Faculty and Staff

Jose A.L. Arruda, MD, FACP
Keeton Professor of Medicine
Chief, Section of Nephrology

Clinical Interests:
Acid-base disorders, electrolyte disorders, chronic kidney disease
Research Interests:
Acid-base physiology

Nidhi Aggarwal, MD,
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Clinical Interests:
Renal transplantation, Clinical care nephrology
Research Interests:
Transplant Infectious diseases

Sanjeev Akkina, MD,
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Clinical Interests:
Kidney transplantation, Vitamin D metabolism
Research Interests:
Biomarker discovery, Chronic allograft nephropathy in kidney transplantation.

Asad Bakir, MD, FACP
Professor of Medicine

Clinical Interests:
Lupus nephritis, glomerular diseases
Research Interests:
Proteinuria

Carolyn Brecklin, MD, FACP
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

Clinical Interests:
Chronic kidney disease, end stage renal disease, hypertension
Research Interests:
Acute and chronic renal failure

John Daugirdas, MD, FACP
Clinical Professor of Medicine

Clinical Interests:
End stage renal disease, dialysis
Research interests:
Dialysis, chronic kidney disease

George Dunea, MD, FACP
Chief Division of Nephrology
John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County

Clinical Interests:
Hypertension, glomerular diseases
Research Interests:
Proteinuria

Michael J. Fischer, MD, MSPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Clinical Interests:
Acute renal failure, chronic kidney disease, disorders of water balance
Research Interests:
Chronic kidney disease, pregnancy and kidney disease

Cheryl Gilmartin, PharmD

Clinical Interests:
Chronic kidney disease, diabetes
Research Interests:
Anemia management, renal osteodystrophy

James P. Lash, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine

Clinical Interests:
Chronic kidney disease, hypertension, transplantation
Research Interests:
Epidemiology progression of chronic kidney disease, hypertension
Active research protocols:
Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study
African American Study of Kidney Disease (AASK) Cohort Study, Hispanic Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study

Jerrold Levine, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine

Research Interests:
Autoimmunity; apoptotic cell-derived antigens in the regulation and maintenance of self-tolerance; abnormalities in the recognition and handling of apoptotic cells in lupus and other autoimmune diseases; macrophage dysfunction in autoimmune diseases.

Inate apoptotic immunity: effects of apoptotic cells on viable neighboring cells as a critical aspect of tissue homeostasis, modulating roles od apoptotic death on the course of acute and chronic renal injury
Clinical Interests:
Antiphospholipid syndrome, glomerulonephritis, systemic lupus and other autoimmune diseases, water balance and hyponatremia, fluid and electrolyte abnormalities

Natalia O. Litbarg, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Research Interests:
Isolation od adult stem cell of the kidney for renal repair.

Clinical Interests:
Glomerular kidney disease, hypertension.

Active Research Protocols:
Omentum as a source of adult stem cells and its role in organ repair.

Claudia Lora, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Research Interests:
Health literacy, Social support, Acculturation

Clinical Interests:
Chronic Kidney Disease

Active Research Protocols:
Health literacy, Social support and acculturation in Hispanics with CKD.

Kalyani Perumal, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Clinical Interests:
Glomerular diseases, acute kidney injury, fluid and electrolyte disorders.
Research Interests:
Chronic kidney disease, glomerular diseases, kidney diseases and pregnancy.

Anna Porter, MD,
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Clinical Interests:
Chronic kidney disease, transplantation
Research Interests:
Chronic kidney disease, bone metabolism

Veerasamy K.G. Pillay, MD, FACP
Professor of Medicine

Clinical Interests:
Clinical nephrology.

Igantius Y.S. Tang, MD, PharmD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director, Transplant Nephrology
Transplant Medicine and Nephrology

Clinical Interests:
Transplant medicine, kidney donor evaluation, critical care nephrology, acute renal injury, continuous renal replacement therapy, pregnancy in kidney disease, secondary hyperparathyriodism, anemia and clinical pharmacology.
Research Interests:
Antibody-mediated syndromes (antibody-mediated rejection, accomodation, transplant glomerulopathy), BK viral kinetics and immunosuppression.