Toronto Kidney Centre Nephrologists

Meet our team of Division of Nephrology Experts!

Dr. Edward Cole

Transplant Nephrologist, Ajmera Transplant Centre, UHN
Dr. Heather Reich

Director - Glomerulonephritis Clinic & Research Program, UHN

[email protected]

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Dr. Istvan Mucsi

Transplant Nephrologist - Ajmera Transplant Centre, UHN
Dr. James Scholey

Senior Scientist - Toronto General Research Institute

Nephrologist - UHN & Mount Sinai Hospital
Dr. Jeffrey Schiff

Transplant Nephrologist & Director - Pancreas & Clinical Islet Transplant Program, Ajmera Transplant Centre, UHN
Dr. Joanne Bargman

Director of the Home Peritoneal Dialysis Program - UHN

[email protected]

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Dr. Joseph Kim

Transplant Nephrologist - Ajmera Transplant Centre, UHN

[email protected]

416-340-4800 Ext. 4113
Dr. Kathryn Tinckham

Program Medical Director - Department of Medicine, UHN

Transplant Nephrologist - Ajmera Transplant Centre, UHN

[email protected]

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Dr. Melvin Silverman

Senior Staff Nephrologist - UHN

Dr. Edward Cole

Transplant Nephrologist, Ajmera Transplant Centre, UHN

bio: Dr. Edward Cole is former Physician-in-Chief of UHN and previously served on the Board of Directors of UHN Foundation. He is founder and past Chair of The Canadian Transplantation Society Kidney Working Group and Chair of the Steering Committee for National Kidney Registries. In 2012, he received the Canadian Transplantation Society Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Cole’s major research interests are in immunosuppressive drugs and clinical trials in renal transplantation. Dr. Cole received his Master of Science from the University of Toronto in 1973 and his M.D. from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1975. He has been a member of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto since 1981 and is presently a staff nephrologist at Toronto General Hospital and a Professor of Medicine at University of Toronto.s

interest: Dr. Cole's major research interests are in immunosuppressive drugs and clinical trials in renal transplantation with over 130 publications.

Dr. Heather Reich

Director - Glomerulonephritis Clinic & Research Program, UHN

[email protected]

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bio: Heather N. Reich MD CM, PhD, FRCP(C). Dr. Reich is a graduate of McGill University Faculty of Medicine. She completed her post-graduate clinical training and PhD at the University of Toronto. She is presently the Oreopoulos-Baxter Division Director of Nephrology at the Department of Medicine of University of Toronto. She is a clinician-scientist and holds the Gabor Zellerman Chair in Nephrology Research. Dr. Reich directs the glomerulonephritis program at Toronto General Hospital. This program spans clinical care of patients with glomerulonephritis, contribution to innovative clinical trials and translational research. She has previously served as the co-director of the annual educational pre-course in glomerulonephritis for the American Society of Nephrology, and contributed to the 2021 ISN-KDIGO guidelines for the treatment of glomerulonephritis.s

interest: Dr. Reich's work focuses on using clinical and molecular information to identify which individuals are most at risk of having kidney failure due to GN, and which individuals are most likely to benefit from treatment. Her group also uses this information to better understand the causes of GN, and identify new avenues for treatment. In addition to offering highly specialized care for GN, her goal is to provide patients with access to participate in innovative research studies. These studies include the Canadian GN Registry, a national study to better understand the progression of GN in individuals across Canada, and clinical trials of state-of-the-art new treatments.

Dr. Istvan Mucsi

Transplant Nephrologist - Ajmera Transplant Centre, UHN

bio: Istvan Mucsi, MD, PhD is a transplant nephrologist and clinician investigator at the Ajmera Transplant Centre (ATC) and Division of Nephrology at the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at University of Toronto. One of his research programs aims at identifying improved ways of assessing and managing physical and emotional symptoms that are important determinants of quality of life of patients with kidney disease and solid organ transplant. He is focusing on utilizing tools developed by the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®). His studies are exploring ways to efficiently integrate those tools in the clinical workflow and to identify appropriate clinical response pathways for better patient centered symptom and distress management. He is a member of the UHN Patient Facing Questionnaires Governance Council. He is an "expert advisor" of the "Data innovation platform" of the Canadian Donation and Transplant Research Program (CDTRP). He is the Hungarian national representative in the PROMIS Health Organization International Network. He is also leading research projects in partnership with African, Caribbean and Black, Chinese and South Asian community organizations to understand barriers and inequities that patients from these communities face when considering kidney transplantation and living donor kidney transplantation. He is the lead of the education pillar of the "Enabling Access to Kidney Transplantation" provincial (Ontario) strategy lead by the Ontario Renal Network. He has adapted Explore Transplant, a transplant education package, for use in Ontario, that is now available for patients and their families and also for healthcare professionals both in print and online.s

interest: Dr. Mucsi has a broad research interest, including living donor kidney transplantation, quality of life of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and KT, bone and mineral disorders, renal anemia, and inflammation in CKD and kidney transplant. He developed research programs and multiple collaborations to study these aspects of CKD and KT.

Dr. James Scholey

Senior Scientist - Toronto General Research Institute

Nephrologist - UHN & Mount Sinai Hospital

bio: Dr. Scholey is a Professor of Medicine and Physiology and a Physician Scientist in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is also a Senior Scientist at the Toronto General Research Institute and a staff physician in the Division of Nephrology in the Department of Medicine at the University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital. Described as a role model for all those who strive to become a clinician-scientist, Dr. Scholey‘s research and scientific work, spanning over four decades, has been consistently published in high-impact international publications. As well as having over 169 peer-reviewed publications, he has also received five teaching awards and has continuously received peer-reviewed funding support since beginning his independent research career. Dr. Scholey’s research focuses on the mechanism(s) responsible for the progression of chronic kidney disease with a special interest in diabetic nephropathy and the renin-angiotensin system. His work was instrumental in establishing a better understanding of kidney fibrosis and his initial contributions to the sex-specific differences in the renin-angiotensin system have paved the way for future transformative studies. He also has a longstanding interest in the physiology of human diabetic kidney hyperfiltration and the impact of proteinuria on the progression of glomerulonephritis. Dr. Scholey has dedicated his work to the direct benefit of patients and the kidney community. Through his own work, as well as a role on the leadership team of the SPOR network Can-SOLVE CKD, Dr. Scholey has played a significant role in the development and support of patient-oriented research. Alongside his research and scientific work, one of Dr. Scholey’s most significant achievements and legacies is the mentoring of graduates and medical trainees. He has been very involved in training the next generation of physicians and Ph.D. scientists, acting in a supervisory role for at least 21 trainees and investing tremendous time individually mentoring his students. Dr. Scholey leads the way by example and believes in sharing resources with his students to set them up for successful careers. His colleagues note that he oftentimes relinquished the “senior” author position to more junior investigators who are typically his mentees to give them recognition of their efforts.s

interest: Dr. Scholey is interested in Identifying the molecular mechanisms responsible for the progression of chronic kidney disease with a special focus on diabetic nephropathy and the renin angiotensin system as well as identifying new therapeutic targets for the treatment of chronic kidney disease using animal and cell-based model systems.

Dr. Jeffrey Schiff

Transplant Nephrologist & Director - Pancreas & Clinical Islet Transplant Program, Ajmera Transplant Centre, UHN

bio: Dr. Jeffrey Schiff completed his medical school, Internal Medicine and Nephrology training at McGill University, followed by a fellowship in kidney and pancreas transplantation at McGill University Health Centre and Hôpital Notre-Dame. In 2004, he joined the Division of Nephrology and the Multi-Organ Transplant Program at the Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network (UHN). He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Schiff is a member of the Kidney Transplant Program and Medical Director of the Pancreas and Islet Transplant Program at UHN. He co-led the development of the renal transplant desensitization program and championed a system to improve the transfer of renal transplant recipients from the Pediatric Academic Multi-Organ Transplant Program at the Hospital for Sick Children to UHN. He has also worked with other organizations that play a role in transplant including Canadian Blood Services as the chair of the Pancreas/Islets Data Working Group and member of the Organ Donation and Transplantation Expert Advisory Committee and Information System Advisory Committee; Trillium Gift of Life Network; and the Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network in developing guidelines for the use of IVIg in transplant recipients.s

interest: Dr. Schiff is extensively involved in transplant education. He is currently the Program Director for Adult Nephrology as well as Director of the Kidney and Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Fellowship at the University of Toronto, as well as having developed web-based educational resources in transplantation that are available free to all.

Dr. Joanne Bargman

Director of the Home Peritoneal Dialysis Program - UHN

[email protected]

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bio: Joanne Bargman is a staff nephrologist at the University Health Network and Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She received her MD cum laude from the University of Toronto. She pursued nephrology training at Stanford University. Her research focused on renal physiology and micropuncture. Upon returning to Toronto, she was recruited to the Toronto Western Hospital where she trained in peritoneal dialysis under Dimitrios Oreopoulos. She has more than 900 invited lectures internationally, on subjects as diverse as peritoneal dialysis, glomerulonephritis, and management of lupus. She is Director of Peritoneal Dialysis for the University Health Network in Toronto, Past-President of the International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis, and co-director of the Combined Renal-Rheumatology Lupus Clinic for the University Health Network. She has won the “Silver Shovel”, given by the graduating medical class of the University of Toronto to the best lecturer in the undergraduate years. She has also won the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine Postgraduate Teaching Award, given to the best teacher in the postgraduate program. In 2013 she was the recipient of both the Donald Seldin Award for excellence in nephrology at the National Kidney Foundation (US) and the award for teaching excellence from the Canadian Society of Nephrology. She was the 2015 Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Annual Dialysis Conference in New Orleans, and received the International Distinguished Medal at the Spring Clinical Meetings of the National Kidney Foundation in 2016. In 2018 she was the recipient of the Gabor Zellerman Award for Research and Excellence in Peritoneal Dialysis. In 2021 she was awarded the Robert G. Narins Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Nephrology. She is an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Dr. Bargman is co-author of the chapter “Chronic Kidney Disease” in the 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st editions of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine.s

interest: Dr. Joanne Bargman’s true passion lies in teaching the next generation of medical professionals. She has delivered over 1,000 lectures to date in Canada and around the world and has received several awards for teaching.

Dr. Joseph Kim

Transplant Nephrologist - Ajmera Transplant Centre, UHN

[email protected]

416-340-4800 Ext. 4113

bio: Dr. Joseph Kim is a staff nephrologist in the Division of Nephrology and Director of the Kidney Transplant Program at the Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. He is the Vice Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee at the University Health Network, Chair of the Data System Working Group for the Organ Donation and Transplantation Collaborative at Health Canada, Chair of the Global Data Harmonization Committee for the Transplantation Society, Past-President of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Society of Transplantation, Past-President of the Canadian Organ Replacement Register Board of Directors, and former Vice-Chair of the Data Advisory Committee for the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Dr. Kim completed medical school, internal medicine residency, chief medical residency, and fellowships in nephrology and kidney transplantation at the University of Toronto. In 2008, he earned a PhD in epidemiology and a Master of Health Science in biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2020, he completed a Global Executive MBA for Healthcare and the Life Sciences at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.s

interest: Dr. Kim’s research interests include access to and outcomes of kidney transplantation using centreand population-based cohorts as well as using data more effectively to inform health system improvement. His methodological interest focuses on improving causal inferences from observational data.

Dr. Kathryn Tinckham

Program Medical Director - Department of Medicine, UHN

[email protected]

Transplant Nephrologist - Ajmera Transplant Centre, UHN

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bio: From her position as a nephrologist and Assistant Director of the Tissue Typing Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Tinckam joined the University Health Network in 2007 and has held numerous internal and external roles since. In addition to her ongoing clinical and academic work in transplant nephrology, she has served as Co-Director of HLA from 2007-2013, Director of HLA from 2013-2017 and Division Head of HLA from 2017-2020. She was the Director of Quality and Innovation for the UHN (now Ajmera Family) Transplant Program from 2017-2019. She became the Interim Program Medical Director for the Laboratory Medicine Program in 2019. External to UHN she has also held progressive leadership roles in the National Transplant Program at Canadian Blood Services including Vice Chair of the National HLA Advisory Committee from 2010-2018, a secondment as Medical Advisor in Transplantation (Canadian Transplant Registry) from 2013-2017 and Chair of the Kidney Transplant Advisory Committee from 2017-2020. She has served as an HLA advisor to the Trillium Gift of Life Network since 2010 and has Chaired the Provincial HLA Working Group since 2017. She was a Board Member for the Canadian Society of Transplantation from 2013-2019 and served as its Vice President from 2017-2019.s

interest: Dr. Tinckham's clinical, administrative, and research activities focus on improving access to transplantation for patients who are difficult to match with donors, and increasing equitable access to transplantation at the regional and national level. In all her work, she is focused on a committed and rigorous approach to transparent quality assurance and improvement with an emphasis on thoughtful process design and implementation to drive system change.

Dr. Melvin Silverman

Senior Staff Nephrologist - UHN

bio: Dr. Mel Silverman is a Senior Staff Nephrologist at the Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, cross appointed at the Mount Sinai and Woman’s College Hospital, and Professor Emeritus of Medicine, University of Toronto. Dr. Silverman served as Vice President of Research at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research from 2003-2013. He has played a national leadership role in medical research policy and clinician scientist training, serving at the University of Toronto as founding Director of the MD/PhD Program from 1984 to 2009, as well as the Director of the Institute of Medical Science and Royal College Clinical Investigator Programs.s

interest: Dr. Silverman's clinical interests include diabetic nephropathy, proteinuria and glomerulonephritis. He has published more than 100 original scientific research papers concerning the molecular physiology of Na+/glucose co-transporter, extracellular matrix – cell signaling in the glomerulus, and the role of RabGTPase 34 and its effector- hmunc 13 in the regulation of the plasminogen/plasmin system and apoptosis.