Ingemar Davidson, MD, PhD, FACS

Founder | Kidney Academy

Dallas, TX, USA

A native of Sweden, Dr. Davidson specialties include organ procurement, organ transplantation, and dialysis access in end stage renal disease patients, with published educational books on these topics. Dr. Davidson initiated and maintains a development of several clinical activities, most notably an online training programs in dialysis access www.KidneyAcademy.com and is a co-investigator for NIH grant supported clinical dialysis access studies. 

I have a vision to create a place where all clinicians collaborate and discuss aspects of care in the spirit of always keeping the best interest of the patient at the center of decision making. RGB's quote on how to make change resonates with me in developing the Kidney Academy vision:  

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."  and "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you." 

We welcome all perspectives to join in the discussion to make positive change for the care of our ESKD  & dialysis patients across the globe. 

Debbie Brouwer-Maier, RN, CNN 

Vascular Access Marketing Manager | Transonic

Philadelphia, PA, USA

Ms. Brouwer-Maier has worked in various aspects of acute and chronic nephrology nursing for over thirty-five years. Her area of focus in hemodialysis vascular access includes membership on the KDOQI VA Guideline Work Groups (1997, 2000, 2006), various Fistula First Work Groups, and nephrology nurse roles related to vascular access care.

"Kidney Academy provides a platform for dialysis access related topics that can educate and expand the knowledge base for the entire Dialysis Access Care Team (DACT) members, including physicians, nurses, and technicians. The shared education platform provides insight into the other team members' perspectives and expertise related to various dialysis access topics. The ability to share ideas and ask questions within the Kidney Academy community offers an engaging global educational opportunity for all DACT members. The cross-pollination of ideas helps the DACT members better understand the overall care goals for the patients we all serve. Please become an active member of the Kidney Academy community as we can all benefit from the educational and network opportunities the platform provides." 

Ellen Dillavou, MC, FACS

Associate Professor of Vascular Surgery | Duke University Medical Center 

Chief of Vascular Surgery | Duke Regional Hospital

Philadelphia, PA, USA

Ms. Dillavou is an associate professor of vascular surgery at Duke University Medical Center and the Chief of Vascular Surgery at Duke Regional Hospital.  She earned a BA at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, an MD at the University of Arizona, completed general surgery training at Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia and a vascular surgery fellowship at The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Her work centers on treatment of all facets of venous disease as well as complicated dialysis access.

"Kidney Academy fills an unmet need in the world of dialysis and dialysis access information.  Until now it has been difficult for me to tell trainees and colleagues where to go for current, practical teaching on dialysis access. This resource will serve as a multidisciplinary meeting place and facilitate more thoughtful patient care."

Maurizio Gallieni, MD

Associate Professor of Nephrology | Università degli Studi di Milano

Editor | Journal of Vascular Access

Milan, Lombardy,  Italy

In the field of dialysis access, Dr. Gallieni, a nephrologist in Milan Italy, is the Coordinating Editor of the Journal of Vascular Access, a leading publication in the field. He has been involved with the Vascular Access Society since 2009 (President, 2013-2015). He is an advocate of peritoneal dialysis.

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Nieltje Gedney

Vice President | Home Dialyzors United

Washington D.C. - Baltimore Area, USA

Ms. Gedney is Vice President of Home Dialyzor’s United (@HDUorg). Active on the Policy and Advocacy Committee, she has spoken at numerous events including the Alliance for Home Dialysis, American Kidney Fund, National Kidney Foundation, SONG, Annual Dialysis Conference, The Kidney Project and Kidney Health Initiative (KHI). She is a contributor at Kidney Views Blog, CJASN, and Seminars in Nephrology.

"Home Dialyzors United believes that creation, use and preservation of a working access is fundamental to successful home dialysis. We fully support an online platform that delivers accredited training and education and offers a forum for collaboration and idea sharing for our community."

Paul Gibbs MBBS, FRCS(Eng), MD

Consultant Surgeon | Care Group Director for General Surgery

Wessex Kidney Centre, Queen Alexander Hospital

Portsmouth, UK

Dr. Gibbs was appointed as a vascular and renal transplant surgeon in the Wessex Kidney Centre, Queen Alexander Hospital, Portsmouth. He serves as the Clinical Director of the Renal Transplant Program (2004 to 2018), is Clinical Lead for Vascular Access and an active trainer for both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees. He is now Care Group Director for general surgery.

“KA is an unmatched resource for all staff caring for renal and dialysis patients. It provides chapters for all aspects of care, written and supported by experts in their fields from across the world. Working through the chapters provides CPD (CME) to support career progression and on going educational requirements as per each country’s needs. The discussion forum also gives the user access to over 250 experts for opinions on difficult cases and advice on clinical management, as well as pointing clinicians towards helpful literature.

This is a work class educational platform designed to improve and standardise renal patient care across the world.”

Mr James A Gilbert BMBS, MA (Ed), FRCS (Gen), FRCS Ed

Consultant Transplant & Vascular Access Surgeon

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust

Oxford, UK

Mr. Gilbert is a Consultant Transplant and Vascular Access Surgeon at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust in the UK and was appointed in 2010. He is a specialist in Kidney & Pancreas Transplantation and Vascular access surgery and has a particular interest and expertise in complex re-do and salvage access surgery and access in patients with central vein pathology. Mr. Gilbert is the clinical lead for access within the organization and is currently president of VASBI. Mr. Gilbert is an educationalist and has a Masters in Education. He is heavily involved with undergraduate and postgraduate training. He is currently a clinical lecturer at Christ Church College, Oxford and is one of the Trust’s leads for education. Mr. Gilbert was responsible for the development of surgical educational supervisors across Health Education Thames Valley and is currently the Training Programme Director for Core Surgery training.

"Kidney Academy is an increasingly important educational resource for all healthcare professionals involved in dialysis access care for end stage kidney disease patients globally. It boasts a rich wealth of expertise and knowledge provided by global leaders in this field and has developed a really useful platform by which all of us can learn with and from one another." 

Jennifer Hanko, MD

Consultant Nephrologist

Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

Dr. Hanko is a consultant nephrologist working in Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK). She has a subspecialty interest in vascular access which was initially developed during a fellowship with the University of British Columbia at Vancouver General Hospital. She is currently secretary of the Vascular Access Society of Northern Ireland.

"Kidney Academy provides education and an opportunity for vascular access enthusiasts to share knowledge and learn from others experiences. We recognise that vascular access must be tailored to the individual needs of each patient; knowledge and advice from colleagues (as available with KA) makes this happen."

Ziv Haskal. MD

Tenured Professor | University of Virginia School of Medicine

Charlottesville, VA, USA 

Prof. Haskal has led, participated in, lectured upon and published hemodialysis-related research for 25 years. His pivotal studies defined the role of stent grafts in access preservation. Dr. Haskal has published over 400 peer-reviewed papers, editorial, abstracts, letters, and books and given over 500 invited lectures worldwide. He is the Emeritus Editor in Chief of the JVIR (2011-2020).

"The Kidney Academy has leveraged its deep online presence and resources to become an important nexus for basic and leading edge education and research to all members of the multidisciplinary members that provided access care every day in every setting— from physicians, nurses, technologists and technicians, to researchers, trainees, and related industries."

Ulf Hedin, MD

Professor | Div. Vascular Surgery | Dept Molecular Medicine & Surgery
Karolinska Institutet, BioClinicum

Solna, Sweden

Dr. Hedin did his PhD in vascular cell biology, trained in vascular surgery at Karolinska University Hospital and University of Washington. He is leading an independent research group with a focus on carotid disease and has also a strong clinical focus on vascular access and was the co-founder of the Swedish Vascular Access meeting, a bi-annual national transdisciplinary effort to improve national access care since 2008. Dr. Hedin was appointed professor in 2003, holds the academic chair of vascular surgery since 2005 and is senior consultant in vascular surgery at Karolinska.

"Access service is a multi-disciplinary effort that requires a constant exchange of knowledge between different specialties for optimized dialysis care. KA offers unique opportunities to contribute to this exchange of knowledge on a global level with potential for unprecedented impact on the qualitative of dialysis care world-wide."

Nicholas Inston, PhD, FRCS

Consultant Surgeon & Clinical Lead for Renal Surgery & Transplantation Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Birmingham, UK

Mr.  Inston has been a consultant surgeon with an interest in transplantation and vascular access since 2008. Based in the University Hospital Birmingham he has a high volume practice in all aspects of surgery associated with renal failure. Following the award of a PhD in 2006 he has maintained  a range of academic interests in both vascular access and transplantation and has published in both fields. A past president of VASBI, council member of VAS and has been faculty for many meetings. In addition he acts as Clinical Director of Transplant Links Community, a charity developing transplant programs throughout the world.

“I believe there is a real need for a community approach to education and improving quality of care for patients with renal diseases and requiring dialysis. To optimize this there is a requirement for the multiple disciplines involved in dialysis delivery to have a vison of the wider landscape and understand the interplay of factors that improve patients outcomes and experiences. The community based approach that kidney academy presents  is in my opinion the best way to do this”

Behram Khan, MD

Director of Medical Services | NKF

Singapore

Dr. Khan serves as the Director of Medical Services, NKF Singapore.  He is also a Senior Consultant at National University Hospital Singapore as well as Assistant Professor at National University Singapore. Dr. Khan is an interventional nephrologist and participates in both direct patient care and Kidney Health Advocacy programs in Singapore.

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Robert E. Lee, MD

Medical Officer | Vascular and Endovascular Devices Team in the Office of Cardiovascular Devices, Center for Devices & Radiologic Health

US Food and Drug Administration

Dr. Lee is a medical officer on the Vascular and Endovascular Devices Team in the Office of Cardiovascular Devices, Center for Devices & Radiologic Health, US Food and Drug Administration. The Vascular and Endovascular Devices Team has the responsibility over the total product lifestyle for many of the medical devices used to create dialysis access with fistulas or prosthetic grafts, or to treat the venous stenosis that is the bane of angioaccess providers and patients. Prior to joining the FDA in 2015, he practiced vascular and endovascular surgery in southeast Michigan for three decades, where providing access for hemodialysis was a significant component of his clinical activity. 

“I appreciate the opportunity Kidney Academy affords both to expand my own knowledge base, and to interact with those physicians and other health care providers who utilize the vascular access products that we regulate at FDA. Any comments I make on Kidney Academy are my personal observations as a vascular surgeon, and do not represent official FDA policy unless I specifically cite agency policy, guidance or regulations. Don't hesitate to reach out if  we on the Vascular and Endovascular Devices Team can be of service with any device related issues or questions that you encounter.”

Terry Litchfield

President | Access Solutions

Des Plaines, IL, USA

A dedicated patient advocate; her husband Bill prior to his death a few years ago celebrated 46 years of renal replacement therapy.  He was one of the 4 patients who testified for House Ways and Means with one of them dialyzing before members of congress to pass Medicare legislation for ESRD. Ms. Litchfield has served on the KHI Patient and Family Partnership Council and AAKP to name a few of her patient advocacy roles.  As the care partner during home dialysis or supportive of in center care, she well knows the impact of kidney disease on a family.  Her background in Hospital Administration at some of the best-known tertiary institutions in the US, give her a unique background in health services and program planning. She currently is President of Access Solutions, an advocacy group focused on dialysis vascular access.

"Kidney Academy is a very needed futuristic educational forum that will engage and stimulate all of us to improve the care for patients.  Their all-inclusive approach is unique in the field!"

John Richard Ross, SR., M.D

Medical Director of Dialysis Access Institute | Regional Medical Center

Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA

Since 2011, Dr. Ross has served as the Medical Director of Dialysis Access Institute at Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Prior to this, he was the Chief of Surgery from 1979-2011 at Bamberg County Hospital in Bamberg, South Carolina. He is the Recipient of Life Achievement Award 2015, The American Society of Interventional and Diagnostic Nephrology Certification.

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Maarten G.J. Snoeijs, MD, PhD, FEBVS

Clinical Lead | Maastricht UMC+

Maastricht, Limburg, The Netherlands

Dr. Snoeijs' clinical and scientific interests are vascular access surgery and kidney transplantation. Maastricht UMC+ is the national referral center for complex vascular access surgery of which Dr. Snoeijs is the clinical lead. In addition, he trained as a clinical epidemiologist.

'Kidney Academy is an important educational initiative that offers high-quality e-learnings and case-based discussions for vascular access specialists throughout the world. I strongly believe that improving education in vascular access surgery and sharing viewpoints from different medical practices will result in better health care for hemodialysis patients. That's why I am excited to be part of Kidney Academy.'

Jan Swinnen, MD

Vascular Surgeon & Dialysis Access Specialist | Westmead Hospital 

Sydney, Australia

Dr. Swinnen serves as a Vascular Surgeon and a Dialysis Access Specialist at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, Australia. He is a certified Sonographer (DDU Vascular) and runs the Westmead Vascular Ultrasound Lab. He is Professor of Surgery at Sydney University and involved in clinical research.

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Yael Vin, MD

Surgeon

Dr. Vin is a surgeon with IR training. Dr. Vin's practice focuses on the creation and the maintenance (surgical and percutaneous) of the dialysis access.

"Dialysis access’ is a unique field that requires multidisciplinary input, in depth understanding of the issues involved and complex decision making. Kidney Academy is a platform that offers great educational tools for a spectrum of practitioners from novice to advanced. It brings together an international community of people with a passion for improving dialysis access outcomes, through sharing of ideas, experience and knowledge."