Nephrology Fellowship Program Research

The Nephrology Fellowship Program at Wake Forest School of Medicine emphasizes the importance of participating in research, as well as learning to critically appraise medical research, as part of a well-rounded training program.

Fellows learn to interpret and appraise medical literature through our journal club conference series. Each fellow presents at least two journal articles per year in addition to other conference presentations. Time is devoted at the end of the sessions to learning how to critically appraise the paper and understand basic statistical analysis.

In addition, each first year fellow attends an eight-week research curriculum seminar, put on by the Translational Science Institute, which teaches everything from the basics of setting up a study to following through publication.

The Nephrology Fellowship, in conjunction with the Department of Public Health Sciences, offers an optional track that extends one to two years beyond the two-year clinical fellowship and can result in achievement of a Master’s Degree in Clinical Epidemiology. During the post clinical years, the focus is chiefly on coursework and thesis development toward the MS degree. This track is a great option for those looking to pursue academic medicine, particularly in clinical research.

Research Focus and Expectations

The Section on Nephrology has a long history of strong clinical research and maintains special focus in the following areas:

  • inherited kidney diseases
  • APO-L1 related kidney disease
  • hemodialysis
  • peritoneal dialysis
  • interventional nephrology
  • acute kidney injury

Fellows are required to complete one scholarly activity during their training, which can include a published manuscript, or poster/oral presentation at a regional or national meeting. During the first year, fellows are matched with a faculty member (listed below) who serves as a research mentor during the fellowship. Fellows are also required in continuous quality improvement and are encouraged to present a completed project at our annual Wake Forest QI Showcase.