NKF Serving the National Capital Area & Virginia

The National Kidney Foundation is excited to be back together to fight kidney disease and walk in honor of the 37 million adults in the US affected by it. For the first time in three years, join our local kidney community for the in-person National Capital Area Kidney Walk. Show your support today by registering a fundraising team, sponsoring the Walk through your business or corporation, donating to the event and sharing the event with family & friends. We are also offering a “virtual walker” option to accommodate our whole kidney community. We need YOUR help to help our friends & neighbors battling kidney disease. Get started by visiting www.kidneywalk.org/NCA today! Contact Giles “Teddy” Mosher, Development Manager with any questions.

It is estimated that 1,000,000 adults in Virginia are living with chronic kidney disease. Of these individuals, approximately 900,000 remain undiagnosed. The majority of people at risk for CKD do not receive the recommended testing. African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and other communities of color are disproportionately affected by CKD and significant disparities in care exist in these communities. The National Kidney Foundation is introducing a Collective Impact strategy to develop and advance equitable strategies to improve CKD testing and diagnosis in primary care. To learn more, visit this link. RSVP link will be posted soon.

On Saturday, July 16, NKF Serving the National Capital Area partnered with the Bowie Baysox, for “NKF Night at the Ballpark.” Patrons would be greeted with NKF themed giveaways, information about kidney disease shown on the stadium big screen and a very special NKF themed first pitch. Unfortunately, due to inclement weather, the game was postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date. If you purchased a ticket for the game, you can redeem it for another ticket of equivalent value at any Baysox game in the 2022 season. The same evening the Baysox also celebrated “Star Wars Night”! The team planned to wear Star Wars themed jerseys (see picture). These jerseys will be available for purchase in an online auction – more info on that coming soon! All proceeds from the auction will be donated back to NKF, so stay tuned!

On June 12, NKF Serving the National Capital Area welcomed patients and caregivers to our free virtual Patient Empowerment Workshop. This panel discussion was facilitated by experts and patients with topics such as patients’ Mental and Physical Wellbeing, Living Donor Protections and Support, and Modality Options for Patients. The workshop featured panelists MedStar Georgetown and Inova Fairfax Hospital, as well as testimonials from living donors and transplant recipients. Thank you to everyone who came out in support of this fantastic informational program. Didn’t attend but interested in receiving information? Contact Ashwani Jain, Program Director, at ashwani.jain@kidney.org

At this academic event, young researchers presented their research in areas relating to kidney and urological diseases and transplantation. Below are the winners in each category whose abstract submissions were chosen to orally present their work as well as the poster winners chosen at the event on June 8.


Basic Science

• Yu Ishimoto, MD, PHD – Post-Doctoral Fellow, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH
• Balamurugan Packialakshmi, PhD – Scientist, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
• Poster Presentation Winner: Madison Ezell – College Student, DC VA Medical Center

• David Lynn Cook, MD – Clinical Fellow, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
• Catherine Larned, MD – Clinical Fellow, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
• Poster Presentation Winner: Fehlin Stone, MD – Clinical Fellow, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

• Hoon Chang, MD – Resident, Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States Internal Medicine
• Jennifer Nhan, MD MS – Clinical Fellow, Children’s National Medical Center
• Poster Presentation Winners: Quasim Muhammed, MD – Clinical Fellow, George Washington University and Shahrzad Zonoozi, MD – Clinical Fellow, George Washington University

Thank you to the golfers, volunteers and supporters who made the 2022 National Capital Area NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic a tremendous success. This year's event took place at The Club at Creighton Farms in Aldie, VA on Monday 5/23, and, with a field of 31 teams and over 120 golfers, boasted one of the most competitive fields this regional tournament has ever seen! In the end, six teams qualified for the National Kidney Foundation National Finals, taking place at the acclaimed Pebble Beach Golf Links in January 2023! Congratulations to all our qualifiers! Thank you to our local Presenting Sponsor, Planet Fitness, our Tournament Sponsors Horizon Therapeutics, McCrea Heating & Air and Buch Construction, and special guests NBC Washington's Chief Meteorologist (and NKF Board Member!) Doug Kammerer and Washington NFL legend Doc Walker for their continued support.