YNP Mentorship Programme

Dr Mustafa ARICI, MD. is a member of the Science Academy of Türkiye, Board Member to Turkish Society of Nephrology, Registry Committee Member of ERA. He was an Executive Committee Member of KDIGO. He undertook his undergraduate and postgraduate education 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.

Martin de Borst, M.D., Ph.D., is consultant nephrologist at the University Medical Center Groningen and full professor of medicine at the University of Groningen. He was trained at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and received post-doctoral training at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Bergamo, Italy from 2006-2007. Prof. De Borst’s research focuses on the interaction between chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular complications. His main scientific aim is to identify targetable factors and innovative treatments to prevent progressive kidney function loss and the development of cardiovascular disease. So far, he has published >275 peer-reviewed articles that have been cited >9000 times. His work is embedded in several national and international research consortia, and is supported by national and European funding. He supervises a team of >15 PhD students, post-docs, research analysts and students. He is (co-)Principal Investigator of several multicenter clinical trials and cohort studies. In 2020, he received the Stanley Shaldon award for young investigators from the European Renal Association (ERA). Prof. De Borst former Associate Editor and current Theme Editor of Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. He is also Past President of the Young Nephrologists’ Platform, an ERA committee dedicated to promoting the development of young kidney specialists in Europe, and current board member of the ERA CKD-MBD working group.

Clinical interests and expertise:Kidney transplantation, bone and mineral disorder.

Research interests and expertise: Bone and mineral disorder.

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

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.

Luis Coentrão graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Porto. Trained for 5 years in Nephrology and Intensive Care Medicine for an additional 7 years.
Defended his PhD thesis in the field of dialysis vascular access field in 2013. He works as a consultant nephrologist at the São João University Hospital, Porto, Portugal.

Clinical interests and expertise: AKI, Dialysis vascular access.

Research interests and expertise: Dialysis vascular access

Career level of mentee preferred: Fellow trainee

Ana Farinha studied medicine at the Medical Faculty in Coimbra and completed postgraduate training in Nephrology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care. She works as a consultant nephrologist with competence in geriatrics and palliative care to follow elderly patients with CKD. She works with generl practitioners to prevent CKD. She is the founder of Supportive and Conservative Care in Portugal. She is a board member of the Portuguese Society of Nephrology (SPN) and a board member of the Anemia Working Group Portugal. She is an editorial board member of the SPN journal and reviewer for several journals. She is the author or co-author of numerous articles and book chapters. She has been clinical investigator and/or PI in several clinical trials related to progression of CKD, anemia or diabetic nephropathy. She has participated in a couple of COST networking actions: PROGRAMMING (geriatric field) and CONNECT (renal insufficiency and cognitive disfunction).

Clinical interests and expertise: Clinical Nephrology, CKD, Geriatrics, Pre-dialysis management, Palliative Care, Anemia.

Research interests and expertise: Clinical research in elderly CKD management, Prevention in CKD.

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

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, Dialysis and Transplantation.

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,  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 a specialist in internal medicine and in Nephrology. He finished his 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 and as a Head of the 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 and in 1 study as a Principal 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, Validation of Glomerular disease and Chronic kidney disease scores.

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

Rümeyza Kazancıoğlu graduated from Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine in 1991, and completed her residency in internal medicine and nephrology fellowship at the same faculty until 2001. She also worked for six months at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Transplantation Unit in the United States as a fellow of the “International Society of Nephrology”. She became an Associate Professor in 2003 after she started to work at the Ministry of Health Haseki Training and Research Hospital. She served as the Founder and Chief of the Nephrology Clinic between 2005-2010. Prof. Kazancıoğlu was the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Bezmiâlem Vakif University between 2010 and 2014. Since 2015, Prof. Kazancıoğlu has been serving as the Rector of Bezmiâlem Vakif University and a faculty member of the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology. Prof. Kazancıoğlu has published many national and international articles, books and book chapters. Her main interests are CKD, ESKD, PD and disaster nephrology.

Clinical interests and expertise: ESKD and Kidney replacement therapies especially peritoneal dialysis, disaster nephrology.

Research interests and expertise: Clinical nephrology research including GN, ADPKD, PD.

Career level of mentee preferred: Medical student/ Fellow trainee / Junior faculty

Luísa Lobato is senior nephrologist at Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Santo António, Porto, and full professor at the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS) of the University of Porto. She graduated in Medicine at ICBAS and completed her Nephrology residency and Nephrology fellowship at the Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Santo António. After her PhD, she dedicated her research on determinants and epidemiology of hereditary amyloidosis developing skills as ERKNet clinician expert. She works in clinical nephrology, evaluation of kidney transplant candidates and on long-term outcomes of kidney-liver transplants. For10 years, she headed the Hospital Education and Training Department and the Clinical Trials Unit.
She is currently Director of the Department of Nephrology, Coordinator of the Erasmus+ Programme at ICBAS and President of the Scientific Committee of the Portuguese Society of Nephrology. As a researcher at the Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine/UMIB and at the Lab for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health, University of Porto, she is dedicated to ATTR (transthyretin) amyloidosis.

Clinical interests and expertise: Clinical Nephrology, Systemic Amyloidosis, Inherited Kidney Diseases, CKD, clinical trials.

Research interests and expertise: Hereditary and Wild-Type ATTR Amyloidosis, Genetic Epidemiology, Transplantation.

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

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, Hemodialysis, Glomerulonephrithis, CKD.

Research interests and expertise: Mineral Metabolism, Anemia,CKD, Hemodialysis.

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 of the 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.

Tiago Assis Pereira studied Medicine at the Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa, Portugal. In 2011, he started a 5-year fellowship at Hospital Santa Cruz, Lisbon. During his fellowship, he completed a rotation in vascular access ultrasound at Parc Tauli Hospital, Sabadell. From 2016 to nowadays, he has been a consultant nephrologist at the Nephrology Department of Centro Hospitalar Universitario de Lisboa Central/NOVA Medical School, Lisbon. He started an inpatient and outpatient department consultation for ultrasound evaluation of patients proposed for vascular access creation and evaluation. Over the years, Tiago has created a specific vascular access training programme and has conducted several workshops and hands-on courses focusing on vascular access care and ultrasound skills. Several residents from different Portuguese and international backgrounds have participated in this programme and, in addition to clinical improvement, have been able to design and carry out research and present abstracts at national and international congresses.
In addition to vascular access care, Dr Pereira works in the nephrology inpatient department and outpatient clinic, with clinical interest mainly in the interaction between nephrology and primary care and the progression of chronic kidney disease.
Tiago Pereira is a teaching assistant in Nephrology clinical rotation at the NOVA Medical School (Lisbon).

Clinical interests and expertise: Vascular access ultrasound, hemodialysis, clinical nephrology and interaction between Nephrology and primary care.

Research interests and expertise: Vascular access ultrasound.

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

Dr Priyamvada PS, MD, DM has been working as a Professor of Nephrology at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India. She received her subspecialty degree in Nephrology from the University of Calicut, India in 2009. Currently, she is the faculty in charge of the glomerular disease clinic and critical care nephrology services offered by JIPMER. She is an editorial board member of BMC Nephrology and the Indian Journal of Kidney Diseases.

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, Nutrition in early Chronic Kidney Disease, Clinical trial designs & Research Methodology.

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

Luis F. Quintana is the Head of the Clinical Nephrology Section in the Nephrology and Renal Transplantation Department at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. This section is a member of the European Rare Kidney Disease Reference Network and is endorsed by the national health systemas a Reference Center for Complex Glomerular Diseases (CSUR). He is Full Professor of the Department of Medicine at the University of Barcelona, where he coordinates the subject of kidney diseases in the Master in Autoimmune diseases. He is also the coordinator of the Nephropathology Committee of the Hospital Clinic. He has also given more than 100 invited lectures and published more than 100 scientific articles. Dr. Quintana has extensive experience in research projects with competitive funding as principal investigator of La Marató Foundation projects, European projects such as 3TR (Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) European Union) and others funded by the Carlos III Health Institute. Currently his group has obtained funding to develop the project: Identifying the map of progression to chronic kidney disease in glomerular pathology during the period 2024-2026.

Clinical interests and expertise: Glomerular diseases, Autoimmunity, Onconephrology.

Research interests and expertise: Biomarkers and Histological subgrouping.

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

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. He is a board member of the European Renal Acute Kidney Injury ERAKI working group.

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.

María José Soler is Chief of the Clinical Nephrology and Dialysis Unit at the Vall d´Hebron Hospital and head of projects of research focused on both clinical and experimental diabetic nephropathy, onconephrology and glomerular diseases. She specialised in Clinical Nephrology at the Hospital del Mar (Autonomous University of Barcelona) and completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Northwestern University in Chicago IL (2005-2006). In 2007 she successfully defended her PhD thesis with an extraordinary award. She has collaborated with different research groups both nationally and internationally. She has been consecutively funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III for more than 15 years and has presented her work at national and international congresses. She has participated in the creation of the European Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diabetic Nephropathy. She has been part of the more known international and national (SCN, SEN) scientific Nephrology societies (ASN, ERA-EDTA, EDNSG, EFSD). She is currently Principal Investigator within the RICORS2040 (KIDNEY DISEASE) network (RD21/0005/0016). She was an elected member of the ERA-EDTA (European Renal Association-European Transplant and Dialysis Association) Council, former EDTA-flash Editor-in-Chief, former member of the ERA-EDTA ENP Committee and former member of the ERA-EDTA Press Validation Committee (2018-2020). Chair of the ERA-EDTA Abstract Validation Committee (February 2019-). She was Editor-in-Chief of the Clinical Kidney Journal (2022). She is currently Co-Chair of the ISN Western Europe Regional Board. She is also the Research Lab group Leader at Vall d´Hebron Research Institute (VHIR).

Clinical interests and expertise: Diabetes and CKD, Glomerulonephritis, chronic kidney disease, acute kidney disease.

Research interests and expertise: Diabetes and CKD, Glomerulonephritis, Renin angiotensin system.

Career level of mentee preferred: 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.

Peter Stenvinkel serves as a professor and senior lecturer at Deptartment of Renal Medicine Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. He has published more than 670 original publications and reviews and more than 40 book chapters on various aspects of inflammation, wasting and metabolism in patients with chronic kidney disease. His Hirsch index is 97 according to PubMed and 127 according to Google Scholar. He has presented ≈550 invited lectures at various international meetings and congresses in about 30 different countries. He is a fellow of ERA-EDTA and ASN and since 2022 guest Professor at Maastricht University.

Clinical interests and expertise: Cardiovascular disease, malnutrition, diabetes.

Research interests and expertise: Inflammation, nutrition, vascular ageing, microbiota.

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

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 Transplantation, SLE, ANCA Associated Vasculitis.

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

Marc Vervloet studied medicine in Amsterdam and was trained as an internist and nephrologist at the VU university medical center. Since 1999, he has been a member of the staff of the Nephrology department at the VUmc (now Amsterdam UMC), after which he received his PhD in 2012. In 2019 he was appointed professor of Nephrology. He has been conducting translational research for years, mainly focused on the role of mineral imbalances on cardiovascular disease. He is member of the editorial board of the journals Neephrology DIalysis & Transplantation and Kidney International. He is a member of thee executive board of KDIGO. Currently, he is the head of the Nephrology department at Radboud University Medical Center.

Clinical interests and expertise: Clinical nephrology in the broadest sense.

Research interests and expertise: CKD-MBD, heart failure, arterial calcification.

Career level of mentee preferred: Fellow trainee / Post-doctoral fellow/ Junior faculty / Non-MD students / Trainees / Fellows.

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, Hypertension, 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.