YNP Mentorship Programme

Mustafa Arici, MD. is member of the Science Academy of Turkey, Board Member to Turkish Society of Nephrology, Executive Committee Member of KDIGO and Registry Committee Member of ERA. He undertook his undergraduate and postgraduate educations in Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University. He had awarded a training grant from ISN and studied in the field of “proteinuria and renal fibrosis” for two years in the Department of Nephrology, University of Leicester, UK as an ISN fellow. He serves as “theme editor” for “Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation”, and associate editor of “BANTAO Journal”. He is an editorial board member of several journals. He is the editor of the “Management of Chronic Kidney Disease: A Clinician’s Guide” (Springer, 2014) and co-editor of Oxford Desk Reference in Nephrology (2nd edition, 2021). He was the author or co-author of numerous articles and book chapters.

Clinical interests and expertise: Hypertension, diabetic kidney disease, glomerular diseases, acute and chronic kidney disease (more focussed on epidemiology and
prevention.)

Research interests and expertise: Epidemiology/prevention of AKD and CKD, especially diabetes, hypertension and glomerular diseases. Also, special causes of CKD in Turkey (familial Mediterranean fever related amyloidosis).

Career level of mentee preferred: Fellow trainee

Yasar Caliskan is graduated from Istanbul University Cerrahpasa School of Medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine residency and Nephrology fellowship at the Istanbul School of Medicine. After completing his Nephrology fellowship, he started working as a Transplant Nephrologist at the same institution. His passion to pursue a professional career in an academic Nephrology program in US brought him to Saint Louis University (SLU) where he completed another Nephrology fellowship. In 2012, he worked as postdoc research scientist at Columbia University focusing on genetic determinants of kidney allograft rejection and also genetics of IgAN and membranous nephropathy. His work is grounded in novel integration and application of collaborative precision medicine program in nephrology and transplantation practice using novel genetic tools and biomarkers.

Clinical interests and expertise: Transplantation, Inherited Kidney Diseases, Primary Glomerular Diseases.

Research interests and expertise: Genetics, Complement system, Ischemic Reperfusion Injury and Transplantation Outcomes.

Career level of mentee preferred: Medical student /Resident trainee/Fellow trainee /Post-doctoral fellow /Non MD students/trainees/fellows.

Loreto Gesualdo graduated from University of Bari, Italy. After his training in the field of renal immunopathology as a Research Associate, he set up a research group in the field of molecular biology applied to renal biopsy to elucidate the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis. During 10 years he was appointed Chief of the Division of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit of the University of Foggia, Full Professor of Nephrology, and Coordinator of the “Molecular Medicine” PhD Program of the Medical School of the University of Foggia and also Director of the Nephrology Resident Program of the Medical School of the University of Foggia. Since 2010, he serves as the Chief of the Division of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit, as well as Coordinator of Regional Transplant Center (CRT) of Puglia and from 2016 to 2021 he has been Dean of the Medical School of the University of Bari.

Clinical interests and expertise: Nephrology, Dyalisis and Transplantations.

Research interests and expertise: Renal Transplant, Diabetic Nephropathy, IgA Nephropathy, Membranous GN, ADPKD, Rare Diseases in Nephrology, System Biology, Precision Medicine, Molecular Biology, Renal Biopsy, Omics, Kidney Cancer Immunotherapy, Renal Transplant, Immunonephrology, AKI, Renal Fibrosis.

Career level of mentee preferred: Medical student /Resident trainee/Fellow trainee/Post-doctoral fellow /Junior faculty.

Rebecca Herzog is a translational researcher aiming to link omics-driven basic science and patient-centred clinical research in peritoneal dialysis. She received her PhD at the Medical University of Vienna in 2017. As research fellow of the Paediatric Nephrology, in collaboration with a start-up company, she and her colleagues developed a novel PD-fluid from experimental discovery to clinical application. As PostDoc she investigates molecular interventions to modulate pathomechanism in the peritoneum. She discovered the role of a specific PTM in PD, developed an immunecompetence assay, and revealed the PD effluent proteome. She received 19 inter/national awards, an ERA research fellowship and in 2019 the Stanley Sheldon Young Investigator Award. She is a PI in IMPROVE-PD, an EU-H2020 project.

Clinical interests and expertise: Peritoneal dialysis.

Research interests and expertise: Basic and translational research in experimental nephrology and omics techniques (proteomics, metabolomics).

Career level of mentee preferred: Medical student /Resident trainee.

Ivica Horvatić graduated from Medical School Zagreb, University of Zagreb. He is specialist in internal medicine – Nephrology. He finished her PhD in 2011 at University of Zagreb. He currently works in the Department of Nephrology and Dialysis of the University Hospital Dubrava in Zagreb Croatia as a senior physician in the Nephrology Department treating chronic renal failure, acute renal failure and especially biopsy-proven renal disease and all other nephrology problems. His narrow specialty and interest are biopsy proven renal disease. He has a vast experience in teaching. He has participated in 4 international multicentric phase 3 clinical trials as sub-investigator. In additon, he has been involved as a researcher in 2 scientific projects of Croatian Ministry of education and science and Croatian science foundation.

Clinical interests and expertise: Glomerular disease, Tubulointerstitial disease, Vasculitis, Hypertension, Chronic kidney disease.

Research interests and expertise: Prognostication in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Career level of mentee preferred: Medical student /Resident trainee/Fellow trainee/Non MD students/trainees/fellows.

Jennifer Lees, MA (Cantab) MBChB MRCP(Neph) PhD, is a Senior Clinical Research Fellow and Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at the University of Glasgow. She graduated with degrees in pharmacology and medicine from the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh. Her PhD explored the therapeutic potential of vitamin K to improve vascular health in people with kidney disease (Principal Investigator, ViKTORIES trial ISRCTN22012044; Co-Investigator, K4Kidneys trial ISRCTN21444964). Dr Lees now uses data science approaches to explore long-term risks associated with CKD (particularly cardiovascular disease and cancer) and CKD risk-stratification using cystatin C. In 2022, Dr Lees won two prestigious prizes: the ERA Eberhard Ritz Award (Clinical Science) and the UK Kidney Association Raine Award.

Clinical interests and expertise: CKD, Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, Onconephrology.

Research interests and expertise: CKD, Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, Onconephrology, Cystatin C, Vitamin K, Epidemiology, Data Science.

Career level of mentee preferred: Medical student /Resident trainee/Fellow trainee /Post-doctoral fellow.

Francesco Locatelli is Past President of European Renal Association – European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA), International Society of Blood Purification (ISBP) and of the Italian Society of Nephrology (SIN). He also served as chairman of the board of European Best Practice Guidelines (EBPG) and on the board of National Kidney Foundation, Dialysis Outcome Quality Improvement, NKFDOQITM, and on the executive board of directors of Global Guidelines and Kidney Disease Improvement Outcome KDIGO.

Clinical interests and expertise: Anemia, Emodialysis, Glomerulonephrithis.

Research interests and expertise: Mineral Metabolism.

Career level of mentee preferred: Junior faculty.

Gert Mayer is graduated from Vienna Medical School. Trained in Internal Medicine for 6 years and Nephrology for an additional two years. Head, Department of Internal Medicine IV (Nephrology and Hypertension) at Innsbruck Medical University since 1999. Since research fellowship at Stanford Medical University (1989- 1991) strong interest in renal physiology, molecular biology and more recently bioinformatics. Ongoing EU funded projects focusing on computational disease modelling and precision medicine with a focus on diabetic kidney disease. Long-term interest in renal anemia and iron metabolism in CKD.

Clinical interests and expertise: Clinical Nephrology, Chronic Kidney Disease, Autoimmune Disease.

Research interests and expertise: Diabetic Kidney Disease, Precision Medicine.

Career level of mentee preferred: Fellow trainee /Post-doctoral fellow /Junior faculty.

President of the Italian Society of Nephrology (2019-2022). Past Full professor of Nephrology at the Università Statale di Medicina , Milan Italy. Past Director of the Division of Nephrology, Dialysis and Renal Transplant (Policlinico Milan). Director of the postgraduate School of specialization in Nephrology (University of Milan , Milan Italy, 2017-2020). President of the ERA Congress (Milan 2023). Scientific President of the national Congress of the Italian Society of Nephrology (Rome 2006). Secretary of the World Nephrology Congress (Milan 2009). 403 indexed publications (HI 52 Scopus). Editorial bord in (NDT, JN, Nutrients, Frontiers in Nephrology, Blood Purification), referee for more than 30 international journals (KI, AJT, NDT, AJKD, CJASN, Nature Nephrology, Curr Op Drug Metab Endocrinology, etc.).

Clinical interests and expertise: Renal Transplantation, Clinical Nephrology, Mineral Metabolism.

Research interests and expertise: Mineral and Electrolyte Metabolism.

Career level of mentee preferred: Medical student /Resident trainee/Post-doctoral fellow /Junior faculty.

Priyamvada PS, MD,DM has been working as Additional Professor of Nephrology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India. She received her subspeciality degree in Nephrology from University of Calicut, India. Currently, she co-ordinates the glomerular disease and critical care nephrology services offered by JIPME.

Clinical interests and expertise: Glomerular Diseases, Acute Kidney Injury, Critical care Nephrology.

Research interests and expertise: Acute Kidney Injury to Chronic kidney disease transition, Chronic Kidney disease of unknown etiology -Natural histor, Nutrition in early Chronic Kidney Disease.

Career level of mentee preferred: Medical student /Resident trainee/Fellow trainee /Post-doctoral fellow /Junior faculty /Non MD students/trainees/fellows

Turgay Saritas studied medicine at the Charité University Berlin. In 2012, he joined the Division of Nephrology at the University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Germany, where he is working as a scientist, consultant nephrologist, intensive care specialist and educator. His particular interest in renal sodium & potassium handling, tubule remodelling, and AKI-CKD transition developed during research stays at Charité Berlin, University Aachen, and Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, USA. His own team of researchers within the lab of Prof. Kramann is currently aiming to target the progression of AKI into CKD and reno-cardiac syndrome. Further, as German CKD study investigator he is also involved in clinical studies. His work has been awarded with several prestigious prizes of the ERA, Germany Society of Nephrology and others, and he has been supported by several foundations including the German Research Foundation.

Clinical interests and expertise: AKI, CKD, Intensive Care Medicine, Tubulopathies.

Research interests and expertise: Tubule Physiology and Pathology, AKI-CKD Transition, Tubule Remodelling, Salt Handling.

Career level of mentee preferred: Medical student /Resident trainee/Fellow trainee /Post-doctoral fellow /Junior faculty.

Goce Spasovski is postgraduated in nephrology at the University of Antwerp, Katowice and “Laiko” University Hospital in Athens through COMGAN project. He is a PhD at the Universities of Skopje and Antwerp. He was clinical investigator and/or PI in more than 20 clinical trials related to progression of CKD, anaemia, CKD-MBD and bone biopsy – based studies, immunotolerance in kidney transplant recipients, and participant in a couple of COST networking actions and FP programs. He had also participated actively in the ERBP Committee and DESCaRTES group. He is subject editor of NDT 2017 – ongoing, and serves as a member of the editorial board of many other European and world journals.

Clinical & Research interests and expertise: CKD-MBD, Kidney Transplantation, CKD Progression.

Career level of mentee preferred: Medical student /Resident trainee/Fellow trainee.

Serhan Tuglular is graduated from University Istanbul School of Medicine in 1986. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine in 1996, Nephrology Fellowship in 2000 at Marmara University School of Medicine in Istanbul, Turkey. From 1986-1988 she completed a compulsory governmental medical service which is a regulation in Turkey. During her fellowship in Nephrology she was awarded ISN scholarship and worked at CHU St Etienne as a research fellow with the late M Francois Berthoux. Since Turkey is one of the ‘earthquake countires’ following the Marmara earthquake in 1999 a Renal Disaster Task Force was started by the Turkish Society of Nephrology, she has been chairing the Task Force since 2019. She was elected as an ordinary Council Member for ERA in 2020. Since March 2022 she is charing the Ukraine Renal Disaster Task Force.

Clinical interests and expertise: Renal Transplantation
Vasculitis-Renal involvement
SLE, Rheumatologic Disease with kidney involvement.

Research interests and expertise: Renal Tranplantation, SLE, ANCA Associated Vasculitis.

Career level of mentee preferred: Medical student/ Fellow trainee.

Andrzej Wiecek graduated from the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland in 1980. From 1985 to 1986 he held scientific scholarships in nephrology at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Since 2000, Prof. Wiecek is the Head of the Chair and Department of Nephrology, Transplantation and Internal Medicine at Medical University of Silesia in Katowice.

He obtained the title Full Professor in Nephrology and Internal Medicine in 1996. During recent years Prof. Wiecek has served as President and Council member of several prestigious Societies and organizations.

Additionally Prof. Wiecek is a Distinguished Fellow of the ERA (FERA, 2011) and Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology (FASN, 2018).

Clinical interests and expertise: Clinical Nephrology, Hypertnsion, Cardiovascular complication in CKD and transplanted patients (kidney, liver) patients.

Research interests and expertise: Pathogenesis and treatment of primary and secondary forms of hypertension, Hormonal abnormalities in CKD and kidney transplant patients.

Career level of mentee preferred: Resident trainee/Fellow trainee.