Allen R. Nissenson, MD, FACP

Allen R. Nissenson, MD, FACP is Chief Medical Officer of DaVita HealthCare Providers Inc. and an Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he served as Director of the Dialysis Program and Associate Dean. Dr. Nissenson is a former President of the Renal Physicians Association and served on the RPA Board of Directors as a special advisor to the President. He was one of the founders and served as is President of the National Anemia Action Council (NAAC), a multidisciplinary organization to raise awareness of professionals and the public about the prevalence, consequences, and treatment of anemia.

Dr. Nissenson’s major research interests include a focus on the quality of care for chronic kidney disease patients including issues of healthcare delivery, economics and public policy; anemia management; impact of anemia on brain and cognitive function; and development of innovative new approaches to the treatment of ESRD. He has served as a member of the Advisory Group overseeing the Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF-DOQI), as well as serving as a member of the anemia work group since its inception in 1997.

Dr. Nissenson is the author of two dialysis textbooks, both in their fourth editions and was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Renal Replacement T herapy, an official journal of the National Kidney Foundation. He recently completed service as Editor-in-Chief of Hemodialysis International the official journal of the International Society for Hemodialysis, as well as Medscape Nephrology, an innovate website focused on nephrology. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of NephLink, a new social media site for nephrologists. He has over 640 publications in the field of nephrology, dialysis, anemia management, and health care delivery and policy, the latter including a seminal paper in Health Affairs on the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) program. Among his numerous honors is the President’s Award of the National Kidney Foundation, the Lifetime Achievement Award in Hemodialysis presented by the University of Missouri on behalf of the Annual Dialysis Conference, and in 2011 the AAKP Medal of Excellence Award.