Local Staff
Betti Guzman
Regional Vice President
212.889.2210 x226
Betti.Guzman@kidney.org
Amy Maciariello
Executive Director
803.799.3870 x631
amy.maciariello@kidney.org
Lilian Jarvinen
Director, Programs
803.799.3870 x633
lilian.jarvinen@kidney.org
Melissa Rubio
Program Manager
704.519.0020 x626
melissa.rubio@kidney.org
Nicole Conti
Development Manager
803.799.3870 x634
nicole.conti@kidney.org
NC Advisory Board Members
Tejas Desai, MD, MBA
CSL Vifor
Strait Gaston
Fresenius Kidney Care
Brett and Heather Goode
Gray Construction
Dawn Lawson
Fresenius
Prakash Narayan, PhD
Prokidney
Phelicia Price
Patient Advocate
SC Medical Advisory Board
Zachary W. Sutton, DHA, MS, MSPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, FACHDM
Zachary Sutton is a native of upstate South Carolina. He completed physician assistant school at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). He was the first altruistic (nondirected) kidney donor in South Carolina in 2008 while a student at MUSC. Zachary has experience in Orthopedics, Nephrology, and Transplant Surgery. He is very active in the kidney transplant community, serving on the medical advisory boards for the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) of South Carolina and We Are Sharing Hope SC (the organ procurement organization for South Carolina). In 2023, he co-founded and serves as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Transplant Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to kidney transplant recipients in South Carolina. In 2025, he started a post-transplant clinic at Carolina Nephrology, PA, the largest nephrology group in South Carolina. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at MUSC and a researcher serving as co-principal investigator on numerous research studies.
Carlos F. Zayas, MD, FACS, FAST
Carlos Zayas is a transplant nephrologist and the program director for the Prisma Health Kidney Transplant Program in Greenville, SC. He attended the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine Residency, Nephrology Fellowship and Transplant Nephrology Fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. After his fellowship, he joined Dallas Nephrology Associates and Baylor Transplant Institute in Dallas Texas for almost three years before he moved permanently to Georgia, where he served as Medical Director of the three Georgia Renal Adult Programs at Emory University, Piedmont Healthcare, and Augusta University - Medical College of Georgia. Most recently Carlos was the Director of Transplant Outreach at Medical University of South Carolina.
Zipporah Krishnasami, MD
Zipporah Krishnasami is a nephrologist at the Medical University of South Carolina. She received her Medical Degree at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency and Nephrology Fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) where she remained as faculty for ten years. She has been at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) since 2015. Her interests include CKD with a focus on community outreach/engagement and global health care, specifically in Africa.
Blaithin McMahon, MB, BCh, PhD
Blaithin McMahon is a nephrologist at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Jennifer Newbury, BSN, RN, CNN
Jennifer Newbury is a kidney coordination manager at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Sadie Dollar, RD, LD
Sadie Dollar is registered dietitian at Dialysis Clinic, Inc. She is from Gaffney, SC and completed her food science & human nutrition degree at Clemson University (BS) and dietetic internship at Western Carolina University. She has been a practicing dietitian since 2019 but is new to the outpatient dialysis setting. She chose dialysis nutrition because of her grandmother’s own journey with end stage renal disease. Prior to dialysis, she worked in inpatient and outpatient nutrition services at MUSC focused in cardiology, cystic fibrosis, and gestational diabetes, as well as outpatient travel dietetics focused in weight loss surgery during her ventures living out west in Wyoming, Colorado, and Oregon. Apart from healthcare, her energy is spent raising two fur babies, hiking, singing, disc golfing, playing with her nieces, and creating community through food.
Manish Kadian, MD
Manish Kadian is a board-certified nephrologist with extensive clinical and transplant experience, currently practicing at Columbia Nephrology Associates in Columbia, South Carolina (Aug 2015–present). He is trained in Transplant Nephrology and Nephrology at the Medical University of South Carolina (2012–2015) after completing an Internal Medicine residency at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine (2008–2011) and an MBBS from J.M.F.’s A.C.P.M. Medical College, India (1998–2005). Active in academic and community service as an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine (2015-2025), Educational Chair for the South Carolina chapter of AAPI, and Board Member of the SC Transplant Foundation. He was nominated for Golden Apple teaching award in 2012 and Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award in 2009 and 2011.
Samicca Berry, LISW-CP, CCTSW
Samicca Berry is a transplant social worker with the MUSC Health Transplant Program - Mid-Carolinas in Lancaster, SC, where she has served for four years. She is also the Director of Finance and Co-Founder of the South Carolina Transplant Foundation (SCTF). Samicca holds a BSW from Winthrop University and an MSW from the University of South Carolina. She is a Licensed Independent Social Worker-Clinical Practice Practitioner and Certified Clinical Transplant Social Worker (CCTSW). With more than twenty years of experience, including ten years in dialysis, she has supported patients across the full dialysis-to-transplant continuum. She is the 2024 recipient of the STSW Lee Suszycki Memorial Award and a 2025 MUSC Values in Action Award nominee for Compassion and Collaboration.
Aurora Posadas Salas, MD
Aurora Posadas Salas is a transplant nephrologist at the Medical University of South Carolina and Ralph Johnson VA Medical Center. She graduated from the University of the Philippines. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at the University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT, and General Nephrology fellowship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL. She then pursued Transplant Nephrology fellowship at MUSC in Charleston, SC and later joined their faculty. She has been taking care of kidney and pancreas transplant recipients since 2011. Her outreach efforts include educating patients with chronic kidney disease on the benefit of early access to kidney transplant and campaigning for increased organ donation. Dr. Posadas Salas lives in Daniel Island, SC with her husband Jason and four children. Her family enjoys cooking and traveling.
Prince Anand, MD, FACP
Prince Anand is a transplant nephrologist and the medical director of the Mid-Carolinas Transplant Program for the Medical University of South Carolina in Lancaster, SC.
Howard Lifland, MD
Howard Lifland is the Chief Medical Officer at Carolina Kidney Partners. He completed his undergraduate training at Washington University in Saint Louis and obtained his MD at the University of Rome. He completed internal medicine training at the University of Virginia affiliate in Roanoke, VA. He did his nephrology training at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Howard started his career in Connecticut but was enticed to South Carolina by Joe Brannigan in 2008.
Dr. Lifland was previously the Chairman of the Quality Committee at Columbia Nephrology Associates from 2010 to July 2024. He was subspecialty Teacher of the Year at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. He also teaches Nephrology to the PA students at University of South Carolina School of Medicine. He has been recognized as a Top Doctor multiple times in Columbia magazine. He also has a long-standing interest in clinical research and has been the principal investigator or sub-investigator in 40 trials to date. He is the current chair of the SC DHEC Advisory Council on Dialysis.
NC Medical Advisory Board
Clarissa Diamantidis, MD, MHS, FNKF, FASN
Clarissa Jonas Diamantidis, MD, MHS is a Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of General Internal Medicine, Nephrology, and Epidemiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC. She received her MD degree from New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY followed by her internal medicine internship and residency training at Duke University. She completed her clinical nephrology training and graduate studies in epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD. Dr. Diamantidis’ clinical research interests include health equity in kidney diseases, patient-centered kidney care, and the use of tailored health information technologies. She is an NIH-funded independent investigator. She is the Associate Director for Research at the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity and the Director of the Center for Kidney Health Equity at Wake Forest University. Dr. Diamantidis is a member of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), and the Network of Minority Research Investigators. She is a member of the national NKF Education Committee, the ASN Committee on Ethics and Professional Standards, the NKF Scientific Advisory Board, the editorial board of Contemporary Clinical Trials, and serves as Chair of the Medical Advisory Board for the NKF Serving the Carolinas.
Matthew A. Sparks, MD
Matthew A. Sparks is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University and serves as the Program Director for the Nephrology Fellowship. He is the founding Director of the Duke Department of Medicine, Society for Early Education Scholars (SEEDS) educational program for all fellows across the department of medicine. He is also involved in leveraging social media for education. He is a founding faculty member and associate program director of the Nephrology Social Media Collective (NSMC) internship and member of the board of directors of nephrology journal club (NephJC), a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing free online medical education in nephrology. He is co-creator of NephMadness, faculty lead of the Renal Fellow Network, and is an Advisory Board Member of NephSIM. He has been a member of several national committees spanning ASN and AHA. He is the communications editor for ASN Journals Portfolio, JASN, CJASN, and Kidney360. He is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Nephrology Board and is on the editorial board of several journals including AJKD, AKHD, CJASN, Kidney Medicine, Kidney360, and ASN Kidney News.
Emily Chang, MD
Emily Chang is from Chapel Hill, NC and completed her medical training at UNC-CH School of Medicine. Prior to medicine, she dabbled in bench science, taught middle school, and tried her hand at auto mechanics. Since 2010 she has been in nephrology where she found her professional calling. She loves taking care of chronic kidney disease, working to prevent progression and helping patients make difficult decisions if their kidney disease progresses. She also takes care of dialysis patients in Sanford and Burlington, NC and co-directs UNC’s Polycystic Kidney Disease Center of Excellence. Her true passion in life though is her dog, Kimchi, who was featured on the Triangle’s Rescue Brew beer can in 2023 after raising the most money for Beautiful Together Animal Sanctuary and Hope Animal Rescue. Emily and Kimchi can often be seen together on trails, at restaurants, and driving around town.
Lazarina Baez Marinez, NP, APRN, FNP-C
Lazarina Baez Marinez, FNP, is an American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) board certified advanced practice nurse. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and has 20 years of healthcare experience. She is affiliated with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (AHWF) hospitals and specializes in nephrology and kidney transplant care. Her primary work involves providing care for kidney/pancreas pre- and post-transplant patients. Her areas of interest include population focused care and Latino/Hispanic inequities.
Dorothy Muench, LCSW, NSW-C, CCTSW
Currently at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Dori Muench has worked in the Nephrology field for 16 years. She has worked as a dialysis social worker, transplant social worker, and most recently is serving as the Interim Clinical Manager of the Abdominal Organ Transplant department. She has served on the NKF Serving the Carolinas MAB for many years. She also works with the NKF National office as Chair of the Council of Nephrology Social Workers. She is passionate about addressing disparities in transplant and working with programs to overcome them and ensure each person has an opportunity to be referred for transplant evaluation.
Leah Smith, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, CNN-NP, FNKF
Leah Foster Smith received her BSN and MSN-FNP from University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1996 and 2001, respectively. She is board certified as a Family NP and Nephrology NP. She received the highest score on the CNN-NP exam in 2017. Leah is currently the Director of APPs at Metrolina Nephrology Associates, based in Charlotte, NC supervising the largest group of nephrology APPs. Leah is also a fellow of the NKF, clinical consultant with Clear Edge Medical Management, and creator and chair of formalized CKD program managing over 29,000 CKD patients. She is the Chief Education Officer and Co-Founder for Interactive Nephrology. She created a formalized new nephrology APP training program entitled Ready for Rounds & Cleared for Clinic, training more than 300 APPs from across the US since its launch in June 2020. Leah serves in multiple national nephrology leadership roles and serves as the Continuing Education Chair for the NKF Council of Advanced Practice Providers and also served as Chair, Past Chair, and Secretary. She also serves as Chair of the ANNA Conferences Committee and ANNA Education Steering Committee and is a member of the RPA Annual Meeting Conferences Committee and member of the ASN Workforce Training Committee. Leah has been a speaker for more than 20 years at local, state, and national conferences.
Adit S. Mahale, MD
Adit Mahale has been a transplant nephrologist for over 20 years. He moved to Charlotte, NC in 2018 and is currently practicing at Metrolina Nephrology Associates. Adit is the medical director of the kidney and pancreas transplant program at Atrium Health Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program. Kidney transplant has been his passion and believes the best renal replacement option for patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and end stage kidney disease. Adit has been actively involved with the NKF Serving the Carolinas for the last 4 years in North Carolina. Prior to moving to NC, he was a transplant nephrologist in ND where he was actively involved with the NKF of the Dakotas for almost 10 years.
Barbara Gillespie, MD
Dr. Gillespie is a board-certified nephrologist who is currently a Vice President at LabCorp Drug Development (formerly known as Covance CRO, a contract research organization) and the Therapeutic Head of Nephrology, supporting sponsors on the development of new drugs and devices for CKD and ESRD patients. She is on the Board of Directors at the Kidney Health Initiative, a public-private partnership between the FDA and American Society of Nephrology. She is a past Associate Medical Director at a local dialysis unit and completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of North Carolina and her nephrology fellowship at Duke University Medical Center.
Koyal Jain, MD, MPH
Dr. Koyal Jain is a Medical Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor and an Associate Professor of Medicine in the division of Nephrology and Hypertension at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Dr. Jain is a clinician educator and serves as the program director for the nephrology fellowship and the glomerulonephritis and vasculitis fellowships at the University of North Carolina. She also is the co-director of Undergraduate Medical Education for the Department of Medicine at UNC and co-directs the first-year medical student "Homeostasis" course at UNC. Dr. Jain clinically specializes in glomerular diseases and is the director of the glomerulonephritis clinic.
Keia Sanderson, MD, MSCR
Dr. Sanderson is a pediatric nephrologist at UNC School of Medicine.
Pamela Vasquez Buitron, MD
Dr. Vasquez is a nephrologist at Duke University.
Kristel McLawhorn, MD
Dr. McLawhorn is a nephrologist at Eastern Nephrology Associates.
Brittany Watson, MD, MPH, FAAFP, DABOM
Dr. Brittany Watson is board-certified in Family Medicine and Obesity Medicine. She serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and as an Associate Medical Director Consultant with North Carolina Medicaid.
Dr. Watson earned her BSN from Clemson University, her MD degree from the Medical University of South Carolina, and her MPH with a concentration in Health Policy from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She completed her Family Medicine residency at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Her clinical and research interests focus on building healthy communities and improving chronic disease prevention and management. She is passionate about empowering patients and primary care providers to detect kidney disease early and prevent progression through proactive management of both the kidney disease and related chronic conditions. Dr. Watson has a deep commitment to improving health and well-being outcomes for all through innovative clinical practices and policy solutions.
Meera Gupta, MD, MSCE, FACS
Dr. Meera Gupta is a transplant surgeon and clinician-scientist at Duke University.
Dr. Gupta was born and raised in Southern California, where she attended the University of California, Los Angeles. After receiving her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, she then stayed to complete her general surgery residency and transplant surgery fellowship. As a resident at the University of Pennsylvania, Gupta earned her master’s degree in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics and a certificate in Healthcare Leadership in Quality. She focused her research on outcomes in pediatric and adult kidney and liver transplantation, re-transplantation, and recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation.
Her areas of expertise include adult and pediatric transplantation, hepatobiliary surgery, peritoneal dialysis access, and living donation. After joining UK HealthCare in 2017, Dr. Gupta soon became the surgical director of the Living Donor Kidney Transplant Program where she helped double the number of living donor kidney transplants being performed. In 2020, she took on the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program. In Spring of 2025, Dr. Gupta was recruited to Duke University as the Surgical Director of the Living Donor Kidney Program.
Additionally, Dr. Gupta is actively involved in several medical and surgical societies such as the American Society of Transplant Surgeons where she serves on several committees and is on the editorial board of Surgery.
Finally, Dr. Gupta is passionate about her work, her patients, and their health. She works tirelessly to ensure that they have access to transplant and get through their transplant successfully.
Gayle Vranic, MD
Gayle Vranic is a Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Specialist and Nephrologist at Duke.
Ana Cortez, DO
Ana Cortez is a Pediatric Nephrologist at UNC.