Meet the team!

Kidney Zone Editor

Lena Vaynberg Eder, MD

“I am one of four girls. Russian was my first language, and bears are my favorite animal.”

Lena is an internal medicine intern at Duke University. She grew in LA and then studied at Brandeis University where she double majored in Public Health and Hispanic Studies She attended medical school at Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine where she co-developed “Project Nephron,” now a part of the renal curriculum in a number of medical schools across the country. She is the recipient of a Stead Resident Research Grant from the Duke Internal Medicine program to pursue her interest in enhancing nephrology medical education.

Kidney Zone Associate Editors

Danae Olaso

Danae is a current medical student at Duke University School of Medicine. She grew up in Maui, Hawaii and attended Baylor University in Texas where she majored in Biochemistry and minored in Biology and Religion. In high school, Danae participated in a mentorship program at her local hospital and discovered an interest for the field of Nephrology. She also participated in a summer undergraduate research program studying kidney disease at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She is excited to contribute toward enhancing nephrology medical education and resources.

Tim Chow

Tim is in his final year at UMKC’s 6-year BA/MD program and is pursuing residency in internal medicine. In his free time, he enjoys trying new restaurants and following Chicago sports.

Jennifer Kaplan

Jennifer is a fourth year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine. She is excited to start an Internal Medicine residency in the Fall and hopes to further explore nephrology through patient care, journal clubs, and attending Kidney Week for the first time. Outside of medicine, Jennifer enjoys jogging, reading, visiting zoos, and playing with her two dogs.

Edward Diaz

Ed is a second year medical student at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He completed his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina and performed research in the laboratory of Dr. Sparks at Duke University. He was selected to the American Society of Nephrology TREKS program in 2018 and is interested in medical education.

Kidney Zone Fellow Leads

Anthony Provenzano, MD

Anthony is a 1st year nephrology fellow at Duke who is interested in social media as a platform for medical education. Clinical interests include electrolyte disorders, acid/base, and AKI.

Sayna Norouzi, MD

Sayna is a first year nephrology fellow at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. She is in the clinical pathway with a concentration in education and public policy. She graduated from the Nephrology Social Media Collective (NSMC) internship in 2018 and is currently on the executive team. She serves as an intern on the American Society of Nephrology Workforce and Training committee and will be working to promote nephrology and improve the educational experiences for trainees during Kidney Week.

Kidney Zone Faculty Leads

Matthew A. Sparks, MD

“I went to college with the goal of playing trumpet in an orchestra. I ended up doing immunology research and entering medical school.”

Matt is a physician-scientist in the Division of Nephrology at Duke University School of Medicine and the Durham VA Health Care System in Durham, NC. He is the Associate Program Director for the Nephrology Fellowship and Director of Medical Student Research in the Department Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AR where he also served as chief resident. He then completed his nephrology fellowship at Duke with additional training in hypertension research. The overarching goal of this research is to identify novel mechanisms to target drug therapy for patients with hypertension. He is also interested in enhancing medical education in nephrology. He serves on the AJKD Social Media Advisory Board and as faculty lead for Renal Fellow Network. His publications include using social media in nephrology education and he is interested in finding novel ways to share and understand medical research and information. He is a member of the ASN Media and Communications Committee and the American Heart Association Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease Scientific & Clinical Education Lifelong Learning Committee. He is a faculty member of online journal club, NephJC, and for the Nephrology Social Media Collective (NSMC) internship. He serves as Education Director for the annual KIDNEYcon conference. Follow him on Twitter @Nephro_Sparks.

John Roberts, MD, MS, Med:

John is an assistant professor of medicine and a kidney transplant specialist and nephrologist who takes care of patients in the Duke kidney transplant program, which includes evaluating patients seeking candidacy for kidney transplant, evaluating potential living donors, and caring for patients after transplant. He enjoys teaching medical students, residents, and fellows and is active in the Duke University School of Medicine, teaching kidney physiology, clinical skills, and patient communication skills. He has a Master’s Degree in Medical Education Leadership. He is the 2017 recipient of the William and Sandra Bennett Clinical Scholar Award, a medical education career development grant from the American Society of Nephrology. Dr. Roberts joined Duke Nephrology in 2015 after completing fellowship at Duke. He earned an MD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.