Nephrology

Jay B. Wish, MD is Medical Director of the Out-Patient Dialysis Unit at Indiana University Hospital, Chief Medical Officer for Dialysis at IU Health, and Professor of Clinical Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine. He is past president of the National Forum of ESRD Networks and was the lead nephrology consultant to the Fistula First Breakthrough Initiative 2009-2012. He served on the Board of Directors of the Renal Physicians Association and the American Association of Kidney Patients and was the recipient of the latter’s Visionary Award in 2005. Dr. Wish is Vice Chairman of the Editorial Advisory Board for Nephrology News & Issues and is on the editorial boards of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. He has had numerous articles, editorials, reviews, and book chapters published, particularly in the areas of End-Stage Kidney Disease quality oversight/improvement, accountability, anemia management and vascular access.

Dr. Bakris' academic interests are focused on understanding the factors that influence kidney disease progression. A specific focus is ethnic disparities in kidney disease development and progression. His specific area of interest involves the interaction of hypertension in the presence and absence of diabetes on development of kidney disease. Dr. Bakris has been involved in a number of national and international trials that investigate declines in the rate of kidney function. He was one of the Principal Investigators of the NIH funded African American Study of Kidney Disease (AASK) trial completed in 2008. Additionally, he was Co-Principal Investigator of one the research groups funded through a SCOR mechanism to identify specific genes that may account for such disparities. More recently, he served on the executive committee of the ACCOMPLISH trial which resulted in a paradigm shift of blood pressure treatment guidelines. Additionally, he was the Co-Principal Investigator of the Simplicity HTN-3 trial that focused on a new technique for controlling refractory hypertension by denervating arteries that feed the kidneys. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator of the FIDELIO trial evaluating a novel agent to slow diabetic nephropathy and on the Steering committee of two other trials in diabetic nephropathy. He is also the Chair of the American Diabetes Association Blood Pressure Consensus Report and serves on several guideline committees including the AHA/ACC updated resistant hypertension guidelines in progress

Geoffrey A. Block, MD is the Associate Chief Medical Director and Senior Vice President of Clinical Research and Medical Affairs at U.S. Renal Care. Before joining U.S. Renal Care, Dr. Block served as the Vice President of Nephrology for Reata Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies to improve outcomes for patients with chronic kidney disease and other life-threatening conditions. Earlier, Dr. Block served as Director of Clinical Research and Partner at Denver Nephrology. Over the last 20 years, Dr. Block has served as the principal or co-investigator for numerous clinical trials, and his work has been widely published in medical and nephrology research journals. Since 2000, he has been a manuscript reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and American Journal of Kidney Disease, among several other journals. Dr. Block received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University of Ohio before earning his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio. He completed his residency and chief residency at the University of Cincinnati and his fellowship at the University of Michigan. He has most recently taught at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Radhakrishnan is Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. He is the Director of Clinical Services of the Nephrology Division. His clinical and research interests are the in the therapy of chronic kidney disease (including glomerular diseases and lupus kidney disease), hypertension and intensive care nephrology. He is a co-director of the hypertension center of Columbia Universtiy. He is a fellow of the American Society of Nephrology and National Kidney Foundation. His commitment to medical education and patient care is exemplified by his numerous teaching awards and his inclusion in the Who's Who among America's Teachers & Educators, America's Best Doctors and Castle Connolly's Top Doctor.