Council

Roser Torra is a Professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the President of the European Renal Association (ERA). She studied Medicine at the Universitat de Barcelona and completed her Nephrology residency at the Hospital Clinic. Since 2001, she has led the Inherited Kidney Diseases Unit at the Puigvert Foundation, where she is also chief of clinical Nephrology.

Her research, with over 200 publications, focuses on hereditary kidney diseases. Roser has received numerous fellowships, competitive grants, and the Iñigo Álvarez de Toledo Nephrology research award twice. She also coordinates the Rare Diseases program at Fundació Puigvert and the ERKnet and XUEC networks.

Dimitrios S. Goumenos, born in 1958, graduated from the University of Athens Medical School in 1982 and trained in Internal Medicine and Nephrology at Laikon General Hospital.

He received a fellowship from the Alexandros Onasis Foundation for advanced training at the Sheffield Kidney Institute, focusing on glomerulonephritis and renal scarring. In 1997, he became Assistant Professor at the University Hospital of Patras, later advancing to Full Professor and Head of Nephrology in 2009. His research spans kidney disease progression, pathogenesis and treatment of glomerular diseases, obesity-related glomerulopathy, and proteomics. He has held leadership roles, including President of the Hellenic Society of Nephrology and Dean of the University of Patras Medical School. He is currently Secretary General of the European Renal Association.

Mustafa ARICI, MD, is a Professor of Medicine (Nephrology) at Hacettepe University, Ankara, and Treasurer of the European Renal Association (ERA). A member of the Turkish Science Academy and former Secretary-General of Turkish Society of Nephrology, he has also served on KDIGO’s Executive Committee. His research focuses on chronic kidney disease (CKD), hypertension, kidney disease progression, albuminuria, fibrosis, cardiovascular risks, and sodium consumption.

He is a theme editor for Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation and holds editorial roles in several medical journals. He has co-edited two major textbooks on CKD and nephrology.

Alberto Ortiz, MD, PhD, FERA, is the Head of Nephrology and Hypertension at Fundación Jiménez Díaz and Professor of Medicine at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He serves as Chair of the ERA Registry and is Clinical Science Chair-elect. Ortiz also coordinates Spain’s Kidney Research Network (REDINREN/RICORS2040) and SPACKDc, focusing on CKD genomics.

He received the 2020 ERA Award for Research Excellence and co-chaired the KDIGO Controversies Conference on Kidney Health in 2023. His research focuses on CKD epidemiology, acute kidney injury, and CKD pathogenesis. He was Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Kidney Journal from 2014 to 2022.

As an Ordinary Council Member of the ERA, I will support the Society with my background in both clinical nephrology and basic research area, as well as, with my constant true enthusiasm. Among others, I would like to get involved in drawing more attention in the implementation into clinical practise current methods of prevention of CKD progression. Recently, I took part in the preparation of Polish guidelines on the issue of nephroprotection. I will promote the organisation by ERA webinars and courses for not only nephrologists but of general practitioners and internal medicine specialists focused on nephroprotection (among others in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and also in the local languages). Moreover, I would like to promote the initiatives of funding ERA grants which allow to study nephroprotection with not very obvious measures (for example: plant enriched diet or avoiding energy drinks consumption) and also within specific populations with special needs (for example: refugees or patients with severe mental disorders). During my activities in the scientific committees of ERA congresses 2024 and 2026 I make every effort to ensure gender equity in the distribution of the ERA invited speakers. As Ordinary Council Member I will be sensitive for every issue related to gender imbalances. Because of my nationality and country of residence I well understand the problems concerning nephrological community in Central, Eastern Europe and Balkan countries. In the natural way I will represents the point of views of nephrologists from this part of Europe in the ERA Council. In Poland, when preparing the scientific programme of annual congresses of Polish Society of Nephrology, some invited lecturers (usually 3 person) are proposed completely independently by Young Nephrological Club from theirs members. This allow to effectively promote representatives of young nephrologist. A similar model (with the activity of Young Nephrologist Platform) can be used during preparation of future ERA congresses scientific programme. And last but not least, I would like to promote some important initiatives of our society that can preserve nephrological identity and enable the study of the roots of our scientific discipline, namely cooperation with the International Association for the History of Nephrology (IAHN). It is always good, looking to the future, do not forget the past.

ERA is the key organization within Europe to further develop and support activities in nephrology. Kidney disease is a world-wide main problem, which is not as visible as compared to CV-diseases and cancer. But the future of nephrology is bright since we have more and more options to improve the outcome of our patients with kidney diseases. We need to use this momentum to act and increase the visibility of nephrology in Europe and across the globe. We need nephrological screening programs established to detect kidney diseases as early as possible. GPs need to be educated and the patient’s way to nephrologists need to be clarified and simplified. Furthermore, we need to educate our future nephrologists on the one hand in clinical skills, but also in science. We need more clinician scientists in nephrology to make the next steps in development of new therapies for our patients. Finally, it will be important to support especially women in nephrology since we are still underrepresented as leading nephrologists. We need to find solutions to support them especially in times when they start their independency which often coincidences with starting a family. ERA has the power to act on all points outlined above to improve the visibility of nephrology within Europe and as a Council Member I would try to bring in my expertise to achieve these goals.

Ana Carina Ferreira is a Portuguese nephrologist and Assistant Professor at the Nephrology Department of Hospital Curry Cabral in Lisbon, focusing on the Peritoneal Dialysis Unit, general nephrology and CKD after solid organ transplantation appointments, and Bone Histomorphometry Lab. Outside the hospital, Dr Ferreira is Medical Director of a hemodialysis center in NC Lumiar, Lisbon. She earned her medical degree in 2003 and became a certified Specialist in Nephrology in 2012, obtaining the European Certificate in Nephrology in 2017.

Ferreira completed advanced training in research methods at Harvard Medical School in 2014 and 2015 and received her doctorate in Medicine in 2022. She is a founding member of the ERA Young Nephrologists’ Platform and served as its president from 2015 to 2017. Additionally, she served as treasurer of the Portuguese Society of Nephrology from 2021 to 2024. Currently, she is an Ordinary Council Member of the ERA.

Giuseppe Grandaliano is a Full Professor of Nephrology and Head of the Nephrology Unit at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, associated with Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Gemelli IRCCS. He directs the Gemelli Kidney Transplant Program and chairs the Post-graduate Program in Nephrology. Previously, he served as Associate Professor at the University of Bari and the University of Foggia.

His research centers on kidney transplantation, glomerular diseases, and hemodialysis, with 250 peer-reviewed publications and over 9,000 citations, resulting in an H-index of 52. He has received numerous awards and has held key roles in scientific societies, including the Italian Society of Nephrology and the European Renal Association.

Kitty Jager is a Professor of Medical Informatics and Kidney Epidemiology at Amsterdam University Medical Center, Netherlands, and served as the ERA Registry Director for 22 years. After earning her PhD focused on dialysis adequacy, she has led the kidney epidemiology research group, contributing significantly to large-scale registries that monitor kidney disease outcomes across Europe.

Her research explores the prevalence and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD), the frequency of Kidney Replacement Therapy, and the impact of public health on nephrology practices and patient outcomes. With over 450 scientific publications and numerous book chapters, she is also on the editorial boards of Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, KI Reports, and the African Journal of Nephrology. Additionally, she has organized over 40 international CME courses in epidemiology for nephrologists and hosted 37 visiting researchers from 20 countries.

Jennifer Lees graduated from the Universities of Cambridge (2006) and Edinburgh (2009) and trained in nephrology and internal medicine in Glasgow (2013). She began her research career with a PhD at the University of Glasgow (2016-2020), studying the role of vitamin K in vascular health, supported by the British Heart Foundation and Kidney Research UK. Appointed as a Clinical Lecturer in Renal Medicine, she completed her clinical training in 2022.

Currently, she is a Wellcome Trust Early Career Fellow in Renal Medicine and Lead for Data Science at the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health, University of Glasgow. Her research focuses on long-term outcomes in chronic kidney disease (CKD), particularly concerning cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Being an active clinician and University teacher, as well as, actively involved in the Greek Society of Nephrology (Secretary General), the ISN (chair of the World Kidney Day Steering Committee), the BANTAO (Balkan Cities Association of Nephrology Transplantation and Artificial Organs, where I served as president for a one-year term) and ERA (member of the board of the EUDIAL working group and the Scientific Advisory Board – SAB) I believe that I have the required experience for asking your support for the current elections for ordinary Council members. As a Nephrologist I have had the chance to participate in numerous international collaborations and international exchange programs and as a teacher I have had the opportunity to interact with young people (medical students and nephrology trainees) and to share with them our vision, anxiety, ideas, ambition and commitment to hard work and medicine. The Council has among others a challenging task to make nephrology an attractive specialty for young doctors and I am committed to achieving this. Europe in the modern era is a paradigm of diversity, inclusion, friendship, and progress. Especially in the field of Medicine, sharing of knowledge and collaboration between experts are essential towards our continuous struggle for advancements in the care and wellbeing of our patients. In the era of multidisciplinary approach to health and disease, a cross-talk between nephrologists, other doctors, healthcare scientists and the general public is essential for the promotion of awareness for kidney disease, application of new treatments and progress of research in our field. In the last years ERA has grown in numbers and efficiency and is the leading nephrology association with a central role in the progress of Nephrology. The effort, commitment and hard work of all past Council and working groups members has to be recognized but mostly continued and enhanced. Thus, through my own experiences, as a potential future member of the ERA Council, I hope to be able to promote education, scientific and research collaboration, dissemination of knowledge and interaction all over our members. Further standardization of practices and novel treatments, development and application of guidelines, increase in public awareness as well as co-operation with policy makers are essential for the progress of Nephrology and ERA. In any case, with your support, I promise to work hard towards continuing all great efforts that have been made in the past and an even brighter future of our Association. 

I propose my application as an Italian member of the ERA Council to be actively involved in planning strategies aimed at highlighting the relevance of Nephrologists and improving the care of our patients. During the last years, we are facing a true epidemic of CKD impacting dramatically on lives of our patients but also on health expenditures in all European Countries. I strongly believe that adequate prevention, effective screening strategies and the wider adoption of new effective nephroprotective treatments may contribute to make inevitable decreasing the clinic and economic burden of renal diseases. ERA should have a leading role in this process that must be implemented with a strict synergy with all the National nephrology Societies in order to effectively translate these strategies in Countries with different healthcare systems, workforce and organization: This would likely ensure the access to the innovative care to the large majority of European patients. Process measures and process outcomes are two critical steps for deciding on which aspects the care of our patients should be focused. On this regard, one of my objectives will be to increase and optimize the cooperation between Italian Society of Nephrology and ERA Dialysis Registry to ensure that the large majority of Italian Regions will provide the epidemiologic data of Italian patients undergoing RRT. A critical point relates to educational activities of ERA. I believe that ERA must be strongly involved in the formation of nephrologists of third millennium who are prone to embrace a change of paradigm focused at preventing rather than replacing the renal function of our patients.

Siren Sezer is a Professor of nephrology and internal medicine based in Ankara, Türkiye. She currently serves as the Head of the Kidney Transplantation Unit at Medicana International, Ankara and is a Professor of Nephrology at Atılım University Faculty of Medicine.

She has contributed to 230 international scientific articles, garnering more than 5000 citations, and has been actively involved in various educational and research initiatives in nephrology both nationally and internationally. She has been nominated as FERA since 2012. She has taken active role in the chronic kidney disease prevention programme in Türkiye.