrology since 2021 and is currently funded by the ASN Dimitrios G. Oreopoulus Research Fellowship Award.

Ogo I. Egbuna, MD, MSc, FASN

Vertex

Ogo Egbuna works at Vertex leading the company's precision medicine kidney programs in APOL1-mediated and Polycystic kidney disease, which aim to develop potentially curative treatments by targeting the underlying cause of these conditions. Of recent, he worked closely with the KHI board of directors, on the Steering Committee of the KHI project: "Roadmap to Increase Disease Awareness and Clinical Trial Participation of People Carrying High-risk Genetic Variants of APOL1-mediated Nephropathy". He currently serves on the KHI BoD on the biologics subcommittee and the KHI sickle cell nephropathy working group. He completed medical school at the University of Nigeria followed by training in internal medicine at Mount Sinai NY, general nephrology at the University of Rochester, NY, Kidney/Pancreas transplantation medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and completed a research fellowship in Endocrinology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital under Dr Edward Brown under an NIH K08 award. He also completed a Masters in Clinical Investigation and therapeutics development under a Pfizer/Merck award at the Harvard/MIT School of Health Sciences and Technology. After training, he worked as an attending transplant physician at Harvard Medical School conducting industry and NIH sponsored research in transplantation before spending a decade at Amgen working on developing biologics for a range of severe diseases and eventually ending up at Vertex.

Tim Fitzpatrick

Co-founder and CEO of IKONA

Tim Fitzpatrick is the co-founder and CEO of IKONA, a learning company trusted by over 250 clinics to improve ESRD outcomes using virtual reality and analytics. His interest in healthcare stems from his own experiences as a patient in the US Navy and VA Health System. Before launching his first company, Tim worked as an equities trader in New York where he covered emerging technologies (AR, VR, AI) and new media (streaming, studios, content). Building on his co-founders' research, Tim launched IKONA in 2017 to help tackle the uncertainties he once faced in the Navy, a company now backed by top research, healthcare and technology partners including the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, StartUp Health and NVIDIA. He has served as Principal Investigator on multiple patient education-focused research grants, published several papers on the neuroscience of learning and immersive technologies in a leading peer-reviewed nephrology journal, and supported early stage healthcare technology startups as Venture Partner at New York-based FundRx. He also writes Signals, a newsletter about the future of kidney care read by over 10,000 industry and academic leaders across the space, from learning to life sciences, and diagnostics to medical devices.

Kevin J. Fowler

Founder of The Voice of the Patient, Inc.

Kevin Fowler worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 25 years in both the commercial and R&D organizations. His career has encompassed a breadth and depth of skills and experiences. During his pharma career, he demonstrated leadership in sales management, training, public affairs, global marketing, patient advocacy, and patient marketing. He formed his own patient advocacy and patient engagement consulting business in 2014, "The Voice of the Patient, Inc. His clients currently include Alexion, Dimerix, EnyoeGenesis , Bayer, Travere Therapeutics, Memo Therapeutics, ProKidney, and In 2017, Kevin was selected to be a Patient Editor, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. In 2021, Kevin was awarded the American Society of Transplantation Transplant Advocacy Award. He has contributed or been the primary author of over 15 articles published in the American Journal of Kidney Disease, American Journal of Transplantation, Clinical Journal of American Society of Nephrology, and Kidney Medicine. Based on his personal experiences of having a pre-emptive kidney transplant in 2004, he has a deep passion for patient advocacy and patient engagement.

Patrick O. Gee, Sr, PhD, JLC

Founder & Chief Executive Hope Dealer, iAdvocate, Inc.

Patrick O. Gee, Sr., Ph.D., JLC Founder & Chief Executive Hope Dealer, iAdvocate, Inc. Patrick Gee graduated from the American University School of Public Affairs in 2012 with a Doctor of Philosophy in Justice, Law, & Criminology. Patrick is a former Peritoneal/Hemodialysis patient due to suffering from Diabetic Kidney Disease. Patrick has been a Post-Kidney Transplant Recipient since April 2017. Patrick is also a retired Major/Chief of Security from the Virginia Department of Corrections; and currently serves as the Founder & CEHD of iAdvocate, Inc., a non-profit Faith-based Health & Wellness organization. He is also an Ordained Minister at Mountain Movers Ministry in Richmond, VA. As a Patient Representative for the Diabetes Kidney Disease-Collaborative Task Force and an advocate for those living with chronic kidney disease and the morbid conditions that contribute to this disease, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and obesity, Patrick uses his personal experiences to teach, coach, mentor, and educate others on how best to manage their outcomes. He also ensures that underserved, undervalued, and disenfranchised communities of color have a voice in their quality of life and equitable healthcare access. He also serves as Chair of the Kidney Health Initiative's Patient Family Partnership Council and is on ASN's APOL-1 Kidney Disease Steering Committee.

Debbie Gipson, MD, MS

Program Director and Scientific Advisor, NIH/NIDDK/KUH

As Program Director and Scientific Advisor, Dr. Gipson oversees and directs research programs associated with the design, analysis and interpretation of Clinical Trials and an array of translational and clinical research to increase the preparation for clinical trials, including natural history, target identification, and development and validation of biomarkers and clinical outcome measures.

Mandar Gori

Chief Business Officer at AWAK Technologies

Mandar is a seasoned life sciences executive with a career spanning 20 years across United States and Asia in various commercial roles in start-ups, multinationals as well as government.

As the Chief Business Officer at AWAK Technologies, Mandar Gori leads Commercial, Marketing, Clinical and Business Development departments. Under his leadership, US FDA granted Breakthrough Device Designation to AWAK's wearable dialysis product in 2019 and AI models in 2023, two major milestone for AWAK as it became first in the region to achieve this designation and the first globally in the kidney care industry. In his role as the Head of Clinical, AWAK completed its First-In-Human clinical trial proving for the first time safety of a wearable artificial kidney and recently the Pre-Pivotal Trial showing long-term safety in humans. At AWAK, he was instrumental in successfully closing Singapore's largest MedTech Series A funding round.

Paul Grill, MBA

Vice Chairman of the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland

Paul A. Grill was elected vice chairman of the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland board of directors. Grill brings 20 years of experience in product innovation and corporate development. Before becoming an independent contractor, he was a partner at Annapolis Consulting, Inc. and a programmer analyst for Goldman, Sachs & Co. He earned a bachelor's degree from Binghamton University and an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. As a living kidney donor, Grill shares a mission connection with NKF-MD. He joined the Foundation board in 2012 and has served as assistant treasurer for the past year.

Samit Gupta, PhD

Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Alio, Inc

Samit Gupta, Ph.D. is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Alio, Inc, where he helped develop the world's first noninvasive potassium monitor and the Alio remote monitoring platform for chronic kidney disease. Samit has spent his career developing and commercializing biomedical sensing technology both as a researcher and entrepreneur. Samit holds a Ph.D. from Ohio State University in Biomedical Engineering and was also the co-founder of O2 Insights (acquired by J&J Wound Care).

Katie Hallum

Kidney Advocate

Katie Hallum is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a recent graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a dual degree in Journalism and International Security. She currently works for Oklahoma City's NPR station as their Indigenous Affairs reporter and was previously the All Things Considered host for southeastern Oklahoma's NPR station. Katie was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy in 2020, went into kidney failure in 2022, and received her kidney transplant ten months ago in August of 2023. She plans on attending law school in fall of 2025 to study International Law.

Brad Keller, MS, PhD

Senior Director, Clinical Research Strategy, Baxter Healthcare

Brad Keller is the Senior Director for Clinical Research Strategy at Baxter Healthcare where he leads clinical development activities for all aspects for medical device development across the product lifecycle of the nephrology business. He received the Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University and was subsequently awarded a research fellowship in breast cancer research from the Susan G. Komen foundation while a postdoctoral fellow and research associate at the University of Pennsylvania. He transitioned from academia to the medical device industry in 2016, and has since been involved in product development and clinical effectiveness research, having been awarded 2 patents and overseen the approval studies of multiple products submitted to regulatory agencies globally. He has also authored over 4 dozen peer-reviewed journal articles, invited editorials, and conference presentations. The intellectual property and product development work is now in use caring for tens of millions of patients worldwide each year. He is also a committed mentor, taking an active role in coaching and supporting the professional development of early career engineers and researchers in his capacity as senior leader in his organization.

Austin Lee

Patient Advocate, American Association Of Kidney Patients

Austin Lee is a two-time kidney transplant recipient from the DC-Maryland-Virginia Area. Austin was born with a rare birth defect known as Posterior Urethral Valves that caused his two native kidneys to be nonfunctional. Austin had to undergo peritoneal dialysis twice in his life as a renal pediatric patient and adult renal patient. At the age of four years old Austin's received his mother's kidney that allowed him to live a healthy life free of dialysis for fourteen years. In 2007 Austin's first transplanted Kidney unfortunately went into renal rejection and he then had to undergo Peritoneal dialysis for the second time at the age of seventeen years old for three years. Austin received his second kidney transplant on June 8, 2010, via kidney paired exchange program from an unrelated living donor. Since receiving his transplants Austin has a passion for educating others in the community about kidney disease. Austin currently serves as a Patient Family Advisory Council Member of Children's National Medical Center where he is committed to improving the overall care and experiences for patients and families of the hospital. Austin is also currently pursuing a career in early childhood and is in the process of becoming a certified child life specialist to help other pediatric kidney patients who have experienced similar battles to his. Austin has advocated on behalf of various kidney organizations and is devoted to promoting awareness of kidney disease and patient choice in dialysis options.

Lauren L. Lee, MA

Director, Patient Advocacy Travere Therapeutics

Lauren Lee has spent the last 12 years working in the patient advocacy arena, specifically in rare kidney disease. She has been instrumental in creating a shared sense of purpose across multiple stakeholder groups that has helped drive therapeutic innovation forward. Lauren's current role is Executive Director of Patient Advocacy at Travere Therapeutics, a biotech focused on rare disease. Her responsibilities include nephrology and metabolic disorders advocacy strategy, voice of patient integration into workstreams, content development, and relationship building. In her role, she oversees the Rare Disease Patient Advisory Council (RDPAC) and serves as a liaison with several professional organizations including ASN. Prior to joining Travere, Lauren spent 10 years at NephCure where she learned from patient families and led several functions including industry engagement, patient education and programming, and research programs. In 2024, Lauren was recognized as a Luminary in Healthcare Businesswomen's Association Rising Stars and Luminaries. She holds a BA from Carleton University, Ottawa Ontario, and a master's degree from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in History Museum Studies.

Sarah Lee

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Relavo

Sarah Lee is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Relavo, a medical device startup that aims to increase the safety and accessibility of home dialysis. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering (2019) and a Master of Science in Engineering in Mechanical Engineering (2020) from Johns Hopkins University.

Under her leadership, Relavo has raised $2,000,000 in non-dilutive funding, including National Science Foundation SBIR Phase I & II awards and the KidneyX Redesign Dialysis Phase II award, been granted multiple patents globally, and participated in various startup accelerators. Relavo's work has also been recognized by KidneyX, the James Dyson Award, and the National Kidney Foundation.

Jonathan Levinsohn, MD, PhD

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Jonathan Levinsohn, MD, PhD is a pediatric nephrology fellow at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and post-doc researcher in Katalin Susztak's lab at the University of Pennsylvania. Having completed his MD and PhD at Yale University, he developed his interest in using genomic technologies to better understand human disease while working in the lab of Dr. Keith Choate. He did his residency at CHOP completing the Accelerated Research Pathway. In his post-doc, Dr. Levinsohn has been working with single cell sequencing and single cell spatial technologies to better understand human kidney development. His hope is to eventually expand this project to understand the molecular underpinning of not just normal kidney development, but also to better understand what happens when development goes wrong. As a clinician, he sees the effects of obstruction, preterm birth or placental insufficiency, and hopes to understand the molecular underpinnings of these insults. He believes that if we can understand the molecular mechanisms of these insults, maybe we can develop therapeutics to alleviate their deleterious effects.

Catherine H. MacLean, MD, PhD

Professor of Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College

Catherine MacLean, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College, is the Chief Value Medical Officer at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) where she leads the development and execution of strategies to measure, report and improve health care quality and value. As part of this role she directs the HSS Center for the Advancement of Value in Musculoskeletal Care, which pulls together expertise from across the organization to rapidly develop and deploy programs, systems and tools that will fast-track the delivery of high value musculoskeletal care at HSS and beyond.

Dr. MacLean is a nationally recognized expert on healthcare quality and value with a diverse leadership experience including strategic planning, implementation and evaluation of population health, quality and value programs. She has previously served as the executive leader of quality and care management programs at Anthem/WellPoint; principal investigator on numerous academic research projects at UCLA and RAND; and as a director, chair or participant on numerous national committees and panels related to health care quality and value.

Dr. MacLean obtained her MD from Washington University, St. Louis. She completed training in internal medicine at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and in rheumatology at UCLA's Center for the Health Sciences. She obtained her PhD in health services from UCLA's School of Public Health.

Roslyn B. Mannon, MD, FASN, BRCU Faculty

Professor of Internal Medicine, and Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the University of Nebraska

Dr. Roslyn B. Mannon is a Professor of Internal Medicine, and Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and serves as Vice-Chair for Research and Associate Chief of Research in the Division of Nephrology. A Duke-trained nephrologist, Dr. Mannon is a translational investigator in late kidney allograft outcomes. Her laboratory research focuses on mechanisms of chronic graft injury using in vitro and in vivo models of drug toxicity and kidney transplantation. She has published over 250 peer-reviewed publications on chronic allograft failure, post-transplant complications, and novel therapeutics and clinical trials and is funded by the National Institutes of Health and Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Mannon has held multiple leadership positions in the field of transplantation. She is a past president of the American Society of Transplantation (AST), the immediate past chair of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) Review Committee and immediate past Chair of Women in Transplantation, an initiative of the Transplantation Society. She currently serves as a Deputy Editor of the American Journal of Transplantation, the Chair of the American Society of Nephrology Policy and Advocacy Committee, Trustee of the Banff Foundation for Allograft Pathology and has been a member of the Critical Path Institute's Transplant Therapeutics Consortium (TTC) Steering Committee. She has received numerous awards in her career including the Distinguished Scientist Award from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2021, the AST Senior Achievement Award in Clinical Transplantation in 2022, the TTC Trailblazer Award, and the AAKP Medal of Excellence for Transplant Professional this year. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Nephrology and a fellow of the American Society of Nephrology and the American Society of Transplantation.

Susan F. Massengill, MD

Specialty Medical Director of Outpatient Services and Director of Pediatric Nephrology and Hypertension at Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital

Susan F. Massengill, MD is Specialty Medical Director of Outpatient Services and Director of Pediatric Nephrology and Hypertension at Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital. She received her undergraduate degree from Meredith College, followed by her medical degree and Pediatric residency at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC followed by a fellowship at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. Dr. Massengill has been involved locally with National Kidney Foundation and served as Board Chair, the National Kidney Foundation of North Carolina and honored with their Service Volunteer Award (2007) and Clinical Excellence Award (2024). On the national level, she has served in leadership roles for the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology and several Editorial Boards. She recently co-chaired an NKF Scientific Workshop on Improving Vaccination in Chronic Kidney Disease. She is actively involved on local and national levels in areas of research around nephrotic syndrome and quality initiatives for hypertension, immunizations, and shared decision-making in chronic illness. She has long advocated for improving pediatric inclusion and recruitment for nephrotic syndrome clinical trials.

Mallika Mendu, MD, MBA

Vice President Clinical Operations and Care Continuum, BWH

As Vice President Clinical Operations and Care Continuum, Mallika Mendu, MD, MBA is responsible for the transformation of care delivery at BWH to ensure the implementation of strategic priorities related to inpatient operations, care continuum management and population health. She is also responsible for ensuring that quality, safety, access, patient and family experience and efficiency can be met along the continuum of care. Dr. Mendu leads efforts related to medical affairs, clinical integration, care management, physician coaching, and advancing postgraduate training. She previously held leadership roles in the Brigham Department of Quality and Safety and MGB Population Health Management.

Dr. Mendu completed her internal medicine residency at the BWH, her nephrology training at the BWH and MGH, and her MD and MBA degrees at the Yale School of Medicine and the Yale School of Management, respectively. She received her Bachelor's in Science from Brown University. She serves in the Department of Medicine, Renal Division, as a practicing nephrologist, clinical researcher, and associate professor, and conducts research related to quality, population health, equity and care delivery innovation. She has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications and provides mentorship to trainees conducting research in health care delivery innovation.

Janis Naeve, PhD

Venture Partner, Cota Capital

Janis Naeve joined Cota Capital in 2022 is a Venture Partner on the investment team. Prior to Cota, Janis was at Amgen, Inc. since 2005 where she was instrumental in establishing the corporate venture group, Amgen Ventures. During that time she led a team that invested in innovative companies developing drug discovery platforms and therapeutics. More recently Amgen Ventures' investment portfolio also encompassed companies in digital health, healthcare IT, and advanced data analytics such as AI and machine learning. Janis served on the Caltech Accelerator Fund Committee, the Silicon Valley Bank Healthcare Advisory Committee, the KidneyX Accelerator, and the Advisory Council of Incubator Coalition. Janis was named 2021's Fiercest Women in Life Sciences by Fierce Pharma. Janis has an undergraduate degree in Microbiology from Cal Poly Pomona, a Ph.D. in Experimental Pathology from University of Southern California, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Neurobiology at Caltech.

Jordan Gabriela Nestor, MD, MS, FASN

Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at Columbia University

Dr. Jordan Gabriela Nestor is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at Columbia University. She specializes in the diagnosis and management of hereditary forms of kidney disease. She received her medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, completed an internal medicine residency at Weill Cornell/New York-Presbyterian, and a nephrology fellowship at Columbia University/New York-Presbyterian. She then did an additional 3-year post-doctoral training in Precision Medicine and Kidney Genomics under the mentorship of Ali G. Gharavi, MD. Dr. Nestor's research focuses on making genomics research more inclusive of understudied U.S. patient populations and on enhancing general nephrologists' ability to deliver personalized care through the development of automated decision support tools. In 2023, she received the Emerging-Generation Award from The American Society of Clinical Investigation. In 2024, she received the ASN-Harold Amos Faculty Development Award.

Susanne B. Nicholas, MD, PhD, MPH

Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Dr. Nicholas is a tenured Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Divisions of Nephrology; General Internal Medicine; and Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. She received her MD from the University of California, San Diego; MPH from San Diego State University; and PhD in Physiology and is a graduate of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-Harold Amos Faculty Development Program and the UCLA Scientific Training and Research program. She is NIH-funded and is involved in translational research to prevent the development and progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Her studies involve the development of novel therapies and identification of risk factors that contribute to DKD progression, particularly in racial and ethnic minority populations and the use of machine learning to identify targetable risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression. She is senior author of the National Kidney Foundation KDOQI US Commentary on the KDIGO 2020 and KDIGO 2022 Clinical Practice Guideline for Diabetes Management in CKD. She chairs the UCLA Nephrology Racial Health Equity Committee and serves as Vice Chair of the University of California Systemwide Council on Research Policy. She is a member of the American Society of Nephrology Health Care Justice Committee and served on the Steering Committee Kidney Health Initiative for the APOL1 Roadmap. Her awards include the National Kidney Foundation Medical Advisory Board Distinguished Service Award and the Minority Access, Inc. National Role Model Faculty Researcher Award. She directs/co-directs several NIH-funded fellowship training programs, has published >120 original papers, reviews and book chapters on DKD, hypertension and health disparities, and has presented >130 abstracts at scientific meetings. Dr. Nicholas is a member of the Board of Directors of the NKF California, Nevada & Pacific Northwest; is a grant-reviewer for several NIH and private organizations; chairs an NIH study section; serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases and is Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Dr. Nicholas is President of Women in Nephrology, serving January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024. During her presidency, Dr. Nicholas and Dr. Lisa Curtis, the immediate past WIN President, led the WIN Executive Council to a highly successful 2023 WIN Leadership Conference, and several WIN activities during the 2023 American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week.

Uptal D. Patel, MD

Chief Medical Officer, Human Immunology Biosciences, Inc. (HI-Bio)

Uptal Patel is Chief Medical Officer at HI-Bio. Prior to HI-Bio, he was the Head of Clinical Renal and Executive Group Director in Early CVRM at AstraZeneca where he led early clinical strategy and development for a wide range of therapies that address several kidney diseases. He previously led the kidney diseases domain at Gilead Sciences. He currently also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Kidney Health Initiative.

As a faculty member at Duke University, he led clinical and translational research programs to improve detection and management of kidney disease in populations. He completed training at the University of Michigan in internal medicine, pediatrics, adult nephrology, pediatric nephrology, and health services research as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar after attending medical school at UCSF.

Merve Postalcioglu

Brigham and Women's Hospital

Merve Postalcioglu is a dedicated nephrology fellow with a passion for advancing kidney health. She earned her medical degree from Hacettepe University in Turkiye before conducting research as a postdoctoral fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Her projects aimed to uncover risk factors for complications of kidney and stem cell transplantations, including allograft rejection and transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy, earning her the AST/ Lagasse Fund translational science fellowship research grant.

After completing her internal medicine residency at Kent Hospital/Brown University, she embarked on her fellowship at the University of California San Francisco, where she is currently in her third year while pursuing a master's degree in clinical research. Her research focuses on identifying novel biomarkers of kidney tubule health to enhance the diagnosis and prognosis of individuals with CKD. Her proposal to investigate a new biomarker, epidermal growth factor, and its applications in CKD diagnosis and monitoring earned her the esteemed Ben J. Lipps fellowship grant.

In addition to research, Merve actively engages in medical student teaching through small group sessions, sharing her expertise with future physicians. With a keen interest in academic medicine, she aspires to transition into an academic position post fellowship to continue her research and contribute to medical education.

Anne Rohall-Andrade, JD

Kidney Advocate

Anne is a Living Kidney Donor to her teenage daughter. Anne and her twin daughters suffered from a rare in-utero disease that affects identical twin pregnancies, "Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome" or TTTS. TTTS occurs when identical twins, who share a placenta, experience unequal blood flow in utero. The "recipient" twin receives too much amniotic fluid leading to heart failure and other complications. The "donor" twin develops with little to no amniotic fluid, often resulting in kidney disease after birth and other complications. TTTS is fatal without interventions. The twins were born at only 24 weeks and weighed a little over one pound at birth. Anne's twin daughter with kidney disease also suffered from numerous medical conditions, including Cerebral Palsy. Both girls spent years in and out of the hospital, enduring numerous medical procedures including open-heart surgery. Anne has practiced disability and healthcare law for 25 years, in a variety of positions including law firms, nonprofits, and several Government Affairs roles where she has advocated for patients, families, and their caregivers on Capitol Hill. Her healthcare career began when she served as a law clerk to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, specializing in vaccine cases. When her twins were born, Anne's personal and professional lives collided, making her even more passionate about healthcare policy. She was working as counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) when she got the call on her birthday that she was a match for her daughter. Following the transplant, Anne was assigned at HHS to work on the Advancing American Kidney Health Executive Order in partnership with the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), and the National Kidney Foundation (ASN), served as the HHS liaison to ASN's KidneyX initiative, and acted as an advisor to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on alternative payment models for kidney patients that advance value-based care and support patient access and quality care. After leaving federal service, Anne worked as the Director of Federal Policy and Engagement at Mayo Clinic, where she continued to advocate for innovation in kidney care, including diversity in clinical trials, addressing health inequities, educating Congress on the critical need to raise awareness of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and addressing social risk factors that are barriers to life-saving care. Currently, Anne is the Vice President of Government Affairs at Somatus, Inc., the nation's leading and largest value-based kidney care company serving patients with CKD and End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). In this role, Anne continues her advocacy work with Congress and the public on behalf of patients with CKD and ESRD and their circles of support, bringing her experience and passion as a healthcare attorney, Living Donor, and mother to a teenager with CKD. She values her ongoing partnerships with ASN, NKF, and other healthcare organizations.

Abigail Eileen Ryan, PhD

Deputy Director, Center for Medicare, Chronic Care Policy Group

Dr. Ryan received her Ph.D. in Endocrinology at the Medical College of Georgia. Her postdoctoral fellowship was at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She was on the faculty at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, Texas. Her research focused on receptors and the mechanism of hormone action. In addition to her medical interests, she studied the financial aspects of health care. She has taught financial, cost and governmental accounting at local colleges. For the past 18 years she has been with the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, where she has served in Medicaid and Medicare programs, including Medicaid reimbursement and state financing, program integrity and Medicare fee-for-service payment programs. She is currently in the Center for Medicare, Chronic Care Policy Group, where she is the Deputy Director in the Division of Chronic Care Management, heading up the End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System program.

Lokesh N. Shah, MD, MS

Associate Medical Director at Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.

Dr. Lokesh Shah is currently working as an associate medical director at Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. He received his medical degree from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He specialized in pediatrics and epidemiology.

Robyn S. Shapiro

Health Sciences Law Group LLC

Robyn S. Shapiro, a graduate of the University of Michigan and Harvard Law School, is a bioethicist and founder and attorney at Health Sciences Law Group LLC. Robyn provides legal counsel on matters relating to health care compliance, research compliance, corporate compliance, bioethics, medical staff matters, health information privacy, and corporate and commercial issues faced by pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and health care providers. Attorney Shapiro's past position as Ursula von Der Ruhr Professor of Bioethics at the Medical College of Wi and her 26-year leadership of the Center for the Study of Bioethics at the Medical College of WI complement her wide-ranging experience in health law.

Amit Sharma, MD, FASN

Vice President of Clinical Development as Therapeutic Head for Nephrology and Hematology at Alexion an Astra Zeneca Company

Dr. Sharma serves as the Vice President of Clinical Development as Therapeutic Head for Nephrology and Hematology at Alexion an Astra Zeneca Company. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer for both Boise Kidney and Hypertension Institute and Pacific Renal Research Foundation. He has held numerous senior leadership industry positions at both biotech companies as well as larger pharmaceutical companies in various roles. These companies include Reata, Keryx, Relypsa, Akebia, and Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Sharma has served has an appointed member for many national and international committees. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Kidney Health Initiative a public private partnership with the ASN and FDA. He has been recently appointed to serve a 2-year term as the Chair of the Drugs Committee for the KHI that represents 115 different stakeholders in the pharma community. He is currently a Board Member of the New England Chapter of the National Kidney Foundation. He also holds National leadership positions for the National Kidney Foundation's Global Patient Network as well as its National Leadership Council for Corporate Activities. He is a fellow of the National Kidney Foundation, the American Society of Nephrology, and the American College of Physicians, and is an inducted member of the Royal Society of Medicine. He has authored many important manuscripts in the field of cardiorenal medicine, has served on many clinical trial executive steering committees, and is an invited lecturer for many national and international meetings. Dr. Sharma received his medical degree from Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans in 1994. Dr. Sharma completed his nephrology and hypertension fellowship at the University of California in San Diego where he served as a fellowship director for his site from 2000-2005. Dr. Sharma is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine for internal medicine, and nephrology, and he also has an additional certification as a hypertension specialist by the American Society of Hypertension.

Ben Shepherd, PhD

Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer

Ben is a vascular biologist, tissue engineer and regenerative medicine scientist by training. He has spent the past 10+ years in industry leading successful R&D teams and business development efforts focused on developing complex 3D human tissue systems. Prior to co-founding Trestle, Ben served as VP of Research & Preclinical Development at Organovo, where he oversaw preclinical translational research. In addition to internal R&D programs, he was responsible for management and oversight of Organovo's external academic collaborations and helped guide and develop Organovo's IP estate. Prior to leading preclinical translation efforts, Ben held various R&D leadership and Business Development roles at Organovo. He led initial R&D efforts focused on use of 3D bioprinting for creation of in vitro tissue models for use in drug discovery, ADME/Tox, and disease modeling. Ben is an author on more than 20 scientific articles and book chapters, and a named inventor on more than 10 patents.

Ben received his B.S. in Zoology from the University of Washington, a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in Physiological Sciences, and conducted postdoctoral training at the Yale School of Medicine in the laboratory of Jordan Pober M.D., Ph.D.

Kimberly Smith

Senior Medical Advisor with the Real-World Evidence Analytics team in the Office of Medical Policy (OMP) within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)

Kimberly Smith is a nephrologist and Senior Medical Advisor with the Real-World Evidence Analytics team in the Office of Medical Policy (OMP) within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In her current role, she develops and implements programs and policies related to the use of real-world evidence in drug development. Dr. Smith previously served at FDA as the team leader for OMP's Division of Clinical Trial Quality and as the nephrology team leader in the Division of Cardiology and Nephrology in CDER's Office of New Drugs. Before joining the FDA, she was with the Coverage and Analysis Group at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Aliza M. Thompson, MD, MS

Deputy Director of the Division of Cardiology and Nephrology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Aliza Thompson is Deputy Director of the Division of Cardiology and Nephrology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Division of Cardiology and Nephrology regulates and reviews Investigational New Drug applications and marketing applications for drug and biologic products for the treatment of cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Dr. Thompson joined the FDA in 2007. Prior to her current position, Dr. Thompson served as a clinical team leader for products being developed to treat kidney diseases. Dr. Thompson received her medical degree from Johns Hopkins Medical School and completed her Internal Medicine and Nephrology training at Columbia University/New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She holds a Master of Science in Biostatistics/Patient Oriented Research Track from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Miguel A. Vazquez, MD, FASN

Professor of Internal Medicine and Clinical Chief of Nephrology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Dr Miguel A. Vazquez is Professor of Internal Medicine and Clinical Chief of Nephrology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Nephrology Chief at Parkland Health in Dallas, TX.
Originally from Madrid and raised in Puerto Rico, he earned his medical degree at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan. He completed internal medicine residency training and a fellowship in nephrology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. Dr Vazquez's clinical interests include management of chronic kidney disease, end-stage kidney disease and care of kidney transplant recipients. His research efforts focus on large pragmatic clinical trials to improve care of patients with chronic kidney disease and to improve blood pressure control to reduce cognitive decline. He is also an active investigator in the Kidney Precision Medicine Project.

Siva Venkatachalam

Team Lead in the Division of Renal, Gastrointestinal, Obesity, and Transplant Devices within the Center for Devices and Radiological Health

Siva Venkatachalam serves as a Team Lead in the Division of Renal, Gastrointestinal, Obesity, and Transplant Devices within the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) at the FDA. Siva also serves as a Digital Health Focal Point and works with colleagues in FDA's Digital Health Center of Excellence to promote consistency in the regulatory policy for these devices. She reviews a variety of digital health and AI/ML devices, with a focus on gastroenterology and sepsis AI/ML devices. Siva earned her Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering with a double minor in Biology and Biomedical Engineering from MIT and her Master's in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Curtis Warfield, MS

Senior Quality Analyst with the State of Indiana

Curtis Warfield is a Senior Quality Analyst with the State of Indiana. In 2012, Mr. Warfield was diagnosed with stage 3 chronic kidney disease due to FSGS. His kidneys rapidly declined, and he started peritoneal dialysis in 2014. His daughter tested to be a living donor. Unfortunately, she was not the best suitable match. His daughter's college sorority sister had followed their story and decided to be tested and was a perfect match. In January 2016, Mr. Warfield received her kidney and a new lease on life.

Curtis is a member of the Kidney Health Initiative's Patient & Family Partnership Council of the Kidney Health Initiative (KHI-PFPC). He is a peer mentor and volunteers to speak with legislators both on Capitol Hill and in the Indiana State Legislature about kidney disease and organ donation and transplantation. Curtis is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Kidney Foundation of Indiana and Home Dialyzors United (HDU). Mr. Warfield is the recipient of the 2021 NKF Celeste Castillo Lee Patient Engagement Award, NKF's highest honor to a distinguished kidney patient volunteer. He was awarded the patient volunteer award in 2019 by the National Kidney Foundation of Indiana. He is a sought after speaker for national conferences, health fairs, kidney awareness and organ donation events. He writes articles, blogs and conducts social media events, and interviews about his kidney journey, kidney disease and organ donation. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Central Michigan University and a Master of Science in Management from Oakland City University. He is an active member of his church and a community volunteer in the Indianapolis area. Mr. Warfield has been married for 37 years, has four adult children, and one grandchild.

Suzanne Watnick, MD, FASN

Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Washington, VA Puget Sound Health Care System

Suzanne Watnick, MD, FASN, is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Washington. She currently practices in the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle. For 2024, she serves as the ASN inaugural Health Policy Scholar in Residence Dr. Watnick serves on the Quality Committee & Policy and Advocacy Committee of the American Society of Nephrology, and its Home Dialysis Task Force. She has expertise in dialysis, patient advocacy, payment reform, and quality improvement. Research Interests: My scholarly interests center around policy and advocacy for people with or at risk for kidney disease, their care partners, and the kidney care team that supports them.

Jason A. Watts, MD, PhD

Epigenetics and Stem Cell Laboratory at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Jason A. Watts, MD, PhD is a nephrologist-scientist in the Epigenetics and Stem Cell Laboratory at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. He completed his M.D. and Ph.D. at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, were he worked with Kenneth Zaret, studying the pioneer transcription factor FoxA. Dr. Watts subsequently completed residency in Internal Medicine at Duke University and clinical fellowship in Nephrology at the University of Michigan. He did his T32 research fellowship in the laboratory of Vivian Cheung studying the regulation of RNA polymerase pausing. At Michigan he was the recipient of the American Society of Nephrology-Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program award in 2019. In 2020 he moved the NIEHS as a Stadtman Investigator, where his research focuses on the role of nucleic acid structures in the regulation of gene transcription in the kidney in response to environmental and physiologic stress. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at Duke University and is a staff nephrologist at the Durham VA Hospital and has been named an NIH Distinguished Scholar.

Xiaoqiong Wei, PhD

University of Virginia

Dr. Xiaoqiong Wei is currently a Ben J. Lipps Research Fellow and Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Virginia School of Medicine (UVA). Dr. Wei earned her Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Immunology from Sichuan University, China, and underwent one-year bioinformatics training with Dr. Yang Zhang at the University of Michigan (U-M). During her Ph.D. phase, she published three (co) first-authored papers in Cardiovascular Research, Bioinformatics, and the Journal of Immunology, along with 14 co-authored papers, and received a travel grant from the American Association of Immunologists. Her postdoctoral training, guided by Dr. Ling Qi at U-M and later continued at UVA, propelled her into the realm of nephrology, expanding her expertise in the physiological mechanisms of cellular protein quality control, with a particular focus on ER-associated degradation (ERAD) in kidney podocyte function. In the Qi laboratory, she has published two (co) first-authored papers (Nature Communications, 2024; Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2021) and six co-authored papers, won the U-M Bishr Omary Physiology Early-Stage Postdoctoral Research Award, and was supported by the Pandemic Research Recovery grant from U-M. Dr. Wei's immediate goal is to become an independent investigator, leading her own interdisciplinary research program focusing on the role of organellar biology in kidney diseases, and mentoring a diverse group of next-generation scientists.

David L. White

American Society of Nephrology, Regulatory and Quality Officer

As ASN's Regulatory and Quality Officer, David possess a deep expertise in kidney care regulatory issues critical to quality care for the 37 million Americans with kidney disease. He serves as staff lead to the ASN's Quality Committee; responsible for leading advocacy and analysis efforts with CMS on patient care and quality payment programs including:

• Advancing American Kidney Health Executive Order relating to Quality Issues and Physician Payment Models
• End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Choices (ETC) Model
• Kidney Care Choices Model and the Kidney Care First (KCF) Option and Comprehensive Kidney Care Contracting (CKCC) Graduated, Professional, and Global Options
• Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model
• Proposals on Organ Procurement Organization Metrics and Barriers to Living Donor Support
• Comprehensive End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Care (CEC) Model
• Quality Payment Program (MACRA)
• ESRD Prospective Payment System (PPS)
• ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP)

David represents ASN in the following coalitions/councils: Kidney Care Partners, Council of Subspecialty Societies, Council of Medical Specialty Societies, and the Alliance for Home Dialysis. Leading ASN's development of kidney care policy and advocacy plans in the regulatory arena, David drafts and develops content for ASN's comment language on proposed Medicare rules. David's background spans three decades from Capitol Hill to private sector consulting on a variety of public health and education initiatives before joining ASN.