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News
February 2010
Dr. Sarnak has been promoted to Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. This promotion is in recognition of Mark’s outstanding achievements in research, teaching, and patient care, and his tremendous contributions to the division, department, hospital and university. Mark has reached this milestone at an early stage in his career -- a testament to his many capabilities, hard work, and tireless devotion to his principles. We are all very proud that he is member of our division.
December 2009
Dr. Meyer was the principal author of comments by the Forum of ESRD Networks to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the CMS ESRD Network Assessment Report. Dr. Meyer is the President-elect of the Forum (www.esrdnetworks.org), which advocates for the organizations that monitor the quality of chronic kidney disease, dialysis and kidney transplant care in the United States.
In the December Boston’s Best Doctors issue of Boston Magazine, Dr. Perrone was recognized in the as one of Boston’s best nephrologists. The list is compiled by polling local medical professionals to determine which doctors they would recommend if their own family members needed care.
Dr. Perrone was informed he will receive the Distinguished Faculty Award ,which is one of the most important honors the Tufts University School of Medicine can bestow. The award recognizes careers highlighted by major national and local accomplishments in research, teaching, and overall contributions to academic medicine and Tufts.
November 2009
Ten years ago, Jerome P. Kassirer decided to sign off as editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) rather than agree to an arrangement he believed would compromise the journal's integrity. Upon leaving, he promised readers, he would "find some way to continue to contribute." Fortunately for the health of the American public, Dr. Kassirer has made good on that promise by helping medical schools and teaching hospitals nationwide revise their conflict-of-interest (COI) policies. He wields the power of the pen for major medical journals and newspaper publications and lectures on COI extensively in the U.S. and abroad.
Dr. Kassirer is special assistant to the dean at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM), where he has been a faculty member for 50 years (nearly half of which were spent as vice chair of the department of medicine). Additionally, he holds the titles of distinguished professor—an honor conferred upon only a handful of Tufts faculty in the history of the school—and visiting professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. He also has served on the board of directors of the National Committee for Quality Assurance since 2002.
As a "fearless" editor-in-chief of one of the most respected medical journals, Dr. Kassirer commented upon all aspects of American medicine, publishing, as a professor put it, "what readers needed, not necessarily what they wanted." He also gave NEJM its first redesign in over a quarter century, added several new clinical features, and ensured it was one of the first medical journals to be available online. Moreover, Dr. Kassirer developed a process for prepublishing articles that were likely to affect patient care, a mechanism that played a prominent role in saving lives when the toxicity of the then-popular drug Fen-phen was discovered, and which continues to improve the public health today.
"Patients should not have to worry about the integrity of their doctors."
- Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D. |
In addition to the 70 opinion pieces he wrote during his NEJM tenure, in 2004 Dr. Kassirer authored On the Take: How Medicine's Complicity with Big Business Can Endanger Your Health. As the first major work about the various forms COI can take in clinical care and research, the widely acclaimed book made professional integrity a front-burner issue for academic medicine.
While gaining prominence at the national level, Dr. Kassirer also has left his mark on TUSM as a medical educator, mentor, and researcher. "Through his example, his teaching, and his writing," said Institute of Medicine President Harvey Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D., "Dr. Kassirer inspired a generation of young physicians on both the analytic and the humane aspects of clinical practice." Additionally, his research on the analytics of clinical practice helped pioneer the field by taking a systematic approach to clinical reasoning, helping to explain how and why decisions are made in clinical settings. The second edition of his coauthored book, Learning Clinical Reasoning, was published in September 2009.
The personification of professional integrity, Dr. Kassirer has held the medical profession to the highest possible standards, advanced medical journalism through his incisive writings, and rightfully earned the nickname, "the conscience of American medicine." Thanks to his unwavering commitment to practicing what he preaches, Dr. Kassirer has protected the health and safety of Americans, all of whom can be grateful he made good on his promise not to disappear.
Dr. Kassirer earned his M.D. degree from the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and completed his residency training at Buffalo General and . About the David E. Rogers Award
The David E. Rogers Award is sponsored by the AAMC and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The award honors David E. Rogers, M.D., a former president of the foundation and an exemplar of academic medicine's commitment to meeting the health care needs of our nation. The award recognizes a medical school faculty member who has made major contributions to improving the health and health care of the American people.
Tufts Medical Center will be a clinical site for the newly launched NIH-funded multicenter randomized clinical trial to determine whether maintaining blood pressure levels lower than current recommendations further reduces the risk of cardiovascular and kidney diseases, or age-related cognitive decline. Called the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), the nine-year, $114 million study will be conducted in more than 80 clinical sites across the country. Dr. Weiner is the Tufts MC site PI.
SPRINT will enroll approximately 7,500 participants age 55 years or older with systolic blood pressure of 130 mm Hg or higher. Participants will have a history of cardiovascular disease; be at high risk for heart disease by having at least one additional risk factor, such as smoking or high blood cholesterol levels; or have chronic kidney disease. Patients with a history of stroke or diabetes are not expected to be studied in SPRINT because other randomized clinical trials are currently testing similar strategies in these patients. These studies will help inform how SPRINT is designed and conducted.
Enrollment for SPRINT is expected to begin in fall 2010.
October 2009
DCI Boston received recognition from the ESRD Network of New England for attaining a consistent prevalent AV fistula rate of 60% or greater for hemodialysis patients. This is the second year the dialysis unit has been recognized for its performance in the Fistula First National Vascular Access Improvement Initiative. The dialysis program exceeded the 2009 CMS stretch goal of 66% for dialysis treatments conducted using a fistula. Nationally, 52.6% of treatments were done with fistulas in May, the last month for which data were available, and in Network 1 (New England), 56.4%.
Dr. Weiner received a $50,000 grant from the DCI Paul Teschan Research Fund to conduct a pilot study of Transglutaminase 2 and Vascular Calcification in Chronic Kidney Disease. The award is for 1 year and the study is eligible for renewal funding for a second year.
September 2009
Two Division members recently received new grant funding from the National Institutes of Health:
- Dr. Lesley Stevens received funding from the NIH/NIDDK for her study entitled “Kidney Function and Aging”. This American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) award is an administrative Supplement to her K23 award.
- Dr. Ronald Perrone received funding from the NIH/NIDDK for his study entitled the "HALT-Polycystic Kidney Disease Trials (UO1)”. Dr. Perrone's grant is also an ARRA award and is an administrative supplement to his UO1 award.
August 2009
Martin Wagner, MD, MS has been appointed as an Adjunct instructor within the Division and Tufts Medical Center's Department of Medicine.
July 2009
Ashish Upadhyay, MD joined the Division in July. Dr. Upadhyay completed his internal medicine residency at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and his nephrology fellowship at Boston Medical Center. While at BMC, Dr. Upadhyay was active in clinical research looking at CKD in the Framingham Heart Study. His responsibilities at Tufts Medical Center include directing the Kidney and Blood Pressure Center, participating in the development of clinical practice guidelines, and providing patient care and medical education at Tufts Medical Center.
Klemens B. Meyer, MD was elected President-Elect of the National Forum of ESRD Networks.
Madhu Rao, MD was elected to the TUSM Scientific Affairs Committee.
June 2009
Dr. Perrone stepped down at the end of his term as the Department of Medicine's faculty representative to the TUSM Faculty Senate.
Dr. Dena Rifkin won an Attending Teaching Award from the Tufts Medical Center housestaff. Dr. Rifkin received the award as a 1st year attending.
Dr. John T. Harrington retired from the Division and will be working part time in the International Affairs in TUSM
May 2009
Dr. Navdeep Tangri, Research Fellow, received a Top Trainee Abstract Award at the Canadian Society of Nephrology Meeting in He, along with co-fellow Dr. Martin Wagner, also received a Young Investigator Award from the World Congress of Nephrology/ERA-EDTA Meeting in . The awards are for projects titled “Predicting Mortality in Incident Dialysis Patients: An Analysis of the United Kingdom Renal Registry” and “Effect of bone mineral guideline target achievement on survival: An analysis of the United Kingdom Renal Registry”. His collaborators were Martin Wagner, David Kent, John Griffith, Dana Miskulin, Christoph Wanner, Alex Hodsman, David Ansell and David Naimark. Dr. Tangri’s work was the result of a multi-center collaboration of researchers at Tufts Medical Center in Boston; University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada; United Kingdom Renal Registry in Bristol UK;and the University of Wuerzberg in Wuerzberg, Germany. The researchers created a prediction tool from easily available demographic and laboratory variables that accurately predicted all cause mortality in patients with end stage kidney disease on dialysis. They also demonstrated that achieving the bone mineral guideline targets does not improve survival for patients on dialysis.
Save-the-Date: More details will follow, but we are planning a celebration of Dr. Schwartz’s many accomplishments and contributions on November 13, 2009. The events will begin at noon with a special grand rounds and a remembrance session will follow.
Dr. Daniel Weiner is the recipeint of a 2009 American Society of Nephrology career development grant. The award is for $100,000 annually, with support for the second year of funding contingent upon continued eligibility and submission of a satisfactory progress report at the end of the first year.
On May 22nd, Dr. Daniel Weiner co-presented at Tufts Medical Center Grand Rounds with Marvin Konstam, MD, Chief Physician Executive of The Cardiovascular Center at Tufts Medical Center. Their presentation was entitled “Ace Inhibitors, ARBs and Their Combination in Heart Failure and Kidney Disease. “Making Sense of Conflicting Clinical Trial Data”.
In May, the kidney transplant programs received full and unconditional approval from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services!
Dr. Ronald D. Perrone has been selected by the regional councilor and associate councilor and approved by the OPTN/UNOS President Elect to serve as the Region 1 Representative on the OPTN/UNOS Living Donor Committee. His term on the committee will begin July 1, 2009 and end June 30, 2011. As the Region 1 Representative his role will include attending committee meetings; representing the Region 1 Membership during committee deliberations; providing an update on committee activities during the face to face Regional Meetings held in the Spring/Fall; presenting the committee proposals during all face to face and internet based Regional Meetings and providing feedback to the committee as to the regional sentiment on proposals.
Twenty five division members and their families and friends participated in the NKF Kidney Walk held at the Franklin Zoo on May 17th. Our team "Tufts Kidney Care" placed 2nd in fundraising. We raised a total just shy of $11,000! Team members raised almost $1000 and we are very appreciative of an extremely generous gift given from a friend of Dr. Perrone's who donated in memory of his father to the NKF through our team.
Dr. Christoph Wanner from Germany was a Visiting Professor in the Division. In addition to meeting with Division faculty, Dr. Wanner presented "Decreasing the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with CKD: How are we doing?" at the Division's Research Conference.
Drs. Levey and Stevens, in collaboration with colleagues both at Tufts Medical Center and externally, published an article in the May edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine entitled A New Equation to Estimate Glomerular Filtration Rate. The complete citation is:
Levey AS, Stevens LA, Schmid CH, Zhang Y, Castro AF III, 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.
Effective, May 1st Dr. Samina Khan accepted a new position at Abbott Laboratories in Illinois. Seemi completed both her clinical and research fellowships within the Division and has been on staff since that time. We wish her well in her new endeavor! Dr. Dana C. Miskulin will replace Dr. Khan in her role of working with Drs. Tony Dash and Michael Cohen caring for patients in the community with chronic kidney disease.
Lorna Davies, Administrative Assistant, has received The Tufts Medical Center Saltonstall Employee Excellence Award for the month of May. The Saltonstall award honors employees who exhibit the highest standards of service and performance in their work and their interactions with staff, patients and visitors. Lorna is an integral part of our Nephrology team. Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Division Administrator says of Lorna "she always greets you with a smile, is always willing to help, and serves as a great resource to many of us in the division who are in constant need of help!" A luncheon will be held in Lorna’s honor in the coming weeks.
April 2009
Dr. Ronald D. Perrone has been notified that he will receive the 25 Year Faculty Service Award from Tufts University School of Medicine on Monday, June 1, 2009.
Two Division physicians have been honored by the Senior Class at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Scott J. Gilbert received the Outstanding Teaching in the Pre-clerkship Years award and Ranjani Moorthi, MD, MPH, MS, Clinical Fellow, is a recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award awarded by the Senior Class of Tufts University School of Medicine. Drs. Gilbert and Moorthi will receive their awards at the Senior Dinner on Wednesday, May 13th at the Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston.
Dr. Vandana Menon has been awarded the Satellite Dialysis Clinical Scientist Award from the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). Dr. Menon will study biomarkers for kidney disease progression and poor long-term prognosis in patients with stage 3-4 non-diabetic chronic kidney disease. The Clinical Scientist Award from the NKF is intended to support investigators who have demonstrated outstanding clinical research potential to promote their continued success as independent investigators. The award provides salary support for 3 years to enable recipients to devote at least 75% of their time to research for the duration of the award.
Dr. Brian J.G. Pereira, Professor of Medicine, received The David M. Hume Award from the National Kidney Foundation at its 2009 Annual Spring Clinical Meeting. The David M. Hume Memorial Award was created in memory of one of the National Kidney Foundation's most distinguished members. The Hume Award is the highest honor given to a distinguished scientist-clinician in the field of kidney and urologic diseases. It is bestowed upon an individual who exemplifies the high ideals of scholarship and humanitarianism in an outstanding manner.
Dr. Cindy Huang, Research Fellow, received an Outstanding Poster Award from the National Kidney Foundation 2009 Spring Meeting in Nashville, TN. She placed 2nd in the competition for her abstract entitled “Body composition and all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients”. Her collaborators were Hocine Tighiouart, Srinivasan Beddhu, Alfred Cheung, JohannaDwyer, Garabed Eknoyan, Gerald Beck, Andrew Levey, and Mark Sarnak. Dr. Huang’s work was the result of a multicenter collaboration of researchers at Tufts Medical Center in Boston the University of Utah in Salt Lake City; Baylor College of Medicine in Houston;and the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland. The researchers concluded thatboth higher muscle mass and fat mass are associated with decreased all-cause mortality in HD patients.
March 2009
- It is with great sadness that Tufts Medical Center announces the passing of one of the preeminent physicians and administrators in its history, former Chairman of Medicine William B. Schwartz, MD, 86. Dr. Schwartz died on March 15, 2009 after a long illness in Los Angeles, California, where he had lived for a number of years.
“Dr. Schwartz was a remarkably productive and intelligent physician who made major contributions in kidney disease, computers in medicine and medical economics,” said Deeb Salem, MD, Chairman of Medicine. “I had the honor and pleasure of working with him up until last year, and his sharp mind, rigorous analytical ability and health policy acumen will be sorely missed.”
In addition to his clinical, educational and research roles at and Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Schwartz became one of the nation’s leading thinkers on the intersection of medicine and economics.
He authored or co-authored several books and hundreds of articles on subjects ranging from electrolyte disorders to the use of artificial intelligence in medicine to the rationing of health care. From 1976-1992, he was the Vannevar Bush University Professor and Professor of Medicine at Tufts University. He founded Tufts Medical Center’s Division of Nephrology in 1950 and served as its chief until 1971, when he became Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Tufts Medical Center. Dr. Schwartz served as Chairman of Medicine and physician-in-chief at until 1976. On the 50th anniversary of the nephrology division in 2000, it was named in his honor.
In his work at Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center, he personally trained more than 60 nephrologists. He was known for his rigorous attention to detail in scientific analysis, which he imparted to the physicians he trained. He led landmark discoveries in the physiology and management of acid-base and electrolyte disorders, in understanding potassium depletion, and glomerulonephritis, a disease characterized by the inflammation of the small blood vessels in the kidneys. Along with the late Frederic C. Bartter, MD, he discovered and defined the characteristics of the syndrome of inappropriate anti-diuretic hormone (SIADH, also known as the Schwartz-Bartter Syndrome), in which there is excess secretion of the antidiuretic hormone, disturbing the critical water balance in the body.
In 1971, Dr. Schwartz spent a summer at the RAND Corporation, which spawned a second career in health policy and health services research. He remained a principal advisor to Health Science Program at the RAND for more than a decade. In 1984, he co-authored (with economist Henry Aaron), The Painful Prescription: Rationing Hospital Care, which examined health care in the United Kingdom, and its implications for American health care. Before the advent of MRIs and other increasingly expensive medical technologies, Aaron and Dr. Schwartz put forward the notion that technology would drive health care costs to a large extent. In a 1998 book, Life Without Disease: the Pursuit of Medical Utopia, Dr. Schwartz explored the impact of genetic discoveries on medicine, health spending, and society. Dr. Schwartz’s essays and analyses appeared regularly in national newspapers and health policy journals, and government and industry leaders consulted with him on health policy issues.
After moving to California, Dr. Schwartz became emeritus professor of medicine at the University of Southern California.
He leaves his wife Tressa Ruslander Miller of Los Angeles, his son Dr. Eric Schwartz and his wife Dr. Gayle Tillman of Weston, Mass, his daughter Laurie Schwartz Naparstek and her husband Jay Naparstek of Worcester, Mass., his stepson Joshua D. Miller and his wife Lori Miller of San Jose, Calif., his daughter-in-law Ellen Cohen of Newton, Mass, his former wife Carol Schwartz of Newton, Mass., and five grandchildren. He was also the father of the late Kenneth B. Schwartz.
He was a member of the of Arts and Sciences and Institute of Medicine, a past president of the American Society of Nephrology, a past chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Kidney Foundation. He received his undergraduate and medical degree at Duke University.
A memorial service was held on Friday, March 20th at Hillside and Mortuary in A second memorial service will be held later in Boston.
The Division's 2008 Annual Report is now available online.
In celebration of World Kidney Day (March 12th), Dr. Eberhard Ritz from the Department of Internal Medicine Ruperto Carola University of Heidelberg, Germany was a Visiting Professor for the 3rd Annual John T. Harrington Grand Rounds. During his visit he presented at the Division’s Research Conference and also gave the Grand Rounds at Tufts Medical Center entitled The World Kidney Day: The Kidney and Hypertension. Dr. Ritz also participated in the presentation and evaluation of the Division's Research Training Program. Fellows from Maine Medical Center and Tufts Medical Center presented their research and representatives of Divisions of Nephrology at Tufts-affiliated hospitals were present.
Dr. Andrew S. Levey was the co-chair and is the first author on behalf of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expert panel on CKD prevention published in this month's issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. The experts recommended a comprehensive public health strategy to prevent the development, progression, and complications of CKD in the United States. The expert panel's work included applying strategies for primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention for chronic diseases to the conceptual model for development, progression, and complications of CKD; reviewing epidemiologic data from US federal agencies; and discussing ways of integrating public health efforts from various agencies and organizations. The panel also recommended a 10-point plan to the CDC to improve surveillance, screening, education, and awareness directed at 3 target populations: people with CKD or at increased risk of developing CKD; providers, hospitals, and clinical laboratories; and the general public.
Levey AS, et al. Am J Kidney Dis 2009;53:522-35.
Drs. Ezra Gabby, Research Fellow, and Klemens B. Meyer have received the 1st annual Norman S. Stearns, MD, Grant to Promote Education in Ethics and Professionalism. This grant is designed to promote and support teaching and learning innovations developed by TUSM faculty that will enhance student and resident education in Ethics and Professionalism. Their proposal was entitled A Systematic Approach to Learning End of Life Decision Making. The purpose of the project is to introduce end of life decision-making as a clinical skill to be taught and learned in a systematic and multidimensional way, into the TUSM curriculum. The project will consist of two components. The first is a TUSK-based online learning module through which students will progress in a stepwise manner through the diagnostic, prognostic, therapeutic, legal, and psychosocial problems of hypothetical patients for whom decisions about withholding or withdrawing treatment are considered. Students will construct a plan of action to address all these issues, for which they will receive feedback and evaluation. The second component is a pilot of a 4th year elective course in the form of a seminar, exploring end of life issues through discussion and independent research.
The Hortense “Diddy” Seybolt Fund for Staff Enrichment in Nephrology was dedicated. Numerous friends, family members, and Division members were in attendance for the unveiling of a plaque at the entrance of the dialysis unit and also a plaque outside the staff room. Dr. Meyer announced that this year’s professional development funds would be used to support Patient Care Technicians taking the certification examination that is being required for the first time this year.
February 2009
Dr. Scott Gilbert has been invited to participate on a Panel of Excellence for the Graduate Institute For Teaching (GIFT) at Tufts University. The Panel of Excellence consists of an inspired group of academics from across disciplines who answer questions that the 15 GIFT Teaching Fellows have about an academic career.
January 2009
Dr. Daniel Weiner, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Dr. Maria Nurminskaya, Research Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology have received a grant from the Russo Family Charitable Foundation Trust to Tufts University School of Medicine. Their study is entitled "Novel Biomarkers for Vascular Calcification in Kidney Failure". Their collaboration has the potential to translate basic findings made by Dr. Nurminskaya to the clinic and is a strong example of translational research that has the potential to affect the way patients with chronic kidney disease might be treated in the future.
The Russo Family Charitable Foundation Trust to Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) is intended to support interdisciplinary collaborative research to encourage faculty to work collaboratively in research and to apply for multi-investigator grants. The goal is to fund proposals that will lead to an application to the NIH for a new Dual-investigator grant application.
The William B. Schwartz Division of Nephrology was honored for the 2nd year in a row in the latest "Best Hospitals" edition of US News and World Report.
December 2008
Drs. Levey, Stevens and Uhlig, in association with Drs. Lau and Balk, have received a 3-year competing renewal of their grant from the National Kidney Foundation to provide service to international guideline workgroups in nephrology.
The National Kidney Foundation of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont will honor two Tufts Medical Center nephrology clinicians at its 2009 Gift of Life Awards Dinner on Thursday, January 22. Lawrence Milner, MD will be honored as the Outstanding Physician in Nephrology and Deb Basler, MSN, NP received the Outstanding Nephrology Nursing Award. This is the fourth year in a row that a Medical Center clinician has been honored at this event. The Gift of Life Awards Dinner is a celebration of the miracle of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Local physicians, medical staff, business and civic leaders, organ donors and recipients gather for an evening to honor those individuals and organizations that have shown extraordinary commitment and dedication to the kidney and transplant community.
November 2008
Division members have begun planning for the 3rd Annual John T. Harrington Grand Rounds to be held in March 2009 in conjunction with World Kidney Day. Dr. Eberhard Ritz of the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg Germany will be the invited professor. Dr. Ritz will also be writing the World Kidney Day editorial that will appear in the March edition of the major kidney journals.
At the American Society of Nephrology Renal Week 2008, Division members presented 5 platform presentations, 3 free communications and 35 poster presentations!
October 2008
Division members participated in a unique collaborative symposium held at the Grafton campus and hosted by the The Tufts REVEAL (Residents' Enhanced Veterinary Education & Academic Learning) Program. The program invited researchers in kidney disease from the 3 Tufts campuses together to find out what kidney research is going at Tufts and to discover where new collaborations are possible. The day included time to get to know one another and learn what people are doing and then moved into small group discussions with an eye towards creating multi-disciplinary proposals.
Dr. Scott J. Gilbert was selected by Tufts of Medicine (TUSM) third-year students to receive an excellence in teaching citation for the 2007-2008 academic year. Excellence in teaching is the highest category of citation with notable teaching and accomplished teaching being the other categories. Dr. Gilbert has received this award for 3 consecutive years.
Dr. Ronald D. Perrone presented a free webinar entitled "PKD Basics" for the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation. The 563 participants from 50 countries were very active during the presentation and posed 413 questions. Click here to view the archived webinar.
Dr. Michelle M. Richardson was elected to be the Editorial Board Chair for the 7th edition of the Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program (PSAP). She is currently the Editorial Board Chair for the 6th edition. The PSAP series is a premier publication of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and is modeled after the Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program. The program is designed as a self-assessment tool to assist pharmacists in sharpening their clinical skills and keeping abreast in therapeutic areas with updated standards of practice.
September 2008
On Sunday, September 21, the Tufts Kidney Care Team participated in the Walk for PKD. Over 25 Division members and their families walked. The weather was beautiful and our team was a big success. We were the 8th top team fundraiser (raising $4286) and 6th top individual fundraiser (Roberta raised $3020).
Team Tufts Kidney Care at the 2008 PKD Walk for a Cure
August 2008
Klemens Meyer, MD was promoted to Professor of Medicine at TUSM.
Dr. Meyer was also appointed to the Schwartz Compassionate Care Faculty Development program. Already a master at compassionate patient care, Dr. Meyer will be one of a core group of physicians who will be trained to be a ‘master teacher’ of compassionate patient care. This program, through the generous support of the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center, is an opportunity for other faculty to develop, implement, and assess a compassionate care project at their clinical sites and receive feedback from a faculty peer and from the TUSM teaching faculty on how well they incorporate these skills into their teaching. The Compassionate Care Faculty Development Program builds upon the work of the Compassionate Care Faculty Advisory Group which developed a curricular template to teach compassionate care throughout the TUSM four-year medical school curriculum.
Vandana Menon, MD, PhD, MPH, MS was elected to the Scientific Affairs Committee at TUSM.
The Division is now providing peritoneal dialysis services to patients at Kindred Boston.
July 2008
The William B. Schwartz Division of Nephrology was honored in the latest "Best Hospitals" edition of US News and World Report.
June 2008
Lesley A. Stevens, MD, MS, FRCP (C) received a grant from Gilead Sciences in the amount of $743,855 USD in support of her research study entitled "Evaluation of GFR Estimating Equations in HIV Positive Patients" . This study will enroll approximately 200 subjects from 3 study centers.
Team Kidney Care represented the William B. Schwartz Division at the National Kidney Foundation's Boston Kidney Walk. Team Kidney Care placed 9th out of more than 100 teams in fundraising. They raised $5,825.00
The Tufts Medical Center housestaff awarded Mark J. Sarnak, MD, MS the Attending of the Year Award.
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