About The Committee
The CSN is proud to announce the launch of our new Communications Committee.
The CSN Communications Committee is responsible for supporting and enhancing the Society’s communication strategies. Its mandate is to develop, implement, and promote clear, consistent, and engaging messaging across all official CSN platforms—including email, the CSN website, and social media channels. Through these efforts, the Committee aims to effectively inform, connect, and empower CSN members and stakeholders, while upholding the Society’s values and advancing its mission.
Additionally, the Communications Committee is responsible for supporting Membership Outreach and Retention strategies. This includes the development and promotion of targeted outreach initiatives to attract and retain members, communicate benefits, and foster stronger engagement.
Through this initiative, we look forward to expanding our reach across multiple social media platforms. While CSN has been active on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook since 2014, we are excited to introduce several additional platforms:
- Follow us on BlueSky
- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Share pictures with us on Instagram
- Friend (or follow us) on our Facebook Page
- Make stories with us on Threads
- And of course, we are on X
Committee Members
Dr. Swapnil
Hiremath
Chair, Communications Committee
Dr. Swapnil Hiremath
Swapnil Hiremath, MD, MPH is a Staff Nephrologist at the Ottawa Hospital, a Full Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, and cross appointed to the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa, and an Associate Scientist in the Inflammation and Chronic Diseases Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.
His medical education has been at the University of Mumbai and at the University of Ottawa. He has a Master’s in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health and certification from the American Heart Association as a Specialist in Clinical Hypertension.
His primary research interest is in using knowledge synthesis with hypertension, and patients with acute kidney injury. He has grant funding from CIHR, PSI, TOHAMO, and other agencies, in the field of contrast AKI and difficult to control hypertension. He has authored more than 200 papers, details available at this link. He is also the co-creator of the BlueSky-based nephrology journal club, #NephJC, and a panelist on the Freely Filtered podcast.
Dr. Isabelle
Ethier
Vice-Chair, Communications Committee
Dr. Isabelle Ethier
Dr Isabelle Ethier is a Nephrologist and early career researcher from Montreal. She has completed a 2-year clinical and research fellowship in home dialysis in Brisbane, Australia. She holds a Master's degree in Biomedical sciences - Applied clinical research from Université de Montréal. She currently works at the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal and its affiliated research center.
Dr. Husam
Alzayer
Dr. Husam Alzayer
Dr. Husam Alzayer is a Consultant in Internal Medicine and Nephrology at Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Medical City, Saudi Arabia, where he also serves as Head of the Continuous Medical Education Department. He completed his undergraduate studies at Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, followed by residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship training in Nephrology with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. He holds master’s degrees in Clinical Research (University of Galway) and Medical Education (University of Warwick). Dr. Alzayer is particularly interested in kidney genetics, free open-access medical education, clinical reasoning, and clinical research, and will begin a fellowship in Kidney Genetics at Western University in 2026. His leadership experience includes serving as Nephrology Service Line Lead for the Aljouf region (2024–2025). He is also an MRCPI diplomate, a successful candidate of the Nephrology Specialty Examination, and a graduate of the Nephrology Social Media Collective Internship.
Dr. Arti
Dhoot
Dr. Arti Dhoot
Dr. Arti Dhoot is a nephrologist with subspecialty expertise in interventional nephrology and home modalities, dedicated to advancing patient-centered care. She earned her MD from the University of Toronto, followed by internal medicine training in Toronto and nephrology specialization at the University of Manitoba. Currently pursuing a Master of Education at OISE, University of Toronto, she demonstrates a strong commitment to educational excellence. With a foundational degree in pharmacy from Dalhousie University, Dr. Dhoot integrates a comprehensive perspective into her clinical practice. Her professional interests focus on optimizing home-based therapies and creating accessible online educational content to empower patients. She remains deeply committed to fostering equitable healthcare delivery and enriching medical education.
Dr. Casimiro
Gerarduzzi
Dr. Casimiro Gerarduzzi
Dr. Casimiro Gerarduzzi obtained his Masters and PhD from the department of Experimental Medicine at McGill University, and two separate postdoctoral fellowships completed at Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Gerarduzzi is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Montreal and a researcher at the Nephrology Axis of Hôpital Maisonneuve Hospital (HMR).
His current research focuses on the molecular regulation of kidney disease progression, with an emphasis on matricellular proteins as key modulators of tissue remodeling in Acute Kideny Injury, Chronic Kidney Disease as well as Renal Cell Carcinoma. Particular research themes that his laboratory look at include those throughout the kidney disease continuum, starting from an injury-induced inflammation and senescence reprogramming that results in the initiation of repair, further progressing to its development into fibrosis. His laboratory integrates cellular systems, mouse models and human biospecimens, and applies methodologies at the interface of cellular and molecular biology and translational science in understanding kidney disease.
Dr. Ahmed
Imcaoudene
Dr. Ahmed Imcaoudene
Ahmed Imcaoudene is a nephrology fellow at the Université de Montréal. He completed his medical studies at McGill University in 2022, subsequently serving as a Lead Medical Resident in the McGill Internal Medicine program until 2025. There, he developed useful skills in communication along with a strong enthusiasm for renal care.
He has completed research work on the use of aldosterone and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists in chronic kidney diseases and has been a guest speaker at the 2025 Journée québécoise d’hémodialyse.
Ahmed is enthusiastic about sharing his passion for nephrology with both English- and French-speaking audiences, translating complex concepts into clear, engaging, and clinically relevant insights. He is motivated to contribute to knowledge dissemination for the continued improvement of outcomes in nephrological patients across all provinces and territories, and is hence thrilled to partake in the CSN Communications Committee.
Dr. Lisa
Miller
Dr. Lisa Miller
Dr. Lisa Miller received her MD at Memorial University of NL, then completed her internal medicine and nephrology training at Queens’s University. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba, a clinical nephrologist with Shared Health Manitoba, and is the Medical Director of the Sherbrook Dialysis Unit. She is a past board member of the Canadian Society of Nephrology, and is the Vice Chair of the Canadian Society of Nephrology Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee. Dr. Miller chaired the Choosing Wisely Canada Nephrology working group, recently updating their recommendations and she is a core member of the National Conservative Kidney Management Committee.
Dr. Miller’s clinical and research interests include vascular access, conservative kidney management, and quality improvement in chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis. She also completed healthcare leadership training through University of Toronto and Harvard medical director institute, and is currently enrolled in the Harvard University’s Safety, Quality Improvement, Informatics, Leadership program.
Dr. Amber
Molnar
Dr. Amber Molnar
Dr. Amber Molnar is a Nephrologist at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. She is an Associate Professor with the Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology at McMaster University and holds a cross appointment with the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact. She received her MD at the University of Saskatchewan and completed Internal Medicine training at Western University. She then completed her Nephrology training and MSc in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa. She is an Adjunct Scientist with ICES. In this role, she uses large, provincial healthcare databases to answer research questions pertinent to patients with kidney disease. Her research program focuses on improving outcomes for patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and on hemodialysis. She has an interest in pragmatic trials that make use of routinely collected data and streamlined, innovative approaches to patient consent and intervention delivery.
Dr. Alejandro Meraz
Muñoz
Dr. Alejandro Meraz Muñoz
Dr. Muñoz completed his Internal Medicine residency and Nephrology fellowship in Mexico City at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition. After practicing as a nephrologist for two years in Mexico, he moved to Toronto to further specialize, completing fellowships in Onco-Nephrology at the University Health Network and Critical Care Nephrology at St. Michael’s Hospital.
Currently, Alejandro serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba and works as an academic nephrologist at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Additionally, he is nearing completion of his Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research at the University of Toronto. Dr. Muñoz is passionate about point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) and urine microscopy.
Beyond clinical work, he is deeply engaged in social media, contributing to the nephrology community by sharing knowledge, fostering discussions, and promoting education in the field.
Dr. Susan
Thanabalasingam
Dr. Susan
Thanabalasingam
Susan Thanabalasingam is a nephrology fellow at the Ottawa Hospital. She received her medical degree from Queen’s University in 2021 and completed her Internal Medicine residency at Queen’s University. She will be pursuing graduate training in clinical epidemiology and is interested in research aimed at improving equitable access to nephrology care and kidney transplantation. She was an intern with the Nephrology Social Media Collective in 2022 and has served on the social media teams for Kidney International Reports and Kidney Medicine. She is eager to use her social media and writing skills to improve communication within the nephrology community. She is very excited to collaborate with members of the CSN Communications Committee to use engaging and inclusive communication strategies that advance kidney care in Canada.
Dr. Avinash Rao
Ullur
Dr. Avinash Rao Ullur
Dr. Avinash Rao Ullur is a dedicated internist and nephrologist serving at Yarmouth Regional Hospital in Nova Scotia and a lecturer in Internal Medicine at Dalhousie University. His medical journey began with a degree from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India, in 2012, followed by postgraduate training in General Medicine in 2016. After earning board certification in Nephrology from India in 2020, Dr. Rao enhanced his expertise at the University of Toronto, where he specialized in Adult Nephrology and completed niche training in Onco-nephrology. Recognized as a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology (FASN) and a Certified Hypertension Specialist (CHS), Dr. Rao holds a distinguished certification in Nephro-Pathology from the International Society of Nephrology (ISN), where he currently serves as a Regional Board Member for North America and the Caribbean. He is also pursuing a Master’s in Health Management at McMaster University, underscoring his commitment to healthcare leadership and innovation.
In his clinical and research pursuits, Dr. Rao’s interests are broad and impactful, focusing on onco-nephrology, cardio-renal-metabolic syndrome, interventional nephrology, dialysis, and kidney transplantation. A strong advocate for quality improvement, he has contributed significantly to dialysis and vascular access research, securing prestigious grants for advancements in these areas. He has published over 20 papers in international journals, is a reviewer for renowned nephrology journals such as the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), and actively engages in writing for fellow networks. As a passionate educator and speaker at international forums, Dr. Rao is committed to building sustainable, global networks in medical education, aiming to promote equitable knowledge sharing across borders.
