text:
La tumba de Leopardi es un cuento del escritor mexicano Carlos Fuentes. El cuento pertenece al libro Carolina Grau, publicado en 2010, y se inspira en la vida del poeta italiano Giacomo Leopardi.

Argumento
Giacomo Leopardi, un joven poeta que vive encerrado en su casa y que sufre deformidades corporales, es capaz de ver dos veces su reflejo en los espejos. A medida que pasa el tiempo, y con el mal trato que recibe por parte de sus padres, la cantidad de reflejos llegan a aumentar, así hasta que el poeta también los empieza a ver en la vida real y no solo en el espejo. Sin embargo, al ver pasar por la ventana a una joven extranjera, Carolina Grau, las múltiples ilusiones de sí mismo desaparecen. Solo queda un único Leopardi, el poeta, el enamorado.

Junto con su amigo Ranieri, parte de Recanati hacia Nápoles en busca de Carolina Grau. No obstante, nunca encontrará a su amada, pero la verá en un espejo cuando el reflejo de su amigo Ranieri tome el de la mujer extranjera. Ella le susurra que vuelva a Recanati, lugar en el que la encontrará.

A la vuelta del poeta, Carolina Grau no vuelve a aparecer, ni en la realidad ni en los espejos. Leopardi trata en vano de descubrir la imagen de la extranjera, pero lo único que verá reflejado en el cristal es su reflejo, el cual muestra poco a poco la transformación que Leopardi está sufriendo en vida: al poeta le están creciendo distintas cabezas.

El cuento termina con la supuesta muerte del poeta, quien aún habla desde el féretro y señala cómo su amigo Ranieri lo llevó a Nápoles y lo acabó enterrando en una fosa común. En el ataúd, la esperanza de Leopardi es que Carolina Grau regrese a salvarlo de la muerte. Y es entonces cuando escucha una voz a su lado en el féretro.

Fuentes del relato
Carlos Fuentes se inspira en la vida del poeta italiano Giacomo Leopardi para construir su relato. Son muchas las referencias entre la vida del Leopardi real y de la del Leopardi personaje, por ejemplo, el raquitismo de ambos, su origen común en Recanati, su amistad con Ranieri, su pesimismo vital, etc.

Hay en el relato muchas referencias literarias, sobre todo a la obra de Leopardi, y en especial a su Canto X: El primer amor. Pero también encontramos otros guiños a otros autores, por ejemplo, cuando el Leopardi personaje, narrador en primera persona del relato, hace suyo un verso casi textual de Quevedo: "miraba los muros de la casa mía."

Referencias

Obras de Carlos Fuentes
Obras literarias de México del siglo XXI

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
original berlin walks
Discount: 2 € per EasyCityPass holder and tour
Discover Tour
Englisch: daily 10:30 am and 2 pm
April – Oct: daily 09:00, 10:30 and 2 pm
First time in Berlin? This is the perfect tour for you! Visit all of Berlin's most famous sights and hear the secret stories that make the past come to life! Using the latest historical research our guides will show you the wild, tragic story of this great city. Stroll through the Brandenburg Gate, stand above the remains of Hitler's bunker, and cross the Cold War frontier at Checkpoint Charlie. In under 4 hours you'll see it all!
Hitler's Germany
April – October: daily 10:00 am
Nov – March: Sat, Sun, Mon, Thu 10:00 am
For 12 years Berlin was capital of the Third Reich. Discover the consequences of the 'Thousand Year Reich' Hear the fate of Berlin's Jewish district, visit the site of the former SS & Gestapo Headquarters at the Topography of Terror Museum, see the destruction caused by Allied bombing in WWII. Learn about the rise to power of the National Socialist Party, how Joseph Goebbels' propaganda strengthened the party's grip on the German people, how Albert Speer planned to make Berlin into Germania, capital of the empire of the world. Stand before Hermann Göring's sprawling Luftwaffe HQ.
Finish your tour where the Nazis' reign of terror came to an end: in front of Germany's parliament, the Reichstag, where Soviet forces were placing their flag above a ruined Berlin whilst the Führer prepared to commit suicide not even 1km away.
Apr – Oct: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun: 09:30 am
Nov – March: Sat 09:30 am
For nearly three centuries, the scenic town of Potsdam just outside Berlin was the residence of the Prussian kings, princes, and German emperors of the House of Hohenzollern who created a fairy-tale landscape of palaces, gardens, and churches that ranks among the most beautiful in Europe.
But the cruel realities of 20th Century history intervened in 1945. Visit the grounds of Cecilienhof Palace, scene of the Potsdam Conference, where an American president, a Soviet dictator, and a British prime minister sat down to shape the future of Germany and Europe after World War II, ushering in the Cold War. Cross the "Bridge of Spies", where Gary Powers was traded in 1962 and see the former Stasi prison, run by the East German secret police.
The tour ends back in the 18th Century. Finish in the enchanting surroundings of Sanssouci Park and Palace, created by Frederick the Great. You can then explore Sanssouci on your own or accompany the guide back to Berlin.
Apr – Oct: Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat 10:00 am
Come with us and experience the time of Kennedy, Khrushchev, Gorbachev and Reagan, when the USA and USSR came face to face every day, when there were guards standing over the Berlin Wall, and escape tunnels running beneath it.
Dive into Berlin's divided days and take a hard look at life with communism, secret police, and the Berlin Wall. Why did Germany split into two countries? Did the Wall really come down by accident? Was East Germany really the most spied upon society in history? Our expert guides answer all these questions and more as we take you back in time to tour a city torn in two.
Englisch: Apr – Sept: daily 10:00 am
Oct – March: Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun 10:00 am
In Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp just outside Berlin, tens of thousands perished at the hands of the Nazis in conditions of appalling brutality. The camp became a training ground for the SS and the site of the headquarters of the whole concentration camp system. After the Nazis were defeated, the Soviets used Sachsenhausen as a camp for their own political enemies – thousands more were to perish over the next five years. For this tour, Original Berlin Walks' guides are trained to unravel the complex history of the Holocaust. Using witness accounts and historical research, our qualified guides shed light on what life was like as a prisoner, how some were able to survive, and we address:
Why Sachsenhausen and the concentration camp system were established by the Nazis. How the conditions in the camp worsened in 1939. (Visit the barracks where many of the thousands of Jewish prisoners sent to the camp after the so-called "Kristallnacht" were incarcerated). How the SS used the execution complex at Sachsenhausen to perpetrate acts of mass murder, including the killing of 10,000 Soviet POWs in 1941. (See the foundations of Station Z, the mass execution facility). Any many things more.
Best of Berlin
Apr – Oct: Mon, Fri, Sat 09:30 am
Nov-March: Sat 09:30 am
One tour, everything you need to know. Pioneered by historian and raconteur Terry Brewer, this full-day circuit is the city's most comprehensive walking tour. There's no set routes, no scripts, and no limits. Our guides are given a licence to roam and a remit to show you the absolute best of Berlin – as much as is humanly possible in 6-hours. We don't believe in compartmentalising Berlin's complex history into several different tours. We believe in the bigger picture, and we want to help you understand how different periods of Berlin's past interlink and affect one another. So join us and experience a city caught in the throes of Nazi megalomania, walk through a capital cut in two by the Cold War, marvel at the might of Prussia, explore hidden pathways in the former Jewish quarter, and learn how the traumatic legacy of the 20th century is written into the city's fabric today.
Remember that every Best of Berlin tour is a little different! You're going to see everything on our Discover Berlin tour plus a whole lot more!
Englisch: Mon, Fri, Sat, Sun 2 pm
The Americans may have given the world street art, but it was perfected in Berlin. Starting in the '60s painting on the side of the Wall, through Berlin's hedonistic heyday in the 1990s, artists the world over have come to the Hauptstadt to leave their mark. Our team of street art experts keep on top of what's new, who's who, and where to go to see the freshest and finest works that Berlin has to offer, which means that this tour is the best way for you to find the hidden corners that most visitors never get to see.
This tour will take you across town on foot and underground using Berlin's iconic yellow U-Bahn. You'll get out of the city centre into the neighbourhoods that have made Berlin a world class city for art, design, and, well, fun! There you'll see the giant murals, little stickers and secret stencils that make up the ever-changing Berlin street art scene. Try something a little different. See the weird and wonderful side of Berlin!
Craft Beer Tour
Apr – Oct: Mon, Tue, Fri, Sat: 6:45 pm
Nov – March: Fri, Sat: 6:45 pm
Germans are famous for their beer, and with good reason. In fact Germany's laws on what makes beer beer are more than 300 years older than the country itself! 100 years ago Berlin had more breweries than any other city on the planet. After what can only be described as a pretty rough relationship with the 20th Century, Berlin's beer scene is back!
Thankfully today Berlin's beer scene is back with a vengeance. Thus we send out the call to all hopheads, beer freaks or just those with a humble respect for a nice cold beverage of an evening, to come and bathe in Berlin's beer history and soak up (responsibly, of course) the burgeoning craft beer scene that's mushrooming in the modern city. We'll sample brews from all over the town at three different bars whilst chatting about the mechanics of beer and beer tasting, Germany's spiritual connection with malt, hops, water and yeast, Berlin's rocky road to craft beer kingship and more.
Tour starts at Rosenthaler Platz, infront of the Backfactory.
Meeting points:
Tours starts at Hackescher Markt
infront of Starbucks
Craft Beer Tour starts Rosentahler Platz
infront of the Backfactory
Mon – Sun: 09:00 am – 6:45 pm
depending on the tour
telephone: +49(0)177 – 30 19 194
email: office@berlinwalks.de
website: www.berlinwalks.de
S-Bahn: S3, S5, S7, S9 Hackescher Markt
Tram: M1, M4, M5, M6 Hackescher Markt
U-Bahn: U8 Rosenthaler Platz
Tram: M1, M8 Rosenthaler Platz
tariff zone: AB

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, recently released data regarding car accident deaths in 2002. The information shows a very serious safety problem that needs attention. Deaths on our highways have reached the highest level in a dozen years and tragically, rollover car accidents and crashes caused 82% of this increase. Car manufactures must protect car drivers and passengers from death and serious injuries in rollover accidents by making cars crashworthy.
A recent press release from Public Citizen discusses this, NHTSA's 2002 Highway Fatality Statistics Confirm Pressing Need for Safety Improvements Contained in Senate Legislation.
Wisconsin personal injury lawyers and other personal injury attorneys were recently encouraged by the following news Yahoo News: Senate Kills Malpractice Limit Proposal.
Two Republicans along with the Democrats were instrumental in this - encouraging news for an Independent, like me. The two courageous and wise Republican Senators were Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama and Senator Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina.
For those who need proof that these Senators did the right thing, look no further than the American Academy of Family Physicians recent publication Seven Reasons Family Doctors Get Sued and How to Reduce Your Risk. The physicians' publication has table entitled "MYTHS ABOUT MALPRACTICE," which states in part:
"This is a new problem.
The first malpractice case recorded in the United States was Cross v Guthery, a 1794 Connecticut case in which a man sued his doctor over his wife's death following surgery. Since only appeals court decisions are usually recorded, the first malpractice case may well have occurred before the founding of the country. Historical accounts from the Civil War era document instances of surgeons refusing to do certain procedures because of concerns about being sued."
"It's about money.
Many doctors believe that patients sue primarily because of money, but for the vast majority of patients, money is not the primary motivation. Instead, patients often sue because they want to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, want an honest and clear explanation as to how and why the injury occurred and want the staff or organization to be accountable for their actions."
"The number of lawyers is the root of the problem.
The number of lawyers in an area does not predict the number of medical malpractice lawsuits. It is the number of doctors that predicts the number of suits."
"Lawyers decide the standard of care.
In every jurisdiction, a lawyer is able to file a medical malpractice suit only with a statement from an expert that negligence occurred. That expert has to be a physician."
"Frivolous suits are the root of the problem.
A General Accounting Office report showed that less than 10 percent of the time does the plaintiff have an injury that would be regarded as "insignificant."3 In the majority of cases, plaintiffs have serious problems that no one would want for themselves or their loved ones. Whether the bad outcome was the result of doctors' negligence may be debatable, but medical malpractice suits for frivolous reasons are uncommon."
"There is nothing one doctor can do.
Perhaps the most powerful predictor of the likelihood of being sued is how well the doctor relates to patients. The more honest and empathetic a doctor is, the lower the likelihood of suit."
"Judges and juries favor plaintiffs.
In fact, judges and juries generally favor doctors. In 2000, defendants won 62 percent of all medical malpractice cases brought before a jury."
"All tort reform is good.
Some kinds of tort reform have proven effective, such as California's 1975 Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA); others have not and, in fact, may make things worse."
NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis...
Wisconsin personal injury lawyers and other person...


A policy that could change how law firms and clients think when assigning lawyers to major cases and investigations was launched in December 2017.
The Gender Equitable Engagement and Instruction Policy (Eqitable Instructions) is aimed at developing and retaining the skills of women lawyers.
While over 60% of law school graduates are women, climbing the legal ladder for many appears to be more difficult than being admitted to the Bar. The number of women lawyers in New Zealand exceeded the number of men for the first time in January 2018.
Development of the policy was led by Russell McVeagh and several other law firms along with a number of large corporates. The New Zealand Law Society and New Zealand Bar Association are jointly promoting and managing the policy.
It can be adopted by any user or provider of legal services, including clients, law firms, chambers, in-house teams and legal departments and individual lawyers.
By 1 December 2018 policy adopters will use reasonable endeavours to have women lawyers with relevant expertise take a lead on at least 30% of court proceedings, arbitral proceedings, and major regulatory investigations.
It's no secret that women are under-represented as lead counsel, especially in significant commercial litigation. Furthermore, men outnumber women as barristers and in Queen's Counsel appointments.
Kate Davenport QC has been practising law for over 30 years and, as the New Zealand Bar Association's President-Elect, has been involved in launching the policy. She thinks it has great potential.
"It'll make organisations and lawyers who brief barristers think about what they're doing. It's all very comfortable for people to just brief the lawyers they've briefed before, and traditionally that has more often been men.
"I hope this policy has law firms and clients asking themselves who else they could instruct and let's look at the women lawyers for this work. The policy brings the issue to people's consciousness and that will then become habit and lead to women doing better kinds of work," she says.
"It is time to put a stake in the ground. It is immensely encouraging that some of the major players in the provision of legal services and some leading corporate organisations are early adopters of the policy," New Zealand Law Society President Kathryn Beck says.
Ms Davenport anticipates some resistance to the voluntary policy.
Ms Davenport says the only barrier to advancement should be ability and firms which adopt the policy will be sought after by new female graduates.
"This policy gives women the opportunity to do more senior litigation work. Women need to be seen to be doing this so that they can put it down on their application form for QC. This policy will be very positive for women in law. I have two nieces who are young graduates working for large law firms and I do think the barriers are there," she says.
Putting the policy into action is as simple as notifying the New Zealand Law Society. However, firms that adopt the policy but fail to meet reporting obligations, will be removed from the list of policy adopters on the Law Society website.
On the outside it may appear as if Kate Davenport has risen to the top with ease, but memories of the early days of practising law are not quickly forgotten.
"During one of my first job interviews I was asked what form of contraception I was on, because clearly as a woman I was going to go off and have children and leave them. They'd never ask that sort of question now and then, when I did get a job in a large law firm, I was told that I shouldn't admit knowing how to type or photocopy because women would be asked to do that work. Routinely, I would go into meetings and be asked to make the coffee," she says.
Ms Davenport says those blatant barriers have gone but the subtle barriers still remain.
She says appearing in a case before the Privy Council probably helped her make Queen's Counsel.
Jenny Cooper QC has been practising law for over 20 years and is also an avid supporter of the Gender Equitable Engagement and Instruction Policy.
"For a long time people thought the situation with women in law would take care of itself. That hasn't happened. There seemed to be an idea that once we reached 50% of practising lawyers in the profession equality would follow but women have continued to lag behind men in progression.
"People used to say to me, 'don't worry it's just a timing issue' but it's clear that we need to do more than just wait," she says.
Ms Cooper says while there will be criticism over having a 30% target for women to take the lead in court and arbitral proceedings along with major regulatory investigations, she thinks it's needed.
Ms Cooper says 30% is merely a starting point.
Ms Cooper says the policy would work when, for example, a case comes up. If it's a company they'll have a couple of law firms that they regularly use for litigation and will probably approach the partner they've dealt with for 10 years and go with the recommended person.
"This policy means people will stop and think about who else there is and if there are any women solicitors or barristers we could use for this case on the list. If not, why not. It's about being conscious of those decisions and making sure you're not shutting out people from consideration. You're also giving clients a broader choice," she says.
Jenny Cooper says it's not a case of 'you must always brief a woman', but is a case of 'have you considered a range of options that includes women'.
Sarah Keene is a partner at Russell McVeagh, which is signed up to the policy and was an important player in its development.
"We expect that creating the habit of asking that question is of itself going to make a huge difference to the quantity of women instructed," she says.
Firms that adopt the policy will have to provide a biennial confidential report of results and measures taken to achieve the 30% target to the New Zealand Law Society.
It's very important to note that it's not just law firms that are behind the Gender Equitable Engagement and Instruction Policy. Major companies have adopted it as well.
Westpac's General Manager of Regulatory Affairs, Compliance and General Counsel, Mark Weenink says his company aims to achieve more than 30%.
"We will be seeking to exceed the equitable engagement target and aim for 50% of our instructions in both litigious and non-litigious work to be briefed to senior women lawyers. This aligns with the Westpac women in leadership target and is responsive to the recent report commissioned by Westpac which indicates women hold only 29% of leadership positions in New Zealand," he says.
Mr Weenink says with the high quality of women lawyers available the policy makes good business sense.
The Equitable Instruction Policy can be found on the NZLS website, under Practice Resources: go to Business of Law and then Legal Practice.
Westpac, Spark, Fonterra, Countdown, Stuff, Watercare, Meridian, Lion, Samsung, Auckland Airport, Chorus, ANZ, Contact.
Russell McVeagh, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, Buddle Findlay, Shortland Chambers, Crown Law Office, Bell Gully, Chapman Tripp, Simpson Grierson, DLA Piper New Zealand, Anderson Lloyd, Kensington Swan.


text:
#ifndef FILEAM_H
#define FILEAM_H

#include "c.h"
#include "access/formatter.h"
#include "access/htup.h"
#include "access/relscan.h"
#include "access/sdir.h"
#include "access/tupmacs.h"
#include "access/xlogutils.h"
#include "nodes/primnodes.h"
#include "storage/lmgr.h"
#include "utils/rel.h"
#include "utils/tqual.h"
#include "access/url.h"
#include "access/plugstorage_utils.h"

/*
 * ExternalInsertDescData is used for storing state related
 * to inserting data into a writable external table.
 */
typedef struct ExternalInsertDescData
{
	Relation		ext_rel;
	FILE*			ext_file;
	char*			ext_uri;		/* "command:<cmd>" or "tablespace:<path>" */
	bool			ext_noop;		/* no op. this segdb needs to do nothing (e.g. mirror seg) */

	TupleDesc		ext_tupDesc;
	Datum*			ext_values;
	bool*			ext_nulls;

	FormatterData* ext_formatter_data;
	ExternalTableType ext_formatter_type;
	char* ext_formatter_name;

	/* current insert information for pluggable storage */
	PlugStorageInsertFuncs ext_ps_insert_funcs;   /* insert functions */
	void *ext_ps_user_data;                       /* user data */

	struct CopyStateData *ext_pstate; 	/* data parser control chars and state */

} ExternalInsertDescData;

typedef ExternalInsertDescData *ExternalInsertDesc;

/*
 * ExternalSelectDescData is used for storing state related
 * to selecting data from an external table.
 */
typedef struct ExternalSelectDescData
{
	ProjectionInfo *projInfo;
	// Information needed for aggregate pushdown
	int  agg_type;
} ExternalSelectDescData;

typedef enum DataLineStatus
{
	LINE_OK,
	LINE_ERROR,
	NEED_MORE_DATA,
	END_MARKER
} DataLineStatus;

extern FileScanDesc external_beginscan(ExternalScan *extScan,
                                       Relation currentRelation,
                                       ResultRelSegFileInfo *segFileInfo,
                                       int formatterType,
                                       char *formatterName);
extern void external_rescan(FileScanDesc scan);
extern void external_endscan(FileScanDesc scan);
extern void external_stopscan(FileScanDesc scan);
extern ExternalSelectDesc external_getnext_init(PlanState *state, ExternalScanState *es_state);
extern bool external_getnext(FileScanDesc scan,
                             ScanDirection direction,
                             ExternalSelectDesc desc,
                             ScanState *ss,
                             TupleTableSlot *slot);

extern ExternalInsertDesc external_insert_init(Relation rel,
                                               int errAosegno,
                                               ExternalTableType formatterType,
                                               char *formatterName);
extern Oid external_insert(ExternalInsertDesc extInsertDesc,
                           TupleTableSlot *tupTableSlot);
extern void external_insert_finish(ExternalInsertDesc extInsertDesc);
extern void external_set_env_vars(extvar_t *extvar, char* uri, bool csv, char* escape, char* quote, bool header, uint32 scancounter);
extern void AtAbort_ExtTables(void);
char*	linenumber_atoi(char buffer[20],int64 linenumber);

extern char *getExtTblFormatterTypeInFmtOptsStr(char *fmtStr);
extern char *getExtTblFormatterTypeInFmtOptsList(List *fmtOpts);

#endif   /* FILEAM_H */

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
HomeApplications & TechnologyAccelerating the Pace of Machine Learning
Accelerating the Pace of Machine Learning
May 27, 2022 Holt Hackney Applications & Technology, Elevating EA, Machine Learning, Strategy & Planning 0
Machine learning happens a lot like erosion.
Data is hurled at a mathematical model like grains of sand skittering across a rocky landscape. Some of those grains simply sail along with little or no impact. But some of them make their mark: testing, hardening, and ultimately reshaping the landscape according to inherent patterns and fluctuations that emerge over time.
Effective? Yes. Efficient? Not so much.
A Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Lehigh University seeks to bring efficiency to distributed learning techniques emerging as crucial to modern artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). In essence, his goal is to hurl far fewer grains of data without degrading the overall impact.
In the paper "Distributed Learning with Sparsified Gradient Differences," recently published in a special ML-focused issue of the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing, Professor Rick Blum and collaborators propose the use of "Gradient Descent method with Sparsification and Error Correction," or GD-SEC, to improve the communications efficiency of machine learning conducted in a "worker-server" wireless architecture.
"Problems in distributed optimization appear in various scenarios that typically rely on wireless communications," he writes. "Latency, scalability, and privacy are fundamental challenges."
"Various distributed optimization algorithms have been developed to solve this problem," he continues, "and one primary method is to employ classical GD in a worker-server architecture. In this environment, the central server updates the model's parameters after aggregating data received from all workers, and then broadcasts the updated parameters back to the workers. But the overall performance is limited by the fact that each worker must transmit all of its data all of the time. When training a deep neural network, this can be on the order of 200 MB from each worker device at each iteration. This communication step can easily become a significant bottleneck on overall performance, especially in federated learning and edge AI systems."
Through the use of GD-SEC, Blum explains, communication requirements are significantly reduced. The technique employs a data compression approach where each worker sets small magnitude gradient components to zero — the signal-processing equivalent of not sweating the small stuff. The worker then only transmits to the server the remaining non-zero components. In other words, meaningful, usable data are the only packets launched at the model.
"Current methods create a situation where each worker has expensive computational cost; GD-SEC is relatively cheap where only one GD step is needed at each round," writes Blum.
Examining Application Modernization Trends
Agile Architecture for Software Development Teams – Being Agile (Part I)


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Clinical Scientist in Nephrology program award recipients
For three decades we have supported clinical research, identifying emerging clinical researchers seeking to advance patient care and providing fellowships to fund their research.
Below are the researchers supported by the American Kidney Fund's CSN program.
Dr. Elizabeth Kermgard (2021 CSN fellow)
Elizabeth Kermgard, MD, is a pediatric nephrology fellow at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Kermgard will study the relationship between the gut microbiome, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) resistance in patients on chronic dialysis. It is known that our gut microbiome and the production of SCFAs are important for normal bone regulation, but what is not known is if this relationship holds true for those with CKD. Better understanding this relationship could shed light on new possible interventions to treat bone and mineral disease in CKD patients. Her research will enroll 48 pediatric dialysis patients between the ages of six and 21. Her team will collect blood and stool samples to look at shotgun sequencing of the gut microbiome, conduct analysis of serum and stool SCFAs as well as PTH and PTH fragment levels, an important indicator of mineral and bone disease in CKD patients.
In parallel with her research, Dr. Kermgard will pursue a Master of Science in Clinical, Biomedical and Translational Investigations degree at the University of Southern California (USC). Dr. Kermgard completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Saint Louis University. After medical school, she completed her pediatric internship and residency at CHLA, where she is currently completing her first year of fellowship in pediatric nephrology.
Dr. Christine Limonte (2021 CSN fellow)
Christine Limonte, MD, is a nephrology clinical research fellow at the University of Washington. Dr. Limonte's research will utilize novel analytics techniques to determine if blood vessel disease in the back of the eye, or retinopathy, can reveal information about kidney function and kidney disease. The goal of the investigation is to better diagnose and treat diabetic kidney disease. In a two-part study, Dr. Limonte will first use machine learning on medical record data from 10,000 patients to look at associations between kidney function and eye disease. In the second part, she will work with the Kidney Precision Medicine Project, a consortium sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, to analyze kidney biopsy samples from 75 people, using genetic data to help decipher mechanisms of kidney disease.
Dr. Limonte graduated magna cum laude from Brown University, where she concentrated in Neuroscience and received her medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Limonte completed her residency in internal medicine at Northwestern University, where she also participated in the Academy for Quality and Safety Improvement (AQSI) certificate program. During her residency, she spent one month volunteering at a community health clinic in Bolivia.
Dr. Anika Lucas (2020-2022)
Institution: Duke University
Dr. Anika Lucas is a nephrology fellow at Duke University. Dr. Lucas' research studies racial differences in adverse pregnancy and postpartum outcomes in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), with a goal to more accurately identify women who are at particularly high risk for adverse events. Dr. Lucas is conducting detailed studies on an international cohort of women with SLE from the United States, Canada, Germany and Italy — one of the largest reported multi-ethnic cohort of pregnant women with SLE in the world — and evaluating the relations between maternal second trimester estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and the likelihood of adverse pregnancy outcomes including preeclampsia, preterm birth, fetal loss and small for gestational age. She explores the potential role of APOL1 genetic mutations on these important outcomes.
Dr. Lucas is a graduate of Wellesley College, received a master's degree from Harvard Divinity School and obtained her medical degree at Temple University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of Connecticut. As part of her research fellowship, Dr. Lucas received additional training in research methods through the Clinical Research Training Program at Duke.
Removing race from GFR estimates: balancing potential benefits and unintended consequences
Only Part of the Story
Dr. Lucas' Bio
Dr. Maria Clarissa Tio (2020-2021)
Institution: University of Mississippi Medical Center
During her fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital's Joint Nephrology Program, Dr. Tio studied several emerging risk factors in CKD progression, particularly uric acid and oxalate, through mixed epidemiologic and physiologic approaches. Currently, she holds an Assistant Professor faculty position at the University of Mississippi (UMMC) in Jackson, MS, working with underserved patients at the only tertiary care center in the entire state. Dr. Tio is a graduate of the University of Philippines in Manila and the Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School. She completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and completed a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in May 2021.
Plasma Endothelin-1 and Risk of Death and Hospitalization in Patients undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis
Dr. Tio's Bio
Dr. O. Alison Potok (2019-2021)
Institution: University of California, San Diego
Dr. O. Alison Potok completed her fellowship at the University of California, San Diego. She was born and raised in Paris, France, and completed her medical school training at Université Paris V René Descartes and a family medicine residency at Faculté de Médecine de Strasbourg. She then moved to the United States and completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia. Throughout her years of training, Dr. Potok has cared for the elderly on multiple occasions and has developed a research interest in geriatric nephrology. Her research project aimed to better understand how two common markers used to estimate kidney function relate to aging and body composition. Clinicians usually estimate kidney function by calculating the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), using markers present in the blood, most commonly serum creatinine or cystatin C. Dr. Potok studied how differences in these estimates correlated with muscle mass and frailty in older adults. Her AKF Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellowship was funded by a grant from Akebia Therapeutics.
Applying a Geriatrics Framework to Older Dialysis Patients' Needs: Getting There Is Half the Battle
Dr. Potok's Bio
Dr. Pablo Garcia (2019-2021)
As a second-year nephrology fellow at Stanford University, Dr. Pablo Garcia was awarded an AKF Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellowship funded in part by a grant from Amgen. He was born and raised in Guatemala. He received his medical degree from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. He underwent clinical training in internal medicine at Rutgers/Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey before joining Stanford's fellowship program. Dr. Garcia's research project entitled, Exploring the epidemiology and etiology of primary tubulointerstitial kidney disease, sought to better understand the causes and prognosis of primary tubulointerstitial kidney disease. Dr. Garcia continues to work toward his ultimate career goal of becoming an academic nephrologist with focused interest and expertise in tubulointerstitial kidney disease and chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu).
COVID19 vaccine type and humoral immune response in patients receiving dialysis
Dr. Garcia's Bio
Katherine Wang, MD (2018-2020)
Dr. Katherine Wang was Stanford University's 2018-2020 American Kidney Fund CSN fellow. Her research project: SPRINTing to intensive blood pressure targets: when, for whom, and how?, was an evaluation of the achievement of intensive blood pressure control in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT). "I am enthusiastic and earnest about this opportunity. I wholly believe in the American Kidney Fund's commitment to fostering healthcare access, health literacy and prevention/progression of kidney disease", said Dr. Wang. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Rochester and her medical school and residency training in internal medicine at Albany Medical College. Dr. Wang envisions an enriching career serving as an academic nephrologist. Her major interests are focused on improving hypertension outcomes, particularly in patients suffering with chronic kidney disease. She is currently a Clinical Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in the Division of Renal Medicine.
Factors Associated With Failure to Achieve the Intensive Blood Pressure Target in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT)
Dr. Wang's Bio
Jessica Tangren, MD (2017-2018)
Dr. Jessica Tangren is a third year fellow in the Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Joint Nephrology Fellowship Program. As the 2017-2018 American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow, Dr. Tangren's research project is titled "Renal and Vascular Dysfunction After Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) in Young Women – Implications for Pregnancy and Beyond."
Dr. Tangren's career goal is to become a physician-scientist in nephrology, with a focus on the management of kidney disease in women. "The mission of the American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology program aligns with my own career goals. I have a core commitment to patient advocacy, and I am driven to conduct research to improve the quality of care we provide for women with kidney disease," Dr. Tangren said.
Dr. Tangren's AKF Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellowship is funded in part by a grant from Amgen.
Anoop Sheshadri, MD (2016-2017)
While completing his renal fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Sheshadri was awarded the American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellowship, funded by Amgen and Sanofi Renal. Dr. Sheshadri's research was titled Pedometers and Exercise in Dialysis. Aims of his research included determining whether a pedometer-based walking intervention would result in increased physical activity in patients treated with dialysis, and whether increased physical activity in patients treated with dialysis would result in improved physical function and in endothelial function. Currently, Dr. Sheshadri sees patients at the Nephrology and Hypertension Faculty Practice at the UCSF Medical Center, where he is also a Clinical Instructor.
Megan Yanik, MD (2016-2017)
When awarded an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellowship funded by Amgen and Sanofi Renal, Dr. Yanik was also in the process of completing her fellowship in pediatric nephrology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Yanik's research was to determine the influence the CYP3A5 genotype has on the time to achieve a therapeutic level of tacrolimus in pediatric kidney transplant recipients, and to determine the influence of CYP3A5 genotype on risk for acute rejection episodes in pediatric kidney transplant recipients. Dr. Yanik is currently, Assistant Professor and Pediatric Nephrologist at Children's Hospital of Alabama – Nephrology.
John Stanifer, MD, MSc (2015-2017)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow, as well as a fellow at Duke University's Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Dr. Stanifer's research aimed to assess the health literacy of individuals with chronic kidney disease from an underserved community in southeastern North Carolina with a large American Indian and African American population. Dr. Stanifer is now a Medical Instructor in the Department of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. Read a post by Dr. Stanifer on our blog, Kidney Today.
Susan Wong, MD (2014-2016)
Dr. Wong was awarded the American Kidney Fund-Sanofi Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellowship as a nephrology fellow at the University of Washington Medical Center. Dr. Wong researched the reasons some older adults do not receive dialysis as treatment for kidney failure, and the circumstances under which that decision occurs. Dr. Wong is currently Assistant Professor of Nephrology Medicine at Kidney Research Institute in Seattle, Washington.
Elaine Ku, MD, (2013-2014)
Awarded the American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellowship while at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Ku's project was titled Impact of Pre-End Renal Disease Management on Outcomes After Development of End-stage Renal Disease. The major goal of this study was to understand whether and how mortality risk among ESRD patients is affected by the intensity of blood pressure control during CKD. Currently, Dr. Ku is Assistant Professor at UCSF Department of Medicine – Nephrology.
Sagar Nigwekar MD (2012-2013)
Dr. Nigwekar was awarded the American Kidney Fund-Sanofi Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellowship, as a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research examined calciphylaxis and the role of vitamin D analogues and the evaluation of serum biomarker. Currently, Dr. Nigwekar is Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Margaret Yu, MD (2012-2014)
Dr. Yu was awarded the American Kidney Fund-Sanofi Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellowship while she was a nephrology fellow at the University of Washington. Dr. Yu's research examined the gender differences in chronic kidney disease prevalence, risk factors and progression in an outpatient diabetic population. Dr. Yu is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford.
Katherine Lynch, MD (2012-2014)
Dr. Lynch was awarded the American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellowship as a nephrology fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Lynch's research examined the clinical effectiveness of common interventions aimed at mitigating intradialytic hypotension. She is currently a nephrologist, and Instructor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Graham Abra, MD (2011-2013)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Neprhology fellow at Stanford School of Medicine, Dr. Abra's project focused on the design of an electronic health record-based intervention, using alerts for physicians, pharmacists and nurses, for medications in need of adjustment in patients with hospital-acquired acute kidney injuries (AKI). Pre and post-intervention response times to medication adjustment, adverse drug events, length of stay and risk-adjusted cost in patients with hospital acquired AKI, were evaluated in order to learn process improvement through electronic health record order set design, multidisciplinary committee work and intervention analysis. Dr. Abra is currently Director of Medical Clinical Affairs at Satellite Healthcare in Northern California.
Ernest Mandel, MD (2011-2013)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School's Channing Laboratory, Dr. Mandel examined the role of diet in acid-base balance and the development and progression of chronic diseases, with a focus on developing preventive strategies to lessen their disease burden. Currently, Dr. Mandel is Associate Director at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital Joint Nephrology Fellowship Program.
Jamie Green, MD (2010-2012)
As an American Kidney Fund-Genzyme Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow from the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Green's study assessed the association of health literacy with dialysis treatment adherence in patients receiving in-center hemodialysis. Dr. Green is currently a Clinical Investigator at Geisinger Health in Pennsylvania.
Jenny Shen, MD (2010-2012)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen CSN Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Stanford University, Dr. Shen's research, titled Risks and Benefits of Heparin Use in Maintenance Hemodialysis, determined the associations among heparin dose and the risks of important clinical events. Her study also described patterns and correlates of heparin use in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis at the facilities of a national provider of dialysis services. Dr. Shen is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UCLA.
Delphine Tuot, MD (2010-2012)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen CSN Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Tuot's research determined whether patient awareness of CKD is associated with greater application of evidence-based medical regimens in a nationally representative sample. Additionally, her study sought to determine concordance between physician recognition and patient awareness of CKD in clinical settings with diverse patients in the San Francisco Bay area. Currently, Dr. Tuot is as Associate Professor at UCSF School of Medicine.
Julie Wright-Nunes, MD (2009-2011)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen CSN Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Dr. Wright-Nunes' research titled, Facilitating Physician Delivered CKD Patient Education, evaluated the impact of low literacy materials used by nephrologists while delivering patient CKD education and care. Dr. Wright-Nunes is a nephrologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan.
Nisha Bansal, MD (2008-2010)
As an American Kidney Fund-Genzyme Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Bansal's research focused on the impact of CKD on the clinical presentation of coronary artery disease. Additionally, her study examined the role of CKD-specific risk factors and medication use on the presentation of coronary artery disease. Dr. Bansal is Assistant Professor in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Washington Medical Center, in Seattle.
Tamara Isakova, MD (2008-2010)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen CSN Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Isakova's research titled Postprandial Hypocalcemia in Secondary Hyperparathyroidism in Early Chronic Kidney Disease, sought to enhance understanding of postprandial calcium and parathyroid metabolism and how to normalize these in early CKD. Dr. Isakova is currently Director at the Institute for Public Health and Medicine–Center for Translational Metabolism and Health at Northwestern Medicine's Feinberg School of Medicine.
Carmen Peralta, MD (2007-2008)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Peralta's research examined the roles that individual genetic ancestry and socioeconomic status play in chronic kidney disease, and how these factors impact the progression to end stage renal disease. Dr. Peralta is an Associate Professor at UCSF School of Medicine.
Tammy Brady, MD, MHS (2006-2008)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow from Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Brady investigated whether an automated computerized algorithm increased the recognition of elevated blood pressures in an urban primary pediatric clinic setting. Dr. Brady also worked to identify the modifiable risk factors associated with poor physician recognition of elevated blood pressures during well-child visits, and to determine the prevalence of hypertension in the stated population over a twelve month period. She was awarded Best Clinical Abstract at the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology annual meeting in 2007 for her work on this project. In July 2008, Dr. Brady joined the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Nephrology. She is currently, Medical Director of the Pediatric Hypertension Program at Johns Hopkins.
Orlando Gutierrez, MD, MMSc (2006-2008)
As an American Kidney Fund-Genzyme Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow from Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Gutierrez examined novel connections between disorders of phosphorus metabolism and cardiovascular disease in patients with chronic kidney disease. In addition, Dr. Gutierrez examined differences in phosphorus metabolism in healthy patients, and in those with chronic kidney disease. Dr. Gutierrez was named the 2008 Valedictorian of the Scholars in Clinical Science Program at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Gutierrez is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.
Jeffrey Fadrowski, MD, MHS (2005-2006)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Fadrowski examined the type of vascular access in a cohort of pediatric hemodialysis patients and the relationship between the type of vascular access and the frequency of infection and hospitalization. Dr. Fadrowski is an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is also the recipient of NIH's K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award and the National Kidney Foundation's Young Investigator Grant Award.
Krista Lentine, MD, MS (2004-2005)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Washington University School of Medicine in Missouri, Dr. Lentine explored registry data from the USRDS, OPTN and Medicare, to investigate the risk, predictors and outcomes of cardiovascular disease events after kidney transplantation. During her CSN fellowship, she completed a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology degree from Stanford University. Since completing her CSN fellowship, she has earned a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Loan Repayment Award for Clinical Research and a five-year Career Development (K-series) Award from the NIH National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, for her active interests in the cardiovascular complications of kidney disease. Dr. Lentine is a tenured Associate Professor at Saint Louis University, with appointments to the Center for Outcomes Research and the Division of Nephrology.
Eric Taylor, MD (2004-2006)
As an American Kidney Fund-Genzyme Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at the Brigham and Women's Hospital of Massachusetts, Dr. Taylor evaluated novel risk factors for kidney stone formation. During his fellowship, he completed his Masters of Science in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Taylor has authored over 40 original research publications. He is a nephrologist at Maine Nephrology Associates, in Portland, Maine.
Yoshio Hall, MD (2003-2005)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Hall investigated differential outcomes among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans with ESRD. During his fellowship, Dr. Hall completed the UCSF Advanced Training in Clinical Research Program. He is currently Director of the Nephrology Fellowship Training Program, as well as Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the Kidney Research Institute at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Karen Smirnakis, MD, PhD (2003-2005)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Smirnakis' research interests focused on the prevention of end-stage renal disease by early diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus. Her project examined postpartum screening for diabetes among women with a history of gestational diabetes. Dr. Smirnakis completed a Masters of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. She is currently Medical Director, Safety Risk and Benefit at Biogen.
Manjula Kurella Tamura, MD, MPH (2002-2004)
As an American Kidney Fund-Genzyme Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at the University of California San Francisco, Dr. Kurella Tamura focused on the impact of chronic kidney disease in the elderly. Her proposal focused on cognitive function in elderly patients with advanced renal failure. Dr. Kurella Tamura received a Master of Public Health degree from University of California, Berkeley. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at Stanford University and the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System.
Jeffrey Rubel, MD (2001-2003)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, Dr. Rubel evaluated the effectiveness of established guidelines for treating and preventing coronary artery disease, and the ability of health care providers to successfully implement these strategies. Dr. Rubel completed a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Rubel now practices at Beverly Hospital in Massachusetts.
Holly J. Kramer, MD, MPH (2000-2002)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Kramer conducted what may be the first study to investigate the effects of hormone replacement therapy on morbidity and mortality in post-menopausal women with ESRD. Also during her CSN fellowship, Dr. Kramer completed a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Kramer joined the faculty at Loyola Medical Center in 2002 with a joint appointment in the Department of Preventive Medicine and in the Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension. Currently, Dr. Kramer is an investigator, Associate Professor and Program Director for the MPH Program at Loyola University Medical Center.
Preston S. Klassen, MD, MHS (2000-2001)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Duke University, Dr. Klassen conducted an in-depth study of the relationship between blood pressure and clinical outcomes in dialysis patients. Dr. Klassen had the unique opportunity to spend part of his fellowship at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Baltimore, Maryland. During his fellowship, Dr. Klassen completed the requirements for a Master of Health Science degree at the Duke University Clinical Research Training Program. He was also previously on the faculty of Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Klassen is now Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at Arena Pharmaceuticals.
Liam Casserly, MD, MSc (1999-2001)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Boston Medical Center, Dr. Casserly conducted a study of hypertensive heart disease among ESRD patients and completed a Master of Science degree in epidemiology and biostatistics at Boston University's School of Public Health. He is now an academic nephrologist in Ireland.
Chi-Yuan Hsu, MD, MSc (1998-2000)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and later at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Hsu completed a study of the risk factors for chronic renal insufficiency. During his fellowship he also earned a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Hsu became Chief of the Division of Nephrology at UCSF in 2008 and has since been promoted to Professor.
Rulan S. Parekh, MD, MSc (1997-1999)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Dr. Parekh conducted a study of cardiovascular mortality in children with ESRD. She also completed a Master of Public Health degree, with a concentration in biostatistics and clinical research. Dr. Parekh is Associate Chief, Clinical Research at Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Hospital for Sick Children, University Health Network and University of Toronto.
Lynda Szczech, MD, MSCE (1996-1997)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Szczech's project was titled, The Impact of Post-Transplant Antibody Therapy on Kidney Transplant Survival. She has published several clinical articles and has most recently served as Executive Medical Director at FibroGen, Inc.
Ravi Thadhani, MD, MPH (1995-1998)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Thadhani conducted research on pregnancy-related kidney disease and earned a Master in Public Health degree. Dr. Thadhani is currently a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Division of Nephrology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. As of September, 2017, Dr. Thadhani was appointed as Vice Dean, Research and Education at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.
David M. Kates, MD, MHSc (1994-1996)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at the University of Washington, School of Medicine in Seattle, Dr. Kates studied cardiovascular disease in ESRD patients. Formally, Dr. Kates was the Director of the Renal Program at Kelowna General Hospital, and the Director of the Regional Transplant Program. In 1996, Dr. Kates founded David Kates Medical Services Inc.
Glenn M. Chertow, MD, MPH (1993-1995)
As an American Kidney Fund-Amgen Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Dr. Chertow conducted research on nutrition and kidney disease and earned a Master's Degree in Clinical Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Chertow is currently Professor of Medicine and Chief, Division of Nephrology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Prior to joining the faculty at Stanford, Dr. Chertow served with distinction on the faculties at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School (1995-98) and the University of California San Francisco (1998-2007). Dr. Chertow has established a successful career as a clinical investigator and continues to maintain a productive research program focused on improving care for persons with acute and chronic kidney disease. He was Vice Chair and member of two workgroups for the Kidney Disease Quality Outcomes Initiative (K/DOQI) and Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
David A. Roth, MD, MSCE (1992-1994)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Roth conducted research on renal disease among African Americans and earned a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology degree. Dr. Roth is currently Vice President, Medicines Development Leader at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals in Philadelphia, PA.
Rebecca L. Hegeman, MD, MPH (1991-1993)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow, Dr. Hegeman researched renal failure in transplantation as she completed classes required for a Master of Public Health. Dr. Hegeman is currently Clinical Professor and Interim Director at the University of Iowa College Of Medicine, Nephrology Division in Iowa City.
Gary C. Curhan, MD, ScD (1990-1992)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow, Dr. Curhan conducted studies focusing on kidney stones. This research has served as the foundation for the ground-breaking kidney stone research that Dr. Curhan currently pursues at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Curhan is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, as well as Editor-in-Chief of a leading nephrology journal, the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Rhonda B. Rubin, MD (1989-1991)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, Dr. Rubin studied the impact and special needs of AIDS and HIV infected patients in dialysis units. She has also co-authored numerous research articles. Dr. Rubin currently works at Westchester Health medical group in Valhalla, NY.
Stephen R. Smith, MD, MHS (1989-1991)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at Duke University School of Medicine, Dr. Smith studied the effects of potassium chloride supplementation on blood pressure among elderly patients. Dr. Smith joined the Duke University faculty and became Medical Director of the Kidney Transplant Program in 1993 and Training Program Director for the Nephrology Fellowship in 2005. Currently, Dr. Smith is Clinical Affairs, Vice Chief at Duke University School of Medicine.
Maria E. Ferris, MD, MPH, PhD (1989-1991)
As an American Kidney Fund Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow at the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Ferris studied congenital renal and urinary tract conditions. Dr. Ferris is Founder and Director of the UNC Transition Program, as well as an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Learn more about the Clinical Scientist in Nephrology program
The CSN program strives to improve the quality of care provided to kidney patients and promotes clinical research in nephrology. The program enhances the training of nephrologists who want to pursue an academic career and whose primary professional commitment is to scholarship in the provision of patient care.
The CSN fellowship program is an educational activity that is made in part by a grant from Akebia.


How many times have you been asked that question? Don't you wish you had some quick answer? Some might answer like this: I like the music, I like the preaching, My Sunday School is the best, my friends go to this church, my mom makes me go….Whatever your answer I feel if that answer gets you to church that is a first step. Now Bonnie Zimmer gave me an answer to this question and I want to share the thought with you.
In 2 Tim 2:21 it says: Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from these things he will be a vessel for honor sanctified useful to the Master prepared for every good work.
Let's compare ourselves to a vessel (or pitcher). It can be a refined one or a hard old antique or a brand new one never used. If you think about how useful a pitcher can be but you have to fill it up to get its best potential. You could sit your pitcher on a shelf and let it collect dust. Or we could fill it up with knowledge. You can also fill up your vessel by attending church where others come to fill up their vessels. And then it is up to us to either keep the knowledge or joys we learn and let it remain in our vessel or pour it out to others. Pour it out to family and friends. Pour it out by joining church. Pour it out by being in service for your church. Luke 8:16 says No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed but puts it on a stand so that those who enter may see the light. So no one should fill their vessel and not pour it out!
2 Corinthians 4:7 says But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of GOD and not of us.
Why do you go to Church? To get filled up and ready to pour it out!


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NXT TakeOver 36: Kyle O'Reilly Conquers Adam Cole in the 'Undisputed Finale'
By Connor Casey - August 22, 2021 10:04 pm EDT
Kyle O'Reilly was victorious in the "Undisputed Finale" at NXT TakeOver 36 on Sunday night, defeating Adam Cole in a Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match. O'Reilly picked up the first fall by countering Cole's attempt at a Panama Sunrise with a rollup, catching a quick pin. The second fall was a Street Fight, which saw the pair immediately pull a variety of weapons out from under the ring. Cole eventually picked up the second pin by superplexing O'Reilly onto a pair of upright chairs, followed by a Last Shot.
The final fall, taking place inside a Steel Cage, saw Cole viciously attack a nearly unconscious O'Reilly and handcuff him to the second rope. But O'Reilly managed to apply a Heel Hook with just one arm and forced his former friend to tap.
The history between Cole and O'Reilly goes back well over a decade, with the two battling in companies like Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and New Japan Pro-Wrestling before joining forces in NXT as The Undisputed Era. With Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish as additional members of the group, the four became the most decorated faction in the brand's history, at one point holding the NXT, North American and Tag Team Championships all at the same time. But the group finally split at the end of NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day when Cole snapped and attacked O'Reilly.
The rivals then clashed in an Unsanctioned Match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver in April (O'Reilly won), then again at The Great American Bash (Cole won). The loss could also be an indication of Cole's future, as the Grand Slam Champion's contract was reportedly on the verge of expiring heading into the weekend.
Check out the full results from NXT TakeOver 36 below!
(Kickoff) Ridge Holland def. Trey Baxter
Million Dollar Championship: Cameron Grimes def. LA Knight
NXT Women's Championship: Raquel Gonzalez def. Dakota Kai
NXT United Kingdom Championship: Ilja Dragunov def. WALTER
Kyle O'Reilly def. Adam Cole (Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match)
NXT Championship: Karrion Kross vs. Samoa Joe
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Trolling motors and Power-Poles definitely help with shallow fishing, but when you just need a little nudge, a slight repositioning, and the ultimate stealth approach, a push pole can be your best buddy.
Upshaw's choice is the T-H Marine Money Pole, a 6 to 18-foot telescoping pole with a coiled tip for retrieving snagged baits. Removing the coil and pushing with a pole he can collapse and store in his rod locker makes good use of a tool he'd carry anyway.
Whatever your choice, mind these points for better performance.
Generally, push poles are like a ship's thrusters; they help with precise positioning needs like inching into range of a nervous bed fish or clocking around for the optimum sun angle or simply lining up a different presentation to irritate the fish.
For bass anglers, making significant moves with a push pole is a situation-specific deal.
For the proper balance of stealth and power, Upshaw stresses diagonal over vertical.
"Putting the tip of the pole out at a farther distance gives you more stability," he said. "I never hold my push pole straight up an down. Keeping the pole at a 45-degree angle, it's not going to drag or scrape bottom; it will let you push back into the places you need to reach really quietly.
And don't think that a push pole is only for pushing. One of Upshaw's tricks for silent and targeted movements is to reach in front of the boat with the pole at a 45 and actually pull himself on track.
Probably the biggest mistake Upshaw sees anglers making with a push pole is using it like an oar on the side of the boat.
So, you're push poling into position, maybe making a minute adjustment, and Bam! The fish decides she's had enough of the intruder and red lines her aggression. How do you manage the push pole and handle the rod?
"I may try to wrap my knee around the pole, or a may tuck it under my left arm, but to put it bluntly, it's a cluster," Upshaw said. "A fish can bite at any time and your number on priority is catching the fish. If your push poles goes in the water, then it goes in the water.
"Normally, if I'm on a big fish, I've already put my push pole down and I've dropped my Power Poles. But, given the circumstances, I'll just drop it in the water. That's just part of it.


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A new angle on cancer
Visit the crested cactus garden during Biodesign C's grand opening Monday.
Cactus garden connects research inside the Biodesign Institute with its outside.
Crested cactuses inspire researchers at ASU's Biodesign Institute to look for new ways to control, not eradicate, the disease
Sun Tzu, the general of ancient China, wrote in his enduring military treatise "The Art of War" of the importance of knowing one's enemy. The idea resonates strongly with Athena Aktipis, a scholar of many titles at Arizona State University who studies cooperation among living things.
While Sun Tzu's enemies were on the battlefield, Aktipis' are in the body.
"As an organism, we're cooperation incarnate — the embodiment of cellular cooperation," she said. "But it's not a perfect system. Sometimes cells do mutate and stop cooperating. And that can sometimes lead to cancer."
Cancer has been a part of life on Earth since the beginning of multicellularity, yet it is a foe humankind continues to grapple with — at least in part because we still do not fully understand it.
AktipisAthena Aktipis is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University and co-director of the Human Generosity Project, the first large-scale transdisciplinary project to investigate the interrelationship between biological and cultural influences on human generosity. and her husband, fellow ASU scholar Carlo MaleyCarlo Maley is an associate professor in the School of Life Sciences and a biologist who specializes in cancer, evolution and computational biology. He will lead the new Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center, to be established at ASU thanks to an $8.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute., are making inroads toward a better understanding of the disease through more traditional scientific methods in their labs at the Biodesign Institute at ASU. But they've also conceived an unusual way to allow people to consider it anew.
Haunted by an idea
About a decade ago, Aktipis was visiting Phoenix when she discovered crested cactuses, a phenomenon that results in some pretty wild-looking desert flora. Crested cactuses have a condition called fasciation, a mutation of their growth pattern that manifests in saguaros topped with bulbous, brain-like nodules and prickly pears that undulate like a flamenco skirt in motion.
Intrigued, Aktipis shared her newfound fascination with Maley, who studies cancer from an evolutionary standpoint.
"I remember telling Carlo, 'There's something here. There's something really important and interesting that these cacti can tell us, but I don't know what it is yet,'" Aktipis said.
Crested cactus have a condition called fasciation, a mutation of their growth pattern that results in some wild-looking desert flora. Photo by Jarod Opperman/ASU
The crested cactuses continued to haunt her until five years ago, when she and Maley were in Berlin with colleagues working on a paper about cancer across the tree of life, analyzing how the disease affects multicellular life — from humans to animals to plants.
Once again, Aktipis found herself musing on the mutated cactuses. At last, she felt she had begun to figure out what secrets they might have to divulge.
The plant's disfigurement, Aktipis said, "lets you really see the kind of growth patterns that can result from these mutations in a way that you can't see in an animal," because humans' stem cells are embedded all over the body, whereas plants' stem cells are located at their growing tips.
What's more, Maley said, "crested cacti are a beautiful example of how cancer can show up in plants but also be lived with" — in essence, making the cactus a fully embodied argument that "cancer doesn't have to be a death sentence."
During their time in Berlin, they met garden designer Caspian Robertson. The group batted around the idea of creating a garden, not only to showcase the plants' peculiar charm but to drive discussion of how our society thinks about cancer.
Still, the timing just wasn't quite right.
Finally, in 2014, Aktipis and Maley arrived at ASU, drawn to the university's embrace of interdisciplinary research with a purpose. They found the environment — both intellectual and physical — to be just right.
'Beautiful monsters'
Serendipitously, ASU's Frankenstein Bicentennial Project, a celebration of the writing and publication of Mary Shelley's 19th-century monster novel, was in full swing at the time. They jumped at the chance to submit their crested-cactus garden concept for inclusion.
"These cacti are beautiful monsters," Aktipis said. "[They are] amazing, almost sculptural pieces of art. But at the same time they are mutated."
With the help of Biodesign Scientific Research Curator Pamela Winfrey, they put together a proposal. Winfrey was initially hesitant to get involved because of traumatic memories of the cancer that killed her grandmother. But as the project gained momentum and more people signed on to help bring it to fruition, it became apparent just how many others had a personal connection to the disease, including Byron Sampson, ASU landscape architect on the project, who had a massive brain tumor removed just four years ago.
And then there was Aktipis; her mother passed away from cancer when she was just a teenager, having kept it a secret all the way up to her death.
Stories like hers, Aktipis said, are indicative of the need for a cultural shift in the way our society views cancer: as an insidious foe that must be blasted with powerful drugs, often at the expense of the patient's overall health.
Instead of complete eradication, she and Maley are exploring ways of controlling the disease. They recently received a grant from the Arizona Biomedical Research Centre to begin clinical trials in breast cancer patients of a new type of treatment called adaptive therapy.
Adaptive therapy is a unique approach in which patients receive treatment only when tumors are growing. It is still a nascent practice but so far has shown promise in animal models and in a clinical trial of patients with prostate cancer.
Aktipis, whose namesake is the goddess of war, concedes that the technique seems to go against people's intuitions about how to win a fight.
"But the rules of war don't work the same in the body," she said. (Interestingly, another nugget of wisdom Sun Tzu bestowed in his treatise was the advice to use force sparingly.) "Cancer cells can still grow back really rapidly in a way an army couldn't ever do."
A Pitchfunder campaign to support continued expansion of the garden launched Sept. 17.
The garden is located to the east of Biodesign buildings A and B on the Tempe campus, where Aktipis and Maley conduct their research. It will be on display during the Sept. 17 public unveiling of the new Biodesign C building, which will feature the world's first compact X-ray free-electron laser, an innovative device that will allow researchers to peer deep into molecular structure to better understand — among other things — the cellular mechanics of diseases such as cancer.
WATCH: Carlo Maley speaks on "Arizona Horizon" about the new Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU Now
What: Grand opening of Biodesign C.
When: 9 a.m., with ceremonial speeches beginning at 9:30 a.m. The building will be open to the public for self-guided tours until 11:30 a.m.; there will be breakfast items at each stop.
Where: Southwest corner of University Drive and Rural Road, Tempe.
Top photo: A mutated prickly pear cactus outside the new Biodesign C building in Tempe features flamenco0-skirt-like pads. Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU Now
This story originally appeared in the fall issue of ASU Thrive magazine.
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National Cancer Institute selects ASU to lead revolutionary research in cancer
Take that, cancer.Arizona State University has been awarded more than $8.5 million over five years from the National Cancer Institute to establish the Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center. The grant will establish ASU as the hub of an international network of research scientists who are dedicated to understanding cancer in an entirely new way."The establishment of the Arizona Cancer and Evolution...
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ASU awarded cancer research grant to approach the disease in novel ways.
University joins consortium to advance understanding of cancer and its clinical management with interdisciplinary approach
Take that, cancer.
Arizona State University has been awarded more than $8.5 million over five years from the National Cancer Institute to establish the Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center. The grant will establish ASU as the hub of an international network of research scientists who are dedicated to understanding cancer in an entirely new way.
"The establishment of the Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center at ASU by the National Cancer Institute positions the university at the forefront of new discoveries through groundbreaking, interdisciplinary approaches," said Sethuraman Panchanathan, executive vice president of Knowledge Enterprise Development and chief research and innovation officer at ASU. "The convergence of leading-edge theory in evolution and ecology and experimental research and verification paves the way for rapid advances in the fight against a tenacious disease that continues to pose a challenge to researchers everywhere."
As a designated Cancer Systems Biology Center, the Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center (ACE) will be embedded in a large-scale initiative by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), helping to support their Cancer Systems Biology Consortium (CSBC).
ASU is one of only 13 research institutions nationwide to be selected as a research center in the consortium. ACE will bring together leading researchers from a number of institutions, including the University of Southern California; University of California, Santa Barbara; University of Zurich, Barts Cancer Institute at the Queen Mary University of London; the Institute of Cancer Research in London; the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah; Stanford University; and North Carolina State University. ASU partners include the Biodesign Institute, Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Beyond Center and the Department of Biomedical Informatics.
Evolution is the theory of cancer. The new Arizona Cancer and Evolution seeks to advance fundamental understanding of cancer and its clinical management through the development and application of evolutionary and ecological models to cancer biology.
The National Cancer Institute's ambitious network of CSBC centers bring together clinical and basic cancer researchers with physical scientists, engineers, mathematicians and computer scientists to tackle key questions in cancer biology from a novel point of view.
"Cancer is a complex disease and it challenges our traditional approaches, making it hard to predict tumor growth and drug response," said Daniel Gallahan, deputy director of NCI's Division of Cancer Biology. "Cancer systems biologists embrace that complexity and use many different types of data to build mathematical models that allow us to make predictions about whether a tumor will metastasize or what drug combinations will be effective."
"There are great opportunities to use methods from evolution and ecology to improve prediction, prognosis and cancer therapy," said Carlo Maley, a Biodesign Institute researcher and a professor in the School of Life Sciences, who will head the new center. "Cells in tumors are constantly changing and evolving — measures from evolution and ecology are ideally suited for capturing and quantifying those dynamics. Those dynamics often lead to treatment failure.
"Rather than aggressive efforts to eradicate cancer, which may accelerate the evolution of treatment resistance and resurgence of the tumors, we are learning how to manage cancers so that we can live with the disease but not die from it."
Maley explains that "all multicellular forms of life are susceptible to cancer, including plants, fungi, and animals. We can discover novel approaches to preventing cancer in humans by studying how other organisms have evolved to prevent cancer. Viewing cancer through an evolutionary and ecological lens offers researchers and physicians profound new insights and tools for both studying and controlling cancer."
ACE has been established with the recognition that at its core, cancer is a disease rigidly governed by the mechanisms of evolution. Decades of research in the fight against cancer have vastly expanded knowledge of the disease and significantly improved patient treatments and outcomes. Yet despite the labors of thousands of brilliant scientists and clinicians and billions of dollars of research investment, the disease continues to exact a devastating toll on society.
The center's mission is to advance the fundamental understanding of cancer and its clinical management through the development and application of evolutionary and ecological models to cancer biology. Ongoing research efforts have shown that evolutionary and ecological theory can be used to distinguish low-risk from high-risk tumors, develop novel approaches to cancer prevention, predict long-term response to therapy, and discover the fundamental biology that drives cancer.
Video of Carlo Maley discusses his new book on cancer
"The Biodesign Institute has pursued daring and revolutionary approaches to human health, particularly in the area of cancer biology," said Joshua LaBaer, executive director of the Biodesign Institute and director of the Biodesign Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics. "Leveraging university-wide resources, as well as Biodesign's particular strengths in applying evolutionary approaches to the puzzle of cancer, the Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center will advance the agenda of the New American University promoted by President Michael Crow, where real world issues of the highest priority are attacked through the most far-sighted and interdisciplinary techniques."
The overall research themes of the CSBC Research Centers address important questions in basic cancer research, including the emergence of drug resistance, the mechanisms underlying cancer metastasis, the role of evolutionary and ecological processes in tumor progression, and the role of the immune system in cancer progression and treatment.
Research conducted at the Research Centers will focus on the analysis of cancer as a complex biological system. The interdisciplinary investigators of the consortium will integrate experimental biology with mathematical and computational modeling to gain insight into processes relevant to cancer initiation, progression and treatment options.
In addition to applying systems biology methods to gain important insight into cancer, each CSBC Research Center supports an outreach program to promote training in interdisciplinary science, disseminate important research findings to the community, and to engage the public in cancer systems biology research. The Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center is launching innovations in this space as well, including collaborations with artists and musicians to view cancer from new angles, museum exhibits, and the establishment of a cactus garden next to the Biodesign Institute that highlights how many organisms, including plants, can live with cancer (called fasciations).
Sage Bionetworks in Seattle serves as the CSBC Coordinating Center to facilitate data and resource sharing and collaborative scientific activities across the entities of the CSBC, which includes the nine research centers as well as two new research projects.
"The CSBC program encourages team science and promotes a multidisciplinary approach to studying cancer," said Shannon Hughes, program director for the CSBC. "These approaches are critical to our ultimate goal of improving the lives of cancer patients."
Research at the Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center or ACE is supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U54CA217376. The content provided here is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Top photo: Carlo Maley will direct the new Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center. He is a researcher in the Biodesign Institute and ASU's School of Life Sciences. Photo by Biodesign Institute
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