Introducing the NSMC Class of 2022

We are excited to introduce the 8th NSMC internship class, the class of 2022. This group of 36 will join the 150 graduates of the program since 2015. We have gone one step ahead and conquered 6 continents this time!! Our class comprises of 36 individuals from 15 countries. Learn their names and follow them because they will be producing the visual abstracts, journal clubs, blog posts, tweetorials, and podcasts! These are also the future leaders of nephrology.

Matthew Sparks and Mythri Shankar on behalf of the NSMC Executive Committee and Faculty

Momen Abbasi

I am a Nephrology Fellow in Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel and an ex-Chief Resident of Internal Medicine in the Same Hospital, In Addition to being a fellow in nephrology I am a cartoonist, I have been drawing medical cartoons for the past two years and I used my cartoons to raise awareness about the COVID-19 Pandemic and i love drawing kidneys as well. I have an interest in Urine Microscopy, and I have a dream of using my cartoons to facilitate medical education and to make educating nephrology more fun. 

Husam Alzayer

I am a second-year nephrology fellow with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and soon to be a consultant in Saudi Arabia. I graduated with a master's in clinical research from NUIG and am interested in all things kidney-related. I'm hoping to pursue further training in conservative care, home dialysis, and glomerular diseases. I'm thrilled to join the NSMC class 2022 and looking forward to an amazing year of collaboration, enjoyment, and awesome teamwork.

Srikanth Bathini

I am an early career nephrologist with a keen interest in clinical research. I currently work at the Asian Institute of Nephrology and Urology, Hyderabad, India. I am a strong advocate of free access to scientific research and I believe social media paves the way for it. Teaching has always been close to my heart and I believe that it's only a teacher who can touch many lives at a time. I look forward to building lasting international collaborations for multi-center research studies and disseminating knowledge. Personally, I love animals and look at them as our co-citizens of the world. Earth is their home too, as much as humans call it theirs'! 

Zachary Cerra

I am a 3rd year medical student at McGovern Medical School at UT Health Science Center in Houston, Texas. I currently plan to apply to internal medicine in the 2023 match with academic interests in med-tech, medical education, and utility of social media/podcasts in the medical space. In my free time, I enjoy running, cooking, trying new coffee drinks and spending time with my puppy and beautiful fiancée, Meredith.

Anand Chellappan

I currently work as an assistant professor of nephrology in charge of the Department of Nephrology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Nagpur, India. I am passionate about Nephrology and have a keen interest in Interventional Nephrology, glomerular diseases, kidney transplantation, and quality improvement processes. I like to explore various teaching-learning methods to make learning fun and engaging for students. I play badminton and enjoy playing and pursuing different guitar styles during my free time.

Api Chewcharat

I am a second-year internal medicine resident looking forward to establishing a career as a clinician-scientist in nephrology. I went to medical school in Thailand and did my MPH at HSPH. My current interest is in applying causal inference and machine learning to improve and personalize clinical care for patients with kidney disease. Outside of work, I enjoy listening to podcasts, cooking Thai food, exploring new restaurants, playing Nintendo Switch, and watching football.

Raad Chowdhury

I am a chief nephrology fellow at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and then will be headed to Mayo Clinic for an onconephrology fellowship this summer. I am passionate about differential building, diagnostic reasoning, renal physiology, and ultimately seek innovative ways to provide medical education to learners of all stages.

Madeleine Didsbury

I am a second year pediatric nephrology fellow in Sydney, Australia having just completed my first year at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. I'm a keen researcher with special interests in acute kidney injury, transplantation and health informatics. I'm also passionate about achieving health equity for all kids with CKD.

Mohamed Hassanein

I am an assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. I completed my residency at Michigan State University and fellowship at Cleveland Clinic. Outside my work, I love spending time with my wife and two children, promoting medical education on social media platforms, and reading self-developmental literature.

Sharmi Haque

I am pursuing medicine at Maastricht University. My Keen interests include governance, leadership, health policy and medical education.

Rachel Hung

I am a final year nephrology trainee, currently exploring the epidemiology of kidney disease outcomes in people of African ancestry for my PhD.

Mohamed Ibrahim

I am currently a transplant nephrology fellow in Washington University in St. Louis. I am currently completing my PhD in Bio-sensing from Erasmus University. I will join the University of Maryland faculty after my fellowship.

Priya John

I am a consultant nephrologist from AIG hospitals, Hyderabad, India and am much exhilarated to be part of NSMC 2022. I love sharing and expanding my knowledge in nephrology with colleagues and residents. I am an avid learner and enjoy teaching nephrology. My areas of interest, to mention a few, include glomerular diseases, hypertension, kidney disease in women, and onconephrology. Looking forward to learning, creating, collaborating, and sharing nephrology. My favorite pastimes include traveling and playing with my little munchkins.

Sheikh Bilal Khalid

I am a nephrologist, trained at UNC, currently working at a Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. I am still trying to find my niche but my interests include glomerular diseases, onconephrology and kidney transplant.

Rachael Kermond

I am an advanced pediatric nephrology trainee currently completing my training in Sydney, NSW. My special interests include indigenous health, renal supportive care and medical education. Outside of nephrology I enjoy camping, exploring and am an avid reader.

Anoushka Krishnan

I am a nephrologist from Perth, Australia. I completed my Master's in Clinical Epidemiology and MPhil from the university of Sydney. I was part of the GlomCon Virtual Glomerular Diseases fellowship in 2020 and I’m currently part of the GlomCon educational committee. I enjoy teaching junior medical staff and simplifying medical information for patients.

Dana Larsen

I am a nephrology fellow at UCSF. I completed my residency in Boston and medical school in Texas. I’m currently back in the classroom at UC-Berkeley pursuing a Master's Degree in Health Professions Education with a focus on technology and learner engagement. Originally from Wisconsin, I enjoy spending time with loved ones, running, hiking, and playing soccer.

Amarnath Marthi

I am a nephrology trainee in the East of England region in the UK with an interest in epidemiology, public health and health inequalities. I am particularly passionate about primary and secondary prevention of kidney disease and associated comorbidities, as well as the community building in nephrology.

Maribel Merino-Lopez

My name is Maribel, I am a Mexican nephrologist who enjoys learning every day in order to gain personal and professional growth. I take care of a cat and love coffee.

Cristina Popa

I'm a brand new nephrology specialist (finished my residency training in December 2021), PhD student, and nephrology assistant professor.

Vishnu Reddy

I am currently doing Nephrology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX with interest in glomerular diseases and onconephrology. Prior to joining my nephrology fellowship, I practiced primary care in an academic setting and enjoyed teaching residents and medical students. I am looking forward to learning, creating and sharing nephrology education using social media. Outside of medicine, I play tennis, love to travel and enjoy gardening.

Hamze Ibrahim Rage

I am a specialist physician, future nephrology fellow at the University of Cape Town Groote Schuur hospital under the ISN Detlef Schlöndorff fellowship. I am a kidney health advocate, founder of Somali kidney foundation. I am looking forward to creating global momentum behind the key issues that will make a positive difference for kidney patients and to collaborate with like-minded people in the field of nephrology to advance kidney health worldwide.

Kavitha Ramaswamy

I am currently practicing Hospital Medicine/Nephrology in a Community Hospital setting with Wellspan Health, Pennsylvania. Completing the NSMC internship would give me an opportunity to connect, collaborate and create content and interact with great minds in nephrology. Besides medicine, I am an ardent Avengers fan and enjoy spending time with my family. In my spare time, I enjoy reading fantasy books and walking my labradoodle.

Nicole Schmidt

I am originally from the Chicago suburbs and am currently a fourth year medical student at LMU-DCOM in Tennessee. I am applying for Pediatrics Residency and am seeking to learn more about nephrology. Additionally, I love to teach and am looking forward to learning how to do that in the setting of social media!

Jana Sharara

I am a 3rd-year medical student from Beirut and an aspiring medical educator. I am fond of the kidney and aim to pursue a career in nephrology. I'm a firm believer in the power of medical education, and I believe the field will prosper with creative content creation. Aside from practicing medicine, I enjoy dancing and yoga.

Sandipan Shringi

I am an internal medicine resident about to start my nephrology fellowship at Brown University. I love all things medicine and nephro. Outside of medicine, I like to attempt unraveling the mysteries of the world through philosophy and sarcasm.

Paramveer Singh

I am a Wayne State University fellow who lives in the Metro Detroit area. Easy going, team player, here to learn and share.

Ivens Stuart

Hello, I am a Brazilian nephrologist. I currently reside in São Paulo, Brazil. I have to confess that I am new to social media. In this way, I would like to learn new tools to disseminate knowledge. I believe that knowledge should be free, without restrictions. I hope to make my small contribution along the way. I have a special interest in nephrolithiasis, chronic kidney disease and telemedicine. In the world beyond medicine, I like to play sports and I'm a cinephile.

Sandhya Suresh

I hail from the Southern Indian city of Chennai and have done my internal medicine  from Christian Medical College, Vellore and recently completed my nephrology residency from Muljibhai Patel Urological Hospital, Nadiad, Gujarat. I am currently part of the faculty of Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research where you can find me engaging in endless discussions on acid base balance and electrolytes as well as glomerular diseases. Having previously used the platform only for heated sports discussions, I was introduced to Twitter as a learning tool last year and found the NephJC content very useful for my final exams which has inspired me to join this internship to play a role in creating such content.

Sayali Thakare

I am an assistant professor of nephrology at KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India. I am passionate about medicine & nephrology in its entire spectrum. Love it when the day's schedule has a bit of everything- clinical work, learning, teaching & research. Looking forward to NSMC for acquiring new skills thereof! Besides work I am a culture aficionado, other pursuits include music, literature & fine arts. I am trained in Indian classical vocals, love languages & writing. Nature & traveling are prime needs! Perpetually striving to improve myself- professionally & otherwise.

Susan Thanabalasingam

I am a first-year core internal medicine resident at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada. I have a strong clinical interest in nephrology and am equally passionate about social medicine and health advocacy. I am very excited to become a socially accountable participant on online platforms and learn from nephrologists, other clinicians and advocates through the NSMC.

PS Vali

I am a nephrologist at Asian Institute of Nephrology & Urology, Hyderabad, India. I am an advocate for lifelong mutual learning via the medium of Digital Platforms. I have special interest in distilling the complex topics in nephrology into lucid educational snippets with the help of digital tools.

William Vasquez Espinosa

I am an international medical graduate from Ecuador, currently internal medicine resident at Saint Peter's University Hospital - Robert Wood Johnson. Dreaming of becoming a great nephrologist. My special interests are in fluid balances, dialysis, electrolyte disturbances. I also advocate for health equity. LGBTQ+

Adeyemo Abiodun Waliyullah

I am a final year nephrology trainee at the University of Ilorin teaching hospital who enjoys creating dialysis vascular access, performing kidney biopsies, watching movies and spending time with family. I joined the NSMC internship to acquire social media skills to fast track transiting from a consumer to an active educational content creator and to expand his nephrology network. I’m passionate about glomerular diseases and have research interest in lupus nephritis.

Christel Wekon-Kemeni

I am a PGY-3 resident in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina and am interested in a career in pediatric nephrology! I am from the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, earned my undergraduate degree from the University of Miami and my medical degree from the Wake Forest School of Medicine. I am the creator of the Black Man, M.D. Blog, a blog originally created to document my experiences throughout my medical training that has now evolved into an entity designed to inspire others by sharing helpful information about becoming a medical doctor, highlighting minority healthcare students and professionals, providing scholarships to minority high school students, and more!

Priya Yenebere

I am a transplant nephrologist in the making. Lifelong learner. Professional coffee drinker. I love crossword puzzles, but I'm pretty horrible at them.