March is Kidney Awareness Month–a time to highlight a disease that affects more than 30 million Americans. Learn how specialists with the UNC Kidney Center and Division of Nephrology and Hypertension are working to reduce the incidence and burden of kidney disease.

Christian Agosto-Burgos, a PhD candidate, was featured in Univision 40 North Carolina interviews about COVID-19. He explained to Spanish-speaking audiences how natural and vaccine-mediated immunity are different, why individuals develop the disease more than once, and why it is important to receive the two doses of the vaccine. Agosto-Burgos is pursuing his PhD in pathobiology … Continued

Gerald Hladik, MD, and Prabir Roy-Chaudhury, MD, joined Rob Hayden, executive director of the North Carolina National Kidney Foundation (NCNFD), on Thursday, November 19, to recognize the burden of kidney disease in North Carolina and express appreciation to policymakers for supporting the “Living Donor Protection Act.” They were joined by kidney donors and kidney transplant recipients who discussed the benefits of living donor transplantation and the need to support living kidney donors.

The UNC Kidney Center’s “Carolina Kidney Team” ranked first in North Carolina for fundraising, and second in the nation, after virtually completing the National Kidney Foundation’s Annual Kidney Walk on November 15. The team walked for current patients, former patients, their caretakers, and others impacted by kidney disease, calling attention to the prevention of kidney disease and the need for organ donation. Although COVID-19 prevented teams from gathering in person, their reasons were no less inspiring.

Keisha Gibson, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine and pediatrics and vice chair of diversity and inclusion in the department of medicine, received the 2020 H. Fleming Fuller Award in a virtual ceremony Thursday, November 12. Benny Joyner, MD, MPH, was a co-honoree

Gerald Hladik, MD, Doc J. Thurston Distinguished Professor of Medicine and chief of the UNC Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, has announced the appointment of Jennifer “Jenny” E. Flythe, MD, MPH, to Vice Chief for the Division. “Dr. Flythe brings a wealth of expertise in patient-centered outcomes research in individuals with advanced kidney disease, processes of care, and quality improvement,” Hladik said. …Continued

Kiri Bagley, MD, MPH, pediatric nephrology fellow at the UNC Kidney Center has been chosen for a fellowship with AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships (STPF) that will enable her to train with the Department of Health and Human Services. Her fellowship will be based in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information … Continued

Christian Agosto-Burgos, a graduate research assistant from the department of pathology and laboratory medicine, working in the lab of Ronald Falk, MD, at the UNC Kidney Center, has received the 2020 Boka W. Hadzija Award for Distinguished University Service,  The award, one of the Chancellor’s Awards at Carolina, recognizes a graduate or professional student with outstanding … Continued

Prabir Roy-Chaudhury, MD, PhD, professor of medicine in the division of nephrology and hypertension, and co-director of the UNC Kidney Center, recently published “Intradialytic Hypotension and Cardiac Arrhythmias in Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis: Results From the Monitoring in Dialysis Study” in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.  Patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (HD) … Continued

Kidney disease is increasingly recognized as an important contributor to the global burden of disease, and surveys show there is a high level of perceived inadequacy in the pediatric nephrology workforce. Dorey Glenn, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatric nephrology, has been working to create new opportunities for education and training in resource limited parts … Continued