Andrew S. Levey, MD, FNKF

Contact Information

Telephone number:617-636-5898

Fax number: 617-636-8329

Email: alevey@tuftsmedicalcenter.org

Titles

Tufts Medical Center

Chief, Division of Nephrology

Tufts University School of Medicine

Gerald J. and Dorothy R Friedman Professor of Medicine

Tufts University

Senior Scientist

US Department of Agriculture Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University

 

Professor

Clinical Research Graduate Program (PhD and MS)

Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences

Other

 Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Kidney Diseases

Education

Undergraduate

Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Biological Sciences with General Honors, 1972

University of Chicago, Chicago IL

Medical School

Doctorate in Medicine (MD), 1976

Boston University School of Medicine, Boston MA

Training

Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx NY

Intern in Medicine, 1977

Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center and Martin Luther King, Jr. Health Center, Bronx NY

Junior and Senior Resident, 1979

Residency Program in Social Medicine

New England Medical Center, Boston MA

Clinical and Research Fellow in Nephrology, 1981

Board Certification

ABIM, Diplomate in Nephrology, 1982 

Interests

Dr. Levey's interests are in patient care, research, clinical practice guidelines, training in research and education, and health care policy related to chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Clinical

His patient care interests are in CKD, diabetic kidney disease, polycystic kidney disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Research

His research interests include measurement and estimation of kidney function, epidemiology of CKD, treatments to slow the progression of CKD, cardiovascular disease in CKD, nutrition in CKD, and assessment of outcomes in patients treated by dialysis and kidney transplantation. Dr. Levey has been at the forefront of the development of equations to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) from serum creatinine using large databases, including the widely-used Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study equation. He is now leading the NIDDK-sponsored CKD Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) to pool databases from other studies to develop improved estimating equations based on serum creatinine and cystatin C. In addition, he has a long history of participating in multicenter clinical trials and clinical investigations. He was the principal nephrologist co-investigator for the NIDDK-sponsored MDRD Study, a randomized trial of diet and blood pressure control in CKD. He was Principal Investigator for the ACE Inhibition in Progressive Renal Disease (AIPRD) Study Group, a collaboration of investigators who have pooled individual patient data on clinical trials of ACE inhibitors in nondiabetic kidney disease. He was Principal Investigator for the NIDDK-sponsored Hemodialysis (HEMO) Study, comparing the standard dose of dialysis with high dose of dialysis. He was also the principal nephrologist co-investigator for the AHRQ-sponsored CHOICE Study, a Patient Outcomes Research Team, studying kidney failure treated by dialysis. More recently, he has served as a member of the Executive Committees of the Trial to Reduce Cardiovascular Events with Aranesp Therapy (TREAT), comparing erythropoiesis stimulating agents to placebo for treatment of anemia in diabetic kidney disease and Folic Acid for Vascular Outcome Reduction in Transplantation (FAVORIT), comparing folic acid to placebo in kidney transplant recipients.

Clinical Practice Guidelines

Dr. Levey is a widely recognized authority on clinical practice guidelinesin CKD. He led the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Task Force on Cardiovascular Disease in 1998. He was the Chair for two NKF Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiation (KDOQI) Work Groups. “Chronic Kidney Disease: Evaluation, Classification and Stratification of Risk” was published in 2002. “Hypertension and Antihypertensive Agents in Chronic Kidney Disease” was published in 2004. He is a member of the ongoing KDIGO Workgroups on Acute Kidney Injury and Chronic Kidney Disease Update. He has led three Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) conferences. In 2004, the conference addressed definition and classification of CKD and in 2006 the conference addressed public health approaches and initiatives. In 2009, the conference addressed prognosis in CKD.

Training

Dr. Levey’s interests in training are focused primarily at the level of post-graduate fellowship training and mentoring junior faculty. He directs the large research fellowship-training program of the Division. He is Principal Investigator of the Division’s 15-year NIDDK grant (T32) “Epidemiology, Clinical Trials and Outcomes Research”. The research training program is also funded by grants and contracts from foundations and industry.

 Policy

Dr. Levey’s contributions to policy are focused primarily on guideline implementation, quality improvement, and public policy related to CKD. He was a member of the National Kidney Disease Education Program (NKDEP) of the NIDDK. He has been the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Kidney Diseasessince 2006, and was formerly Associate Editor for Kidney Disease and Hypertension for the Annals in Internal Medicine. He co-chaired the 2007 technical expert panel sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on “Comprehensive Public Health Strategies for Preventing the Development, Progression, and Complications of Chronic Kidney Disease” and the 2008 workshop sponsored by NKF and Food and Drug Administration on “Proteinuria as a Surrogate Outcome in Chronic Kidney Disease.”

Selected Publications

Tangri N, Levey AS. Fibroblast growth factor 23 and CKD prognosis. Am J Kidney Dis; Epub 2011 Dec 6; doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2011.11.017.

Levey AS, Coresh J. Chronic kidney disease. Lancet; Epub 2011 Aug 15; doi:10.1016/50140-673(11)60178-5.

Levey AS, Danovitch G, Hou S. Living donor kidney transplantation in the United States – looking back, looking forward. Am J Kidney Dis 2011;58:343-8. Epub 2011 Jul 23.

Levey AS, de Jong PE, Coresh J, El Nahas M, Astor BC, Matsushita K, Gansevoort RT, Kasiske BL, Edkardt KU. The definition, classification and prognosis of chronic kidney disease: a KDIGO Controversies Conference report. Kidney Int 2011;80:17-28.

Levey AS, Stevens LA. mTOR inhibitors and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. New Engl J Med 2011;364:287; author reply 287-9.

Levey AS, Tangri N^*, Stevens LA. Classification of chronic kidney disease: a step forward. Ann Intern Med 2011;154:65-7.

Levey AS, Weiner DE. Editorial: Staying put, but not standing still. Am J Kidney Dis 2011;59:1-3.

Jafar TH, Islam M, Jessani S, Box R, Inker LA, Mariat C, Levey AS. Level and determinants of kidney function in a South Asian population in Pakistan. Am J Kidney Dis 2011;58:762-72. Epub 2011 Aug 15.

Levey AS (guest editor). Controlling the epidemic of cardiovascular disease in chronic renal disease: What do we know? What do we need to learn? Where do we go from here?  Special Report from the National Kidney Foundation Task Force on Cardiovascular Disease.  Am J Kidney Dis 1998;32(Suppl 3):S1-S199.

Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study Group (prepared by Levey AS, Bosch JP Lewis JB, Greene T, Rogers N, Roth D).  A more accurate method to estimate glomerular filtration rate from serum creatinine: a new prediction equation derived from the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study. Ann Intern Med 1999;130:461-70. 

Jafar TH, Schmid CH, Landa M, Giatras I, Toto R, Remuzzi G, Maschio G, Brenner BM, Kamper A, Zucchelli P, Becker G, Himmelmann A, Bannister K, Landais P, Shahinfar S, de Jong P, de Zeeuw D, Lau J, Levey AS, for the AIPRD Study Group. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and the progression of non-diabetic renal disease: a meta-analysis of patient level data. Ann Int Med 2001;135:73-87. 

Levey AS (Work Group Chair). National Kidney Foundation.  K/DOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines for Chronic Kidney Disease: Evaluation, Classification and Stratification. Am J Kidney Dis 2002;39(suppl 1):S1-S266.

Eknoyan G, Beck GJ, Cheung AK, Daugirdas JT, Greene T, Kusek JW, Allon M, Bailey J, Delmez JA, Depner TA, Dwyer JT, Levey AS, Levin NW, Milford E, Ornt DB, RoccoMV, Schulman G, Schwab SJ, Teehan BP, Toto R (for the HEMO Study Group).  Effect of dialysis dose and membrane flux in maintenance hemodialysis:primary results of the HEMO Study. N Engl J Med 2002;347:2010-9.

Sarnak MJ, Levey AS, Schoolwerth AC, Coresh J, Culleton B, Hamm LL, McCullough PA, Kasiske BL, Kelepouris E, Klag MJ, Parfrey P, Pfeffer M, Raij L, Spinosa DJ, Wilson PW.  Kidney disease as a risk factor for development of cardiovascular disease: A statement from the Americal Heart Association Councils on Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease, High Blood Pressure Research, Clinical Cardiology, and Epidemiology and Prevention. Circulation 2003;108:2154-69.

Levey AS (Work Group Chair).  National Kidney Foundation.  K/DOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines on Hypertension and Antihypertensive Agents in Chronic Kidney Disease.  Am J Kidney Dis 2004;43(Suppl 1):S1-S290.

Sarnak MJ, Greene T, Wang X, Beck G, Kusek JW, Collins A, Levey AS.  The effect of lower target blood pressure on the progression of kidney disease: long-term follow-up of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study. Ann Int Med 2005;142:342-51.

Stevens LA, Coresh J, Greene T, Levey AS.  Assessing kidney function – measured and estimated glomerular filtration rate.  New Engl J Med 2006; 354:2473-83.

Levey AS, Greene T, Sarnak MJ, Wang X, Beck GJ, Kusek JW, Collins AJ, Kopple JD.  Effect of dietary protein restriction on the progression of kidney disease: long-term follow up of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study. Am J Kidney Dis 2006;48:879-88. 

Coresh J, Selvin E, Stevens LA, Manzi J, Kusek JW, Eggers P, Van Lente F, Levey AS.  Prevalence of chronic kidney disease in the United States. JAMA 2007;298:2038-47.

Levey AS, Coresh J, Greene T, Marsh J, Stevens LA, Kusek JW, Van Lente F for Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology (CKD EPI) Collaboration. Expressing the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study equation for estimating glomerular filtration rate with standardized serum creatinine values. Clin Chem 2007; 53:766-72.

Menon V, Shlipak MC, Wang X, Coresh J, Greene T, Stevens LA, Kusek JW, Beck GJ, Collins AJ, Levey AS, Sarnak MJ. Cystatin C as a risk factor for outcomes in chronic kidney disease.  Ann Intern Med 2007;147:19-27.

Stevens LA, Lafayette LA, Perrone RD, Levey AS. Laboratory evaluation of kidney disease. In RW Schrier (ed). Diseases of the Kidney and Urinary Tract. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia 2007; pp. 299-336.

Menon V, Sarnak MJ, Levey AS. Chapter 18 – Risk factors and kidney disease. In Barry Brenner (ed). Brenner and Rector’s The Kidney, 8th Edition. WB Saunders Elsevier, Phladelphia 2007; pp. 633-653.

Kottgen A, Selvin E, Stevens LA, Levey AS, Van Lente F, Coresh J.  Serum cystatin C in the United States: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).  Am J Kidney Dis 2008;51:385-94.

Stevens LA, Coresh J, Schmid CH, Feldman HI, Froissart M, Kusek J, Rossert J, Van Lente F, Bruce III RD, Zhang L, Greene T, Levey AS. Estimating GFR using serum cystatin C alone and in combination with serum creatinine: a pooled analysis of 3,418 individuals with CKD. Am J Kidney Dis 2008;51:395-406.

Levey AS, Schoolweth AC, Burrows NR, Williams DE, Stith KR, McClellan W. Comprehensive public health strategies for preventing the development, progression, and complications of CKD: report of an expert panel convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Am J Kidney Dis 2009;53:522-35.

Levey AS, Stevens LA, Coresh J. Conceptual model of CKD:  Applications and implications. Am J Kidney Dis 2009;53(Suppl 3):S4-S16.

Levey AS, Stevens LA, Schmid CH, Zhang YL, Castro AF, Feldman HI, Kusek JW, Eggers P, Van Lente F, Greene T, Coresh J, for the CKD-EPI (Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration). A new equation to estimate glomerular filtration rate. Ann Intern Med 2009;150:604-12.

Stevens LA, Schmid CH, Greene T, Li L, Beck GJ, Joffe MM, Froissart M, Kusek JW, Zhang L, Coresh J, Levey AS. Factors other than glomerular filtration rate affect serum cystatin C levels. Kidney Int 2009;75:652-660; doi:10.1038/ki.2008.638.

Levey AS, Cattran D, Friedman A, Miller WG, Sedor J, Tuttle K, Kasiske B, Hostetter T. Proteinuria as a surrogate outcome in CKD: report of a scientific workshop sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation and the US Food and Drug Administation.  Am J Kidney Dis 2009;54:205-26;doi:10.1053/ajkd.2009.04.029.

Stevens LA, Levey AS. Measured GFR as a confirmatory test for estimated GFR. J Am Soc Nephrol 2009;20:2305-13; doi: 10.1681/ASN.2009020171.

Stevens LA, Nolin TD, Richardson MM, Feldman HI, Lewis JB, Rodby R, Townsend R, Okparavero A, Zhang YL, Schmid CH, Levey AS, on behalf of the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI). Comparison of drug dosing recommendations based on measured GFR and kidney function estimating equations. Am J Kidney Dis 2009;54:33-42; doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2009.03.008.

Pfeffer MA, Burdmann EA, Chen CY, Cooper ME, de Zeeuw D, Eckardt KU, Feyzi JM, Ivanovich P, Kewalramani R, Levey AS, Lewis EF, McGill JB, MuMurray JJV, Parfrey P, Parving HH, Remuzzi G, Singh AK, Solomon SD, Toto R, for the TREAT Investigators. A trial of darbepoetin alfa in type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. N Engl J Med 2009;361:2019-32.

Levey AS, Stevens LA. Estimating GFR using the CKD Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) creatinine equation: more accurate GFR estimates, lower CKD prevalence estimates, and better risk predictions. Am J Kidney Dis 2010;55:622-7.

Chronic Kidney Disease Consortium (Matsushita K, van der Velde M, Astor BC, Woodward M, Levey AS, de Jong PE, Coresh J, Gansevoort RT). Association of estimated glomerular filtration rate and albuminuria with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in general population cohorts: a collaborative meta-analysis.  Lancet 2010;375:2073-81.

Levey AS, Deo A, Jaber BL. Filtration markers in acute kidney injury.  (Commentary on Brigouri C, Visconti G, Rivera NV, et al. Cystatin C and contrast-induced acute kidney injury. Circulation. 2010; 121:2117-2122).  Am J Kidney Dis 2010;56:619-22.

Solomon SD, Uno H, Lewis EF, Edkardt KU, Lin J, Burdmann EA, de Zeeuw D, Ivanovich P, Levey AS, Parfrey P, Remuzzi G, Singh AK, Toto R, Huanf F, Rossert J, McMurray JJV, Pfeffer MA, for the Trial to Reduce Cardiovascular Events with Aranesp Therapy (TREAT) Investigators. Erythopoietic response and outcomes in kidney disease and type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med 2020;363:1146-55.

Stevens LA, Huang C, Levey AS. Chapter 2.  Measurement and estimation of kidney function. In Himmelfarb J and Sayegh MH (eds).  Chronic Kidney Disease, Dialysis and Transplantation: A Companion to Brenner & Rector’s The Kidney 3rd Edition.  Saunders Elsevier 2010; pp 22-38.

Stevens LA, Shastri S, Levey AS. Chapter 3.  Assessment of renal function. In Floege J, Johnson RJ, Feehally J (eds).  Comprehensive Clinic Nephrology Fourth Edition. St. Louis MO 2010; pp 31-38.

Levey AS, Kramer H. Obesity, glomerular hyperfiltration, and the surface area correction. Am J Kidney Dis 2010;56:255-8.

Levey AS, de Jong PE, Coresh J, Nahas ME, Astor BC, Matsushita K, Gansevoort RT, Kasiske BL, Eckardt KU. The definition, classification and prognosis of chronic kidney disease: a KDIGO Controversies Conference report. Kidney Int. Epub 2010 Dec 8. DOI:10.1038/ki.2010.483.

Peralta CA, Katz R, Sarnak MJ, Ix J, Fried LF, de Boer I, Palmas W, Siscovick D, Levey AS, Shlipak MG.  Cystatin C identifies chronic kidney disease patients at higher risk for complications.  J Am Soc Nephrol 2011; 22:147-155. Epub 2010 Dec 16. DOI:10.1681/asn.2010.2010050483.

Tangri N, Stevens LA, Griffith J, Tighiouart H, Djurdjev O, Naimark D, Levin A, Levey AS. A Predictive Model for Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease to Kidney Failure. JAMA 2011;305(15):1553-9. Epub 2011 April 11. DOI:10.1001/jama.2011.451.

Recent Awards and Honors

2001 Excellence in Teaching in the Medicine Clerkship, Presented by Tufts University School of Medicine Class of 2001 

2002 Excellence in Teaching in the Medicine Clerkship, Presented by Tufts University School of Medicine Class of 2002

2002 Garabed Eknoyan Award from the National Kidney Foundation

2004 Distinguished Faculty Award from Tufts University School of Medicine

2007 Faculty Recognition Award (25 years of service) from Tufts University School of Medicine   

2011 NKF Spring on the Park Gala honoree

2011 Named Fellow of National Kidney Foundation (Inaugural class)

2011 Recognized as a “Top Doctor” by U.S. News & World Report.