{"id":5,"date":"2008-07-28T13:47:31","date_gmt":"2008-07-28T17:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/nephrology\/faculty\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T14:25:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T18:25:46","slug":"faculty","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/nephrology\/faculty\/","title":{"rendered":"Nephrology Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h4>\n

Click here<\/a> for the faculty list in the Department of Medicine’s Directory. Brief biographies of Nephrology team members are available below:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Nephrology Faculty <\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
\"\"
Sushrut Waikar, MD, MPH
<\/span><\/strong>Chief of Nephrology <\/span>
Norman G. Levinsky Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"\"
Afolarin Amodu, MD, MPH <\/span><\/strong>Assistant Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Amodu <\/a><\/span>received his medical degree from University of Lagos, Nigeria. He earned his master\u2019s degree in public health at Harvard University. He completed his internal medical residency at Seton Hall University, St Francis Medical in New Jersey where he was a chief resident. His nephrology training was at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital \/ Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Amodu has established a nephrology clinic within the BMC Center of Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease, which serves more than 450 patients annually. He is interested in understanding disparities in healthcare delivery in minorities and improving access to care. Dr. Amodu is involved in patient-oriented research in chronic kidney disease.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Rivka
Rivka Ayalon, MD<\/strong><\/span>
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Ayalon<\/a> received her medical degree from Faculty of Health Sciences of Ben Gurion University in Israel. After completing clinical training in medicine and nephrology in Tel-Aviv Medical Center she moved to the US and received further training in clinical and research nephrology at Boston University. She conducted research in the Beck\/Salant laboratory and made important scientific contributions in understanding the clinical implications of anti-PLA2R (phospholipase A2 receptor) antibodies in membranous nephropathy. She is a recipient of the Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network\u2019s Career Development Fellowship Grant. Dr. Ayalon is also a hypertension specialist and in recent years has shifted her primary interest towards caring for patients with hypertension. She serves as the Co-Director of the Comprehensive Hypertension Center at Boston Medical Center\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Laurence
Laurence H. Beck Jr, MD, PhD<\/span><\/strong>
David J. Salant Professor of Nephrology\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Associate Professor of Medicine\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Beck<\/a> received his MD and PhD degrees from Harvard University and completed both medicine and nephrology training at Boston University. He is an internationally known basic and translational physician-scientist with a research focus on auto-immune glomerular and interstitial diseases. His pioneering work with Dr. David Salant led to the identification of PLA2<\/sub>R (phospholipase A2<\/sub>\u00a0receptor) as the major target antigen in membranous nephropathy in 2009 and THSD7A (thrombospondin type-1 domain-containing 7A) as a minor target antigen in membranous nephropathy in 2014. These landmark discoveries have led to a new era in the diagnosis, disease monitoring, and clinical management of membranous nephropathy. Their work has now made it possible to follow the immunologic course of membranous nephropathy which has been shown to correlate with treatment response and clinical outcomes. He is the 2019 recipient of the American Society of Nephrology\u2019s Distinguished Researcher Award. Dr. Beck serves as the inaugural Director of the Glomerular Center at Boston Medical Center<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Jasvinder
Jasvinder S. Bhatia, MD<\/strong><\/span>
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine<\/span>
Director of Clinical Services<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Bhatia<\/a> obtained his medical degree from University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He completed both his medicine and nephrology training at Boston University. Recognized as one of Boston\u2019s top nephrologists by the Boston Magazine, Dr. Bhatia has overseen the clinical nephrology services at Boston Medical Center (BMC) since 2006 and is the medical director of Davita-Boston Dialysis Clinic, the largest dialysis unit in Massachusetts. He is a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the National Kidney Foundation of New England and serves on the ESRD Divisional Board of the ESRD Network of New England. He is a Co-Chair of the ESRD Task Force at BMC. The ESRD Task Force strives to improve the transition of care from CKD to ESRD. He is the 2018 recipient of the Evans Clinician Designation and the 2020 inductee into Boston University Medical Group\u2019s Clinical Excellence Society.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Steven
Steven C. Borkan, MD<\/span><\/strong>
Associate Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Borkan<\/a> is a board-certified Nephrologist at Boston Medical center (BMC) and an associate professor of Medicine at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine (BUACSOM). Dr. Borkan is the senior author of more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, and he has been a principal investigator for the NIH for 25 years. His research is focused on the cellular mechanisms and treatment of ischemic acute kidney injury (AKI), and he is a co-inventor of an injectable peptide for its prevention and treatment. Dr. Borkan is known for his memorable and enjoyable teaching style. He has received several awards for excellence in teaching from medical students, house staff, and colleagues at BU, BMC, and the Massachusetts Medical Society. As a Co-Director of the MD\/MD training program at BUACSOM, he enjoys exciting the Next Gen of clinician-scientists to join the mission of serving underserved patients using cutting edge science.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
Vipul C. Chitalia, MD, PhD <\/span><\/strong>Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Chitalia<\/a> obtained his medical degree from University of Bombay. He completed his initial training in medicine and nephrology in India. After moving to the US, he completed medicine residency at St. Vincent\u2019s Medical Center, nephrology fellowship and PhD in molecular medicine at Boston University, and post-doctoral training at Harvard-MIT Division of Science and Technology. Being a practicing physician, his research is deeply rooted in clinical medicine at the intersection of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and nephrology. Leveraging an array of models and cutting-edge tools starting from molecular level to animal models, computational medicine, human subject research and artificial intelligence, his laboratory is currently addressing major bottlenecks in the field of nephrology and hemodialysis. His reverse translational model of bedside-bench-bedside has contributed to the fundamental understanding of cardiovascular diseases in patients of kidney failure and cancer. His NIH- and privately-funded laboratory provides a breadth of experience to trainees, including experiences in molecular biology, translational medicine, clinical research, and health economics. Dr. Chitalia has received multiple awards for his research and mentorship, including the 2016 Outstanding Mentor Award from Boston University and 2019 Senior Research Mentor Award from the Department of Medicine. Dr. Chitalia is the inaugural director of the BU\u2019s Center for Cross Organ Vascular Pathology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Herbert
Herbert T. Cohen, MD<\/strong><\/span>
Associate Professor of Medicine, Pathology, Laboratory Medicine, Pharmacology, and Experimental Therapeutics<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Cohen <\/a><\/span>graduated from Jefferson Medical College and received his clinical and research training in nephrology at University of Chicago. In addition, he received advanced training in molecular biology and protein chemistry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Dr. Vikas P. Sukhatme. Dr. Cohen\u2019s research interests are in the molecular basis of kidney cancer, cystic kidney disease and kidney development. His laboratory has identified a new family of transcription factor and ubiquitin ligase proteins called the Jade family of proteins that play an important role in kidney cancer and cyst formation. Dr. Cohen\u2019s scientific contributions have been recognized by election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation.\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Cohen is also an active clinician in nephrology and has received teaching awards, both from the school of medicine and from Boston Medical Center.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
John P. Forman, MD, MSc<\/strong>
Associate Professor of Medicine\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Forman<\/a> received his medical degree from Yale, trained in internal medicine at the University of Washington Affiliated Hospitals in Seattle and at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and completed his clinical and research fellowship in nephrology at Brigham and Women\u2019s and Massachusetts General Hospitals. He obtained a Masters in Science in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2006. Before joining BU in 2020, he was a clinician and hypertension specialist, educator, and clinical investigator at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital. At BU, he continues to care for patients with complex hypertension problems; in addition, he performs clinical research as an NIH-funded investigator, including observational studies and clinical trials, related to the prevention, evaluation, and care of individuals with hypertension.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
Jean Francis, MD<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 Associate Professor of Medicine\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Medical Director, Kidney Transplantation\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Francis <\/a><\/span>obtained his medical degree from the Lebanese University School of Medicine. He completed his medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at Yale University- Saint Raphael Campus. He subsequently did kidney and pancreas transplantation fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. He is currently the Medical Director of kidney transplantation at BUMC, and serves as the Medical Director of the combined Pancreas Transplant Program between BUMC and BWH. This is a combined program between the two institutions that facilitates the cure of type 1 & 2 DM with pancreas transplantation in very selected patients. \u00a0Dr. Francis conducts clinical research in kidney transplantation, and has a special interest in thrombotic microangiopathy and complement-mediated diseases. He is also an accomplished educator who has won several excellence in teaching awards. He is the recipient of the 2022 National Kidney Foundation Award for Excellence in Nephrology and Kidney transplantation. \u00a0Dr. Francis serves as a Co-Director of BU\u2019s Thrombosis and Microangiopathy Collaborative, he is also a co-director of the ARC on Thrombosis and Homeostasis. He served as the region one UNOS representative for Pancreas transplantation. Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a rare but very serious condition. Dr. Francis is the founder of the first Thrombotic Microangiopathy (TMA) Team at Boston Medical Center (BMC), a unique multidisciplinary approach to the management of this very rare disease. Many institutions and medical centers in the US and around the world currently adopt this model to care for patients with TMA. Dr. Francis is nationally recognized clinician-educator, a frequent invited speaker; he has published > 60 scientific manuscripts, reviews and book chapters. He has also trained many nephrologists. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
Sandeep Ghai, MD\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>Assistant Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Ghai\u00a0<\/span><\/a>received his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine. He completed both his medicine and nephrology training at Boston University. Dr. Ghai is an active transplant nephrologist with a special interest in health system improvements within the inpatient setting. He is active in medical education at all levels, and is involved in a number of mentoring activities for medical students, residents and nephrology fellows.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

\"Deepthi
Deepthi Gunasekaran, MD<\/span><\/strong> Assistant Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Gunasekaran<\/a> completed her Internal Medicine Residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Fairview Hospital program where she served as chief resident. She trained in Nephrology at Yale University. She has a special interest in cardiorenal syndrome, use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) for volume assessment and kidney stones. She is a clinician-educator and is involved in curriculum development for POCUS in Nephrology fellowship.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
Titilayo O. Ilori, MD, MS<\/span><\/strong> Assistant Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Ilori<\/a> received her medical degree from University of Lagos Medical School in Nigeria. After moving to the US, she completed her residency at Morehouse School of Medicine and nephrology fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine, both in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Ilori went on to receive her Master of Science in Clinical Research at Emory University while working there as an Assistant Professor of Medicine. Dr. Ilori then moved to the University of Arizona as an Assistant Professor of Medicine and worked as a co-investigator on the All of Us Research Program. She is a co-investigator and member of the steering committee of the Human Hereditary and Health in Africa Kidney Disease Research Network. Dr. Ilori, joined BU in November 2019. She is supported by an NIH K23 career development award focused on gene-environment interactions in Apolipoprotein L1 nephropathy. She is investigating the effect of diet and lifestyle in the development and progression of CKD in the context of genetic and genomic risk variants, using diverse data sources including the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study, the Black Women\u2019s Health Study, and the Jackson Heart Study.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"
Aala Jaberi, MD<\/strong><\/span>
Assistant Professor of Medicine\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Jaberi<\/a> obtained her medical degree from Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She completed her initial clinical training in internal medicine in Ireland. She became a member of Royal College of Physicians in Ireland\u00a0following the successful completion of her training and examinations. Prior to joining Boston University, she completed a research fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Andrey Cybulsky at McGill University. As a research fellow at McGill, Dr. Jaberi examined the cellular pathways involved in kidney development and cellular kidney injury. In particular, Dr. Jaberi focused on understanding the molecular events that occur during ischemic-reperfusion injury and podocyte injury. Following her training in laboratory research, Dr. Jaberi pursued a clinical and research nephrology fellowship at Boston University. An accomplished educator and clinician, Dr. Jaberi was the recipient of the 2020 Sub-specialty Teaching Award from BMC\u2019s Internal Medicine Residency program and the 2021 Clinical Excellence Award from the Boston University Medical Group. Dr. Jaberi serves as the Medical Director of Boston Medical Center\u2019s Acute Dialysis Program.<\/text-align:><\/p>\n

\n
\"Weining
Weining Lu, MD, MSc<\/span><\/strong>
Associate Professor of Medicine<\/span>
Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"Hanni
Hanni Menn-Josephy, MD<\/span><\/strong>
Assistant Professor of Medicine\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Associate Program Director, Nephrology Fellowship<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Menn<\/a> obtained her medical degree from Technion \u2013 Israel Institute of Technology. She completed her initial clinical training in Israel before moving to the US to complete nephrology clinical and research fellowship at Boston University. She has a special interest in auto-immune kidney diseases in general and lupus nephritis in particular. As a nephrology fellow, she studied interferon regulating pathways in both lupus mice models and human cells. Dr. Menn is also active in conducting clinical trials on lupus nephritis and co-directs a multidisciplinary lupus and autoimmune clinic at Boston Medical Center. With Dr. Bonegio, she has established an auto-immune disease registry for clinical studies at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Menn is the recipient of the NKF\u2019s Young Investigators Grant and the 2020 Evans Day Clinical Quality Improvement Award for her work on reducing no-shows in the multidisciplinary lupus clinic.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Michael O’Donnell, MD<\/strong><\/span> Assistant Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. O’Donnell<\/a> received his medical degree from the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine. He completed Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Buffalo as well. He trained in Nephrology at Boston University. He is a clinician educator with special interest in medical education and mentorship for medical trainees at all stages, POCUS, and home dialysis. He is working at the Boston VA expanding access to nephrology care through telemedicine.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n
\"Ian
Ian R. Rifkin MD, PhD<\/span><\/strong>
Associate Professor of Medicine<\/span>
Chief of Nephrology at Boston VA<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"\"
Katherine M. Rizzolo, MD<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Assistant Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Rizzolo<\/a> received her medical degree from Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, and her residency and chief residency in internal medicine at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. She completed a clinical and research and chief fellowship in nephrology at the University of Colorado in 2023. Her research interests center on utilizing mixed-methods and implementation science methodology to improve access to kidney care for underserved communities disproportionately impacted by kidney disease, especially Latinx and immigrant populations. She is a research fellow in Boston University\u2019s Evans Center for Implementation and Improvement Sciences from 2023-2025.<\/p>\n

\n
\"David
David J. Salant, MD<\/strong><\/span>
Robert Dawson Evans Distinguished Professor of Medicine
Vice Chair for Research, Department of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Salant<\/a> received his medical degree from University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and completed his clinical training at Johannesburg General Hospital. He received his research training at Boston University with Dr. William G. Couser and joined BU\u2019s nephrology faculty in 1979. Dr. Salant is an internationally renowned physician-scientist and an acclaimed educator. His research primarily explores the immune basis for glomerular diseases and the mechanisms of podocyte injury. He was among the first to identify podocytes as the primary target of injury in antibody-mediated glomerular diseases. In a landmark New England Journal of Medicine paper in 2009, Drs. Salant, Beck and colleagues described their discovery of the target antigen in membranous nephropathy and showed that a high proportion of patients with membranous nephropathy have circulating autoantibodies to the phospholipase A2 receptor on human podocytes. Dr. Salant is a past chairman of the ABIM Sub-specialty Board of Examiners in Nephrology, and recipient of several national and international awards for his scientific contributions, including election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association, the John P. Peters Award from the American Society of Nephrology, the Jean Hamburger Award from the International Society of Nephrology, the Donald W. Seldin Award from the National Kidney Foundation, and the Marilyn Farquhar Award at the 11th Annual Podocyte Conference.<\/p>\n

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\"\"
Insa Schmidt, MD, MPH\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Assistant Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Schmidt<\/a> received her M.D. degree from Hanover Medical School in Germany and her M.P.H. degree from Harvard University. She has a broad range of interests in quantitative and qualitative clinical research, combining rich data from multiple sources, including biomarkers, digital kidney pathology, and clinical and psychosocial information, to improve clinical disease phenotyping and outcome prediction for patients with kidney disease. Her projects focus on associations of chronic kidney and cardiovascular disease, the development of novel biomarkers for prediction of adverse clinical events, and various aspects of clinical care including differences in medical values and practices and interpersonal aspects of patient care. Dr. Schmidt received the Charles W. Holtzer fellowship Award for her studies at Harvard and was awarded a Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar Award by the American Society of Nephrology in 2023.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Lauren
Lauren Stern, MD, MPH<\/span><\/strong>
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Stern<\/a> obtained her medical degree from Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She completed her medicine residency, chief residency, and nephrology fellowship at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Dr. Stern has a special clinical interest in expanding home dialysis services within the underserved communities. At BU, Dr. Stern serves as an Associate Director of the third-year medicine clerkship and directs the second-year renal pathophysiology course. Outside of BU, Dr. Stern has served on the American Society of Nephrology\u2019s Workforce and the Public Policy and Advocacy Committees, and is part of the Home Dialysis University faculty. Dr. Stern serves as the Medical Director of Home Dialysis at Davita Boston Dialysis Clinic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"
Ashish Upadhyay, MD<\/span><\/strong>
Clinical Professor of Medicine<\/span>
Program Director, Nephrology Fellowship<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"Ashish
Ashish Verma, MD<\/span><\/strong>
Assistant Professor of Medicine<\/span>
<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Jin \u00a0Dr. Wei<\/a> received his BS degree from Jilin University in China and his PhD degree from the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and a Principal Investigator in the Department of Medicine Nephrology Section. Dr. Wei received over a decade of training in cardiovascular and renal physiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, spanning his doctoral, post-doctoral, and early faculty years. During the training period, his research was supported by the American Society of Nephrology Ben J. Lipps Postdoctoral Fellowship and Carl W. Gottschalk Transition to Independence Research Scholar Grant. In 2023, Dr. Wei joined Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and established his independent research laboratory in the Department of Medicine Nephrology Section. Dr. Wei\u2019s laboratory investigates pathogenetic mechanisms and therapeutic targets in cardiovascular and renal diseases, with a particular focus on hypertension, preeclampsia and cardiorenal syndrome. His research program is supported by an NIH\/NHLBI R01 grant and an American Heart Association Transformational Project Award.<\/p>\n

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\"\"
Jie Zhang, PhD<\/span><\/strong>
Assistant Professor of Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Zhang<\/a> received her BS degree from Jilin University in China and her PhD degree from the University of South Florida. She joined the faculty of BU\/BMC and established her independent research laboratory in 2023. Dr. Zhang\u2019s laboratory employs a combination of classical renal physiology techniques such as micropuncture and microperfusion, as well as cutting-edge molecular biology technologies such as single-cell RNA sequencing and genetically engineered animal models to explore fundamental questions within the field of nephrology. Her research endeavors have been supported by prestigious fellowships and grants, including the American Heart Association Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, the American Society of Nephrology Ben J. Lipps Post-Doctoral Fellowship, the American Society of Nephrology Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar Grant, and NIH-NIDDK R01 Grant.<\/p>\n

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Nephrology Fellows<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Please click here<\/a> to learn more about our current fellows<\/p>\n

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Additional Research Team Members<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Please click here<\/a> to learn more about our additional research team members.<\/p>\n

\n

Nephrology Advanced Practice Practitioners<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
\n
\"\"
Barbara Furgal, PA<\/strong> <\/span>Nephrology Physician Assistant<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ms. Furgal graduated with Masters In Physician Assistant Studies from Springfield College in 2006. She started her PA career in nephrology in Western Massachusetts. She moved to Boston Medical Center in 2013 and joined the Section as the first Nephrology Physician Assistant in 2018.\u00a0 Ms. Furgal primarily works with inpatient consult services and helps offload consult volume from teaching services. She enjoys working with Nephrology Fellows and is a tremendous resource for clinical fellows.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\"\"
Tanya Young, FNP-C, MSN\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>Renal Nurse Practitioner<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ms. Young obtained her bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing from Regis College and her master\u2019s degree in nursing in family medicine from the University of Massachusetts Boston.\u00a0 She has several years of experience in hemodialysis.\u00a0 Additionally, she has a dual role as a case manager under Massachusetts\u2019 Accountable Care Organization, with a passion for addressing social determinants of health in underserved urban populations.<\/p>\n

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<\/h4>\n

Administrative Team\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n
\"\"
Rebecca Carss <\/strong><\/span>Administrative Director<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ms. Carss was born in Newcastle, England, raised in Connecticut, and then abandoned the Atlantic Ocean for the Midwest to go to school for accounting. She has worked in the healthcare field since graduating, and chose to further specialize with a Master\u2019s in Healthcare Administration while working in the finance department at Boston Medical Center. She has been with BMC since 2013 as a financial analyst, senior accountant, and now as the Administrative Director of Nephrology . She feels she could not have imagined choosing a better institution to work within and is delighted to be able to work with talented clinicians, researchers, and administrative teams to provide exceptional care to our patients. Outside of BMC, she teaches swimming lessons, coaches a JV club swim team, owns a dog care business, and is a proud mom.<\/p>\n

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\"\"
Denise Mahoney <\/span>
<\/strong>Senior Grants Manager<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ms. Mahoney was born and raised in Central Massachusetts, attended Salem State University for accounting. She has been with BMC since 2015 as a grant manager for Endocrinology, Cardiology, Infectious Disease and Nephrology in the Department of Medicine. She can not imagine choosing a better institution to support and she is proud to be able to work with such talented clinicians, researchers, and administrative teams to provide exceptional care to our patients. Outside of BMC, she enjoys riding horses, running, biking and skiing.<\/p>\n

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\"\"
Alexandra Jeannot<\/strong><\/span> Administrative Coordinator<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ms. Jeannot attended the University of Massachusetts in Lowell for Finance. She joined BMC in 2023 in the Department of Nephrology as an Administrative Coordinator. During her free time, she enjoys playing soccer and learning new skills.<\/p>\n

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Melisa Lowenstein<\/strong><\/span> Fellowship Coordinator<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Melisa<\/span>\u00a0was born in Argentina and raised in Israel, where she earned her BSc in Biology from the Technion \u2013 Israel Institute of Technology, and a medical degree from Bar Ilan University. A couple of years ago, she moved to the U.S. with her husband for his postdoc fellowship. After taking time to raise their two young boys and relocating again, this time from Baltimore to Boston, she is now excited to return to work and support the nephrology fellowship program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click here for the faculty list in the Department of Medicine’s Directory. Brief biographies of Nephrology team members are available below: Nephrology Faculty Dr. Waikar received his medical degree from Yale and trained in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, where he served as chief medical resident. He trained in nephrology at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1250,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":21,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/nephrology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/nephrology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/nephrology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/nephrology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/nephrology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":59,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/nephrology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4294,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/nephrology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions\/4294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/nephrology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Dr. Verma<\/a> earned his medical degree from Government Stanley Medical College in Chennai, India. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga, followed by a clinical and research fellowship in nephrology at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, with joint appointment as a Clinical Fellow in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. During his fellowship, he also trained as a research fellow under Dr. Sushrut S. Waikar at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital, focusing on predictors of CKD progression.\u00a0<\/span>He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Nephrology at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, a physician at Boston Medical Center, and the lead nephrologist for the Boston University Amyloidosis Center. As a clinician\u2013investigator, his work bridges patient care and research, focusing on improving early detection, risk prediction, and treatment strategies for kidney disease in the context of cardiovascular\u2013kidney\u2013metabolic (CKM) health and systemic amyloidosis. Dr. Ashish Verma earned his medical degree from Government Stanley Medical College in Chennai, India. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga, followed by a clinical and research fellowship in nephrology at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, with joint appointment as a Clinical Fellow in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. During his fellowship, he also trained as a research fellow under Dr. Sushrut S. Waikar at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital, focusing on predictors of CKD progression. <\/span>His research integrates epidemiology, physiology, and proteomics to uncover pathways of CKM disease progression. He has contributed to studies showing that even low levels of albuminuria may indicate risk, that heart and kidney disease often amplify each other\u2019s effects, and that hormonal pathways such as aldosterone regulation may be therapeutic targets. His work has also advanced long-term risk estimation across CKM stages, including a Journal of the American Society of Nephrology study selected for the Best of ASN Journals (2025). He is also recognized as a Top 1% All-Star Nephrology Researcher (2024\u20132025) by Avant Garde Health. Dr. Verma has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals such as Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, JASN, European Heart Journal, and JACC. His work has been supported by an American Heart Association Career Development Award and has been recognized through invited presentations at national scientific meetings. He contributes to the academic community as Associate Editor for BMC Medicine, and through service on the American Heart Association Kidney in Cardiovascular Medicine Committee and the Framingham Heart Study Ancillary Proposals Review Committee <\/span>Mentorship and education are central to his role. He has guided medical students, residents, and fellows to first-author publications and national recognition, and he contributes to BU\u2019s academic environment through teaching in the Resident Research Course, interviewing residency and fellowship applicants, and judging research abstracts. <\/span>Clinically, Dr. Verma cares for patients with chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, cardiorenal syndromes, and amyloidosis at Boston Medical Center. His leadership in the Amyloidosis Center underscores his commitment to multidisciplinary care for complex systemic disease and reflects his broader mission as a clinician\u2013investigator to bring research insights directly into patient care.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Upadhyay<\/a> obtained his medical degree from Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine in Nepal, completed medicine residency at Tufts University\/St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, and nephrology fellowship at Boston University\/Boston Medical Center. Dr. Upadhyay is a <\/span>clinical nephrologist and Director of the Nephrology Fellowship Program. He also leads the research and evidence-based medicine curriculum for the Internal Medicine Residency Program and is a key faculty in BU\u2019s NIH R38-funded Research in Residency Program. Previously, Dr. Upadhyay led evidence review teams for international clinical practice guidelines in nephrology (2009-2012), was Associate Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at BMC (2012-2018) and was Director of Nephrology Clerkship at BUCASM (2018-2025). His scholarly contributions span clinical nephrology and medical education, with his publications, excluding clinical practice guidelines, achieving over 5,500 citations. In addition, he is an investigator on several kidney disease\u2013related clinical studies at BMC. Nationally, he serves as a voting member of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation\u2019s Renal Disease and Detoxification Committee, the primary source of national and international consensus standards for hemodialysis technology and dialysis water sterilization processes. At BUCASM, he chairs the Committee on Appeals and is a member of the Medical Education Committee. He is the recipient of the 2021 Program Leadership Award from Boston Medical Center and the 2022 Robert Dawson Evans Special Recognition Teaching Award from the Department of Medicine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Rifkin<\/a> obtained his medical degree from University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. He received his initial clinical training in South Africa and the United Kingdom, obtained PhD in Immunology from University of Cambridge, and completed clinical and research nephrology fellowship at Boston University. Dr. Rifkin is an accomplished physician-scientist with a research focus on immunology and lupus nephritis. His research has been funded by the NIH, a number of national and international foundations, and leading pharmaceutical industries. Dr. Rifkin is one of the founders of BU\u2019s Center for Immunobiology. He is also an active mentor for students, clinical and post-doctoral fellows, and faculty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Lu <\/a>received his medical degree from Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China and his graduate degree from Northeastern University in the US. He completed his post-doctoral training in the Renal Division and the Genetics Division at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Lu is a principal investigator and faculty member in the Nephrology Section and a mentor to fellows, postdocs, and students. Dr. Lu’s laboratory focuses on the basic and translational research of kidney development, congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary track (CAKUT), podocyte biology and injury, pericyte biology, and renal fibrosis, as well as the discovery of new biomarkers, artificial-intelligence- based pathology tools to improve diagnosis and clinical trials and novel drug development for chronic kidney disease. In recognition of his seminal contribution to developing a potential new drug for chronic kidney disease in collaboration with Pfizer, Dr. Lu was named the Boston University Innovator of the Year in 2019. Dr. Lu is the Chair of the Core Oversight Advisory Committee in the Department of Medicine, a Co-Director of the BU CTSI R-Award Grant Writing Workshop, and a voting member of the Boston University Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). He is also a fellow of the American Society of Nephrology and the International Society of Nephrology. Dr. Lu is an Academic Editor of the scientific journal PLOS ONE and a member of the NIH grant review study sections.<\/p>\n

Dr. Waikar<\/a> received his medical degree from Yale and trained in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, where he served as chief medical resident. He trained in nephrology at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital \/ Massachusetts General Hospital and earned his master\u2019s degree in public health at Harvard in 2006. Prior to joining BU in September 2019, he was the Constantine L. Hampers, MD Distinguished Chair in Renal Medicine at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital (BWH). He is an active clinician and educator and has received teaching awards from BWH, Harvard, and UCSF. Dr. Waikar is a\u00a0clinical researcher<\/a><\/span>\u00a0whose research interests are inspired by the patients he sees in the clinic and inpatient wards. He uses epidemiologic, translational, and interventional studies to address a number of questions at the interface of clinical nephrology and patient-oriented research. He is a Principal Investigator of the NIH Kidney Precision Medicine Project, the CKD of Unknown Etiology Consortium, and several other grants related to kidney physiology and biomarkers of kidney disease.<\/p>\n