Nephrology
The Division of Nephrology consists of 16 full time clinician and research faculty along with advance practice providers and nurses. The Division serves the needs of a diverse population of patients in the state of Virginia.
Faculty members provide specialty care to patients with specific expertise in renal pharmacology and hypertension, glomerular kidney diseases and onconephrology.
The Division supports an active clinical inpatient and outpatient service at VCU Health. Five outpatient dialysis units are supported by the faculty.
The clinical program supports the education of fellows training in nephrology and our faculty have been recognized as excellent educators at all levels of the School of Medicine.
Nephrology at VCU Health is intricately linked to the development of the kidney transplant program at the Medical College of Virginia. Dr. David Hume, the surgical Director of Transplantation, understood the need for renal replacement therapy for patients awaiting kidney transplantation. He enlisted a medical student to travel to Seattle, the home of one of the first outpatient dialysis programs in the country, where he learned the science of dialysis and brought this expertise back to the Department of Surgery. Dr. Thompson, the Department Chairman of Internal Medicine understood the need for specialists in renal medicine and hired Dr. Russell Randall as the first Division Chairman. Dr. Randall hired several young nephrologists including Drs. Bill Falls and Bill Stacey. At the urging of Dr. Hume, Dr. Stacey moved to the McGuire VAMC where he helped create a new Division of Nephrology and Transplant Program. At that time, Medicare had not yet begun paying for transplantation or dialysis and the VA system offered a payment system for both. Dr. Stacey was the VA Chief for years and eventually became the Chief of Staff for the McGuire VAMC.
Subequently, Dr. Harold Fallon became the Department of Internal Medicine Chairman and Dr. Donald Oken was hired as the Division Chairman in 1975. Dr. Oken had trained under the “father of nephrology”, Dr. John P. Merrill at the Peter Brent Brigham Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Oken was an internationally known researcher in the study of acute renal failure, and he recruited many to the Division including Dr. Domenic Sica. A pharmacist by training, Dr. Sica became the Section Chief of Renal Pharmacology and Hypertension and was later President of the American Society of Hypertension.
In 1981, Valerie Harris was recruited as the Division’s office manager a post that she currently maintains. In 1985, Dr. Anton Schoolwerth was recruited as Division Chairman and he continued the strong scientific emphasis of the Division. He was known for his seminal work in ammoniagenesis and mitochondrial function. During his tenure, he recruited Dr. George Feldman, an expert in the field of taste, to become the Division Chief of Nephrology at the McGuire VAMC. In 2003 Dr. Todd Gehr became the Interim Chairman of the Nephrology Division and stepped into the role of Chairman in 2004. He established the home dialysis program at VCU and was an integral part of the Renal Pharmacology efforts of the Division. Under the Internal Medicine leadership of Dr. John Nestler, Dr. Gehr became the Vice-Chairman of Internal Medicine, a role he continues in today. He stepped down from the Nephrology Chairmanship in 2022. Dr. Gaurav Gupta, the Medical Director of Renal/Pancreas Transplantation was appointed as Division Chief in 2023.
Mission
To provide the highest quality of patient care through the generation and application of knowledge in kidney disease.
Vision
Regional leadership in care of patients with kidney disease, education, and patient focused kidney research.
Values
- Impacting the care of socio-economically disadvantaged populations.
- Patient centered, collaborative and multidisciplinary care with peers in primary care and other specialties.
- Generation of new knowledge in the cause, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease.
- A supportive, collegial, and respectful professional environment.
- Rigorous critical inquiry and self-evaluation with a goal of continuous improvement.
About the Chief
Faculty
Division of Nephrology
VCU Faculty
- Akshay Athreya, MD
- Ambreen Azhar, MBBS
- Susan R. DiGiovanni, MD
- Adam Dossaji, MD
- Imran Fatani, MD
- Todd W.B. Gehr, MD
- Siddhartha S. Ghosh, PhD
- Graham Gipson, MD
- Andinet B. Gizaw, MD
- Gaurav Gupta, MD - Division Chief
- Layla Kamal, MD - Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Program Director
- Saul J. Karpen MD, PhD
- Jason M. Kidd, MD
- Anne L. King, MD
- Dhiren Kumar, MD
- Irfan Moinuddin, MD - Nephrology Fellowship Program Director
- Kennerly "Clint" Patrick, DO, MS
- Amber Paulus, PhD, RN, CPHQ - Associate Chief of Nephrology Research & Data Analytics
- Elizabeth B. Ripley, MD, MS
- Sriram Sriperumbuduri, MD
- Sarah Street, MD
- Anna K. Vinnikova, MD
VAMC Faculty
- Sindhura Bobba, MBBS
- George Feldman, MD
- Mahendra Mangray, MD
- Susanne McLaughlin, MD
- Nilang Patel, MD
Clinical Areas
Learn more about our clinical services.
Nephrology outpatient clinics are located at Adult Outpatient Pavilion, Mayland Medical Center and Chesterfield Meadows. Nephrologists round at 5 outpatient dialysis units in Richmond, Tappahannock and Chesterfield County. The division is undergoing significant expansion with new collaborations and sites in the West End, Tappahanock and South Hill.
Nephrologists at VCU provide care for a wide range of kidney problems including:
- General Nephrology
- Acute Kidney
- Kidney Replacement Therapy
- In-center Hemodialysis
- Home Dialysis including Peritoneal and Hemodialysis
- Glomerular Kidney Diseases including those related to vasculitis, lupus or diabetes
- Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation
- Management of the Highly Sensitized Patient for Kidney Transplantation
- Resistant Hypertension
- Kidney Stones
- Kidney problems related to cancer
- Kidney problems related to heart failure
- Kidney problems related to liver failure
- Kidney and blood pressure problems related to pregnancy
- Electrolyte Disturbances
- Inherited kidney diseases including APOL1 Nephropathy, Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease, Alport Syndrome and Fabry Disease
The Division of Nephrology at VCU is pleased to provide specialized care in glomerular diseases at VCU Health.
Glomerular disease are a leading cause of end stage kidney disease. Glomerular disease refers to diseases that can affect the filters of the kidney causing kidney damage and ultimately kidney failure.
The clinic offers special care for patients with the following diseases:
- IgA nephropathy
- Membranous Glomerulonephritis
- Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)
- Minimal Change Disease
- ANCA associated vasculitis
- Goodpasture’s syndrome
- Lupus nephritis
- Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis
- Kidney disease due to amyloidosis and myeloma
Our clinic offers:
- Initial consultations
- Can provide second opinions and work with your nephrologist
- Can arrange kidney biopsies
- Works with a pathologist specializing in kidney diseases and other providers including Rheumatologists to formulate treatment plans
- Recommend or prescribe treatments for your kidney disease
VCU also participates in studies and trials in glomerular diseases, including:
- CureGN: Cure Glomerulonephropathy is a multicenter cohort study of glomerular diseases funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes for Health (NIH). The CureGN project will study 2400 patients with the following glomerular diseases: minimal change disease (MCD), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), membranous nephropathy (MN), and IgA nephropathy (IgA).
- FirstX: a clinical trial studying the safety and efficacy of a new therapy called CXA-10 to treat focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS).
Patients can be seen at our downtown location (Ambulatory Care Center, 417 N 11th Street) or at VCU Health at Mayland by Dr. Jason Kidd.
To make an appointment, please call: 804-828-9682, press 4 and then 3. Ask to be scheduled in the Glomerular Diseases Clinic. If you have questions, please contact us.
Research
Learn more about our cutting edge research.
Faculty within the Division of Nephrology are active in a wide range of research.
Clinical Investigations
- Quality of Life and Daily Hemodialysis
- Novel Treatments of Acute Renal Failure
- Novel Treatments of Resistant Hypertension
- Scientific Integrity, Research Ethics
- Hemodynamic Effects of Paracentesis in Cirrhotic Patients
- Novel Treatments to Prevent Rejection in Renal Transplantation
- Biomarkers in the Detection of Allograft Rejection and Ischemia
Basic Research Interests
- Mechanisms of Salt Taste Transmission
- Similarity Between Salt Transporters in Tongue and Kidne
- Animal Models of Chronic Kidney Disease
- The Effect of Curcumin in the Amelioration of Progressive Kidney Dysfunction
- Animal Models of Hepatorenal Syndrome
- Mechanisms of Chronic Allograft Nephropathy
The KiTE (Kidney disease and Transplant Epidemiology) research consortium has several ambitious goals. Collaborators from VCU and University of Tucson, Arizona aim to develop models for early identification of acute and chronic kidney disease. Implementation of these clinical decision tools in electronic health records can have dramatic impacts for early identification of disease with early interventions. We also aim to increase access to kidney transplants, automate and embed machine learning in transplant decision making, and study innovative diagnostic techniques that can improve kidney disease and kidney transplant outcomes. Currently, our work is funded by the generous support of several philanthropists including the Gupta-Levy Kidney Transplant Research Fund, investigator-initiated industry sponsored studies and internal support from VCU.
Contacts
Division of Nephrology
Division of Nephrology
1101 East Marshall Street
Box 980160
Richmond, Virginia 23298
(804) 828-9682
Division Contacts
Medicine
Gaurav Gupta, MD
Division Chief
Box 980160
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0160
Phone: (804) 828-1855
Email: gaurav.gupta@vcuhealth.org
Administration
Rebecca Mullin, MHA
Division Administrator
Box 980663
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0111
Phone: (804) 828-6866
Email: rebecca.vokes@vcuhealth.org