The Division of Nephrology, Hypertension and Transplantation at the University of Florida has a distinguished faculty who are involved in patient care, research and teaching.
The previous directors of the division include Richard J. Johnson, M.D., former J. Robert Cade Professor, C. Craig Tisher, M.D., former Dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Florida and editor of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, and the late Robert Cade, M.D., inventor of Gatorade®.
The Nephrology, Hypertension, and Transplantation Division at the University of Florida has the major mission of providing outstanding clinical care in a setting of extensive basic and clinical research and training programs.
Clinical Program
The Division provides outstanding medical care for subjects with new onset and/or complicated hypertension, diabetic kidney disease, glomerulonephritis, acute and chronic renal failure, and renal transplantation. Patients entering the clinics are not just offered routine medical care but are invited to participate in clinical studies searching for the cause and or cure of their disease. The plan is to develop NIH Centers of Excellence in Hypertension and Renal Disease. The dialysis patients managed by the Division exceed national and local standards for the quality of their dialysis and the unit boasts one of the lowest mortality rates in the country. Two new dialysis centers recently opened. The transplantation program currently led by Dr. Meier-Kriesche as the Medical Director, is a state-of-the-art program utilizing the most efficacious and safest immunosuppressive regimens.
Education Program
The Division has an ACGME-certified training program in nephrology as well as a National Institutes of Health Training Program (T32) to provide exceptional training for the fellow who wants to enter into a career in clinical nephrology and/or a career in academic medicine in the field of nephrology, hypertension or transplantation. Under the directorship of Dr. Zvi Talor we have developed a high-profile education program for the residents and medical students. The program has a history of exceptional teaching as evidenced by the fact that the most popular clinical nephrology textbook worldwide is co-edited by a faculty member (‘Comprehensive Clinical Nephrology’, eds Richard J Johnson and John Feehally, Harcourt, 2003, 2nd edition) and that the extremely popular Nephrology and Hypertension for House Officers is edited by the prior chief and past Dean, Dr. C. Tisher (Nephrology Handbook).
Research Contributions
The Division has a long history of major contributions to the field, heralded by the introduction of physiologically based solutions to treat sports-related dehydration by the late Dr. Robert Cade (former Chief), leading to the invention of Gatorade, and to the discovery of one of the major cell types in the kidney involved in the excretion of body acids by Dr. CC Tisher (former Chief and past Dean). Current research is focused on identifying the cause and future cure of essential hypertension (Dr. R J Johnson), identification of critical transport mechanisms involved in kidney acid and ammonia regulation (D Weiner and C Wingo), the key role for the vasculature in mechanisms involved in kidney failure (M Segal, R J Johnson), studies to prevent hypertension and kidney disease in African Americans (R Johnson, CC Tisher and M Segal), ways to predict and prevent rejection of the kidney transplant (H-U. Meier-Kriesche and S. Rehman), and understanding the mechanism of increased risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with chronic kidney disease and lupus (M Segal). The Division boasts over 1 million dollars direct yearly support by the NIH and other institutions with over 30 publications per year. Dr. Johnson (Director) has been invited to give a state of the art in past years for his societies. In addition, we inaugurated the Robert Cade Lectureship in Internal Medicine with Dr. Don Seldin as the first Cade Professor and with a celebration in Dr. Cade's honor on January 15th, 2004 and we also launched the CC Tisher Visiting Professor lecture series with Dr. Eberhard Ritz as the first Tisher Visiting Professor in early March 2004.