Roles
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
-
Biography
I am a pediatric nephrologist with a research and clinical focus on the developmental programming of renal and cardiovascular disease. I have had the opportunity to grow our division’s practice for general nephrology and kidney transplant care in the Boca and Weston UHealth satellite clinics. From a research perspective I was awarded a KL2 grant to study the anti-aging hormone klotho as a biomarker of reduced nephron mass and acute kidney injury in preterm infants. I have completed a Master’s in Clinical and Translational Investigation through the Miami CTSI. In addition, I was awarded the Micah Batchelor Scholar Award to fund a small pilot study and collaboration with the Stem Cell Institute and am currently investigating preterm infant urinary stem cell profiles to give insight into developmental changes in nephrogenesis. I am very active in the education and mentorship of our pediatric residents and nephrology fellows. I have been invited to several local and national meetings to present on our work. I am co-leading the development of a point of care ultrasound program for our nephrology fellows and to expand our research practice. In addition, I am the site PI on the Infant Kidney Collaborative, which is a multidisciplinary collaborative on campus uniting nephrologists, neonatologists, cardiologists, obstetricians, radiologists, pathologists, and basic scientists all with a common interest in unraveling the mechanisms behind the programming of cardiovascular and renal disease in maternal-infant pairs. I serve as the Education Committee Co-Chair for the Neonatal Kidney Collaborative. -
Education & Training
Education
-
Teaching Interests
My primary teaching roles have centered around the education of various trainees rotating through the pediatric nephrology core and elective rotations both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. This includes teaching of UM medical students, pediatric residents, and nephrology fellows on clinical rotations. I have been invited to speak in a didactic format to several of these audiences on topics related to pediatric nephrology. Extramurally, I have been invited to speak at local, regional, and national meetings also related to topics including my research interest of prematurity related chronic kidney disease. I have also been assigned to mentor and teach trainees in their scholarly work including several nephrology fellows and recently a medical student summer research intern funded by the NIH UM KIIMERA(University of Miami kidney Innovative & Interdisciplinary Medical Education in Research) Program. In addition, the development of workshop programming for our annual Pediatric Nephrology Seminar has provided a platform to educate the larger and international nephrology fellow community on core nephrology procedures and techniques. -
Research Interests
I am an associate professor and pediatric nephrologist with a research interest in the field of fetal programming of adult disease, specifically as it relates to the long-term cardiovascular and renal risks of preterm birth. As a fellow, I participated in the recruitment and follow up of 54 mothers and infants in a sub-study of the Gerber Infant Kidney Study at our center. The goal was to investigate umbilical cord histomorphometry and urine biomarkers across gestational age groups. In 2019, I was awarded the Batchelor Scholars Award to study the “Developmental Changes in Kidney Progenitor Cell Profiles among Preterm Infants”. I am an active member of the Neonatal Kidney Collaborative (NKC) as an Education Committee Co-Chair and also member of the Research Committee. I was awarded the KL2 Career Development Award through the Miami CTSI for the project entitled “Soluble Klotho as a Predictor of Reduced Nephron Endowment and Kidney Injury in Preterm Infants”. Other clinical and research collaborations include participation with the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children Study (CKiD) and the North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies (NAPRTCS). Similarly, she has maintained collaborations with the Pediatric Nephrology Research Consortium (PNRC). -
Publications
Disclaimer: The information presented in this section has been consolidated using AI and machine learning technologies. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, errors may occur. If you identify any inaccuracies, please use this link to inform our data team. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and helps us improve the quality of our content.