GW Nephrology Fellows Win Awards at NKF Fellow Research Forum

Congratulations to three nephrology fellows at the George Washington University (GW) who presented research and received awards at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Fellows Research Forum on June 6. The event was hosted at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital.

Winners from the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) include:

Sarah C. Andrews, BS: Best Basic Science Researcher for the presentation, “Gut Colonization with Methanogenic Archaea Lowes Blood TMAO Levels in Apoplipoprotein e-/- Mice.” Andrews was mentored by Dominic Raj, MD, director of the Division of Renal Disease and Hypertension at SMHS, and Ali Ramezani, PhD, assistant research professor of medicine at SMHS.

Yasir Alfi, MD: Best Clinical Research for the presentation, “Inflammation and Measures of Kidney Function Improve Prediction of Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease Events and Death When Combined with Pooled Cohort Equation Risk Estimates for Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.” Alfi was mentored by Raj.

Faizan Babar, MD: Best Clinical Case Presentation for the presentation, “Severe Hypocalcemia Associated with Denosumab in CKD.” Babar was mentored by Shilandra Sharma, MD, assistant professor of medicine at SMHS.

The NKF Fellows Research Forum is open to pre-doctoral trainees, residents, clinical fellows, and post-doctoral research fellows who conducted work in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia in a kidney-related discipline. Research areas may include basic sciences, nephrology, urology, renal nutrition, renal transplantation medicine or surgery, and the kidney-related sciences.

Six projects are chosen from the submissions to be delivered as oral presentation.

“We are very proud of our fellows,” said Raj. “They and their mentors worked hard on their research and presentations. These are the future leaders in fighting kidney disease and discovering novel therapies for atherosclerosis.”