About The Committee
A Community Nephrologist is a clinically focused Nephrologist, who either spends a majority of his/her time outside of an academic centre, or who has limited access to the activities of an academic centre.
Committee Members
Varun
Dev
Chair, Community Nephrology Committee
Dr. Varun Dev
Dr. Varun Dev is a Staff Nephrologist and Medical Lead at Humber River Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. He completed his Masters in Health Administration at the University of Toronto and his interests include quality improvement and physician leadership. He is the Secretary and Treasurer of the Board of the Ontario Association of Nephrologists, and has been involved in creating and delivering leadership curriculums at the graduate, postgraduate and national level. He is also an active consultant, advisor, and investor in early-stage health care technology companies.
Kathleen
Quinn
Vice-Chair, Community Nephrology Committee
Dr. Kathleen Quinn
Dr. Kathleen Quinn is a nephrologist working within the Niagara Health System. After completing nephrology training in London, Ontario, she pursued a fellowship in Kidney Transplant. As a community nephrologist, she cares for a wide breadth of patients and enjoys all of it, but particularly sharing in the care of post-kidney transplant patients with academic colleagues. Aside from nephrology, she enjoys spending time with her 4 children and husband.
Amit
Bagga
Dr. Amit Bagga
Dr Amit Bagga is an active Clinical Nephrologist within the Division of Nephrology at the Windsor Regional Hospital. His medical education including nephrology specialization was in London, Ontario. Hobbies include table tennis, percussion ( tabla )& backyard frisbee with the kids. Dr. Bagga has previously been the President of the Essex County Medical Society, prior Chief of Nephrology from 2015 to 2017, and recently awarded the 2021 Schulich School of Medicine Hippocratic Council Windsor Clinician Teaching Award.
Jason
Bau
Dr. Jason Bau
Dr. Jason Bau is nephrologist with the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Kidney Program. He completed his MD/PhD (U. Calgary), internal medicine (U. Ottawa), and nephrology (U. Calgary), with additional training in solid organ transplant (U. Toronto). He is a clinical assistant professor with Toronto Metropolitan University with educational interests include promoting nephrology education both with medical learners, and in the community at large.
Derek
Chaudhary
Dr. Derek Chaudhary
Dr. Derek Chaudhary is a Nephrologist as well as the Medical Director of the PEI Renal Program. He began practicing on the Island in January 2010. Since then, he has witnessed tremendous growth of the program. At one point, all renal medicine was covered through Halifax. Doctors would either come to the Island or patients would have to travel. Today, the program is completely independent, offering every type of service a patient would need on the Island, aside from renal transplants and a few specialized procedures.
When Dr. Chaudhary first started, he was one of two physicians in the program. As the program grew, it was soon discovered that a third physician was needed. With the support of Dr. Miller and the Physicians Recruiting Physicians program, they were able to begin the recruitment and retention process. Following an interview and a site visit, a third nephrologist accepted the position and started in September 2021.
With units in Charlottetown, Summerside, Alberton, and Souris, it is a full provincial program. He and his team focus on strong communication and patient-focused care. Dr. Chaudhary is encouraged to work with individuals who are compassionate and collaborative.
Along with his full work schedule, Dr. Chaudhary balances a busy home life. He has four children and enjoys staying active. He plays in a football league, dedicates his evenings and weekends to spend time with his family, and finds time for his passion – music.
Naomi
Glick
Dr. Naomi Glick
Dr. Glick is a clinical Nephrologist working in Nanaimo, BC. She has played a role in local renal leadership as the Medical Lead for Central Vancouver Island Nephrology 2016-2020, pre-dialysis clinic redesign and a new post-Transplant clinic. Interests include access to Nephrology care for remote and underserved populations. She is grateful for coastal living, and enjoys long distancing running, biking and inconveniently large dogs.
Nessa
Gogan
Dr. Nessa Gogan
Dr. Gogan is a Nephrologist practising at Horizon Health Network in Saint John, New Brunswick involved in clinical care and teaching.
She received her medical degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland, then completed Internal Medicine and Nephrology training from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. Currently, Dr. Gogan is the Division Head of Nephrology and Hypertension in Saint John, Clinical Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Assistant Professor of Medicine with Dalhousie University.
Nessa has a strong interest and passion for improving access to kidney transplantation and sits on many committees in this area, including the local Transplant Advisory Committee, the New Brunswick Provincial Organ Donation Advisory Committee, and at a National level, the Kidney Transplant Advisory Committee (KTAC) and the Organ Donation and Transplantation Expert Advisory committee (ODTEAC).
Dr. Gogan is currently a Board Member of the Atlantic Branch of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
Tom
Hewlett
Dr. Tom Hewlett
Dr. Thomas Hewlett, MDCM FRCPC, is the Associate Professor at Dalhousie University, Chief Division of Nephrology for the Eastern Zone Nova Scotia Health. He has been practicing community nephrology in Cape Breton for 30 years.
Dean
Hickey
Dr. Dean Hickey
Dr. Hickey was born and raised in the very community that he has proudly served for the last 20 years. Since graduating from Bathurst High School, he went on to chemistry and medical degrees at Dalhousie University, core internal medicine training at the University of Saskatchewan and returned to Halifax for nephrology fellowship training. He then started practice in the 100,000-patient catchment area of Northeastern New Brunswick, where he is one of three nephrologists practicing in both official languages. His general nephrology practice includes a wide spectrum of CKD including in-centre and satellite hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, pre- and post-transplant clinics and multidisciplinary advanced CKD care. He shares duties with another locally born nephrologist and proudly welcomed a third Quebec-born nephrologist who bolstered their group practice with the knowledge from his transplant fellowship. His interests include skiing and traveling to warmer climates in winter and enjoying all that the East Coast has to offer in the summer.
Geena
Joseph
Dr. Geena Joseph
Dr. Geena Joseph is a Staff Nephrologist at the Renfrew Victoria Hospital in Renfrew, Ontario. She completed her medical degree at the University of Toronto, her Internal Medicine and Nephrology training at the University of Western Ontario. She subsequently completed specialized training in Glomerulonephritis and Obstetrical Medicine at the University of Toronto. She worked as an Academic Nephrologist and Obstetrical Internist in Hamilton Ontario for 7 years. She has been a community Nephrologist at the Renfrew Victoria Hospital since July 2016 and is currently Chief of Nephrology at the Renfrew Victoria Hospital. Her areas of interest include acute kidney injury, polycystic kidney disease, glomerulonephritis, CKD in pregnancy, and Indigenous health. She is an active member of her community as the former director of coaches for Renfrew Minor Soccer, a team trainer for Upper Ottawa Valley Ringette and a team fundraising coordinator for Upper Ottawa Valley football club.
Ilan
Lenga
Dr. Ilan Lenga
Dr. Ilan Lenga is a clinical nephrologist, Chief Information Officer and Chief Medical Information Officer at Lakeridge Health, a large multi-site community hospital network in Ontario. He has a passion for the role of medical information technology in clinical transformation, and is an active promoter of standardized care and improving data quality. He completed medical school, internal medicine, and nephrology training at the University of Toronto. . He is a lecturer at the University of Toronto, an adjunct assistant professor at Queen’s University, and a practicing nephrologist with a focus on chronic kidney disease and dialysis care. He previously served as the Ontario Representative on the Board of the CSN, and was the inaugural chair of the CSN Community Nephrology Committee.
Aseel
Othman
Dr. Aseel Othman
Dr. Aseel Othman is a community nephrologist in Edmonton, Alberta. Having completed all of her training at the University of Alberta, she knew early on she wanted to do community medicine. She currently practices internal medicine and has practiced nephrology at a community hospital, while building an outpatient community practice. She has a passion for clinical work and improving patient care. Her special interests include chronic kidney disease, managing renal disease in pregnancy and medical education.
Daniel
Schwartz
Dr. Daniel Schwartz
Dr. Daniel Schwartz is the program lead for the Fraser Health peritoneal dialysis program. He received his training at the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto. His clinical interests are focused on peritoneal dialysis, interventional nephrology and advanced stage CKD management. He also has a keen interest in knowledge translation at the point of care and the intersection of information technology with clinical medicine.
Epsita
Shome-Vasanthan
Dr. Epsita Shome-Vasanthan
Epsita Shome is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Alberta and a nephrologist currently practicing Nephrology & Internal Medicine at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta and in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She completed her medical school and Internal Medicine core residency at the University of Alberta, followed by her Nephrology subspecialty training at the University of Calgary. Her clinical interests are peritoneal dialysis, quality improvement, and medical education.
Nausheen
Siddiqui
Dr. Nausheen Siddiqui
Dr. Siddiqui graduated from medical school from the University of Ottawa and thereafter completed internal medicine residency at Western University and nephrology training at the University of Toronto. She holds a Masters in Community Health Sciences (focus on Health Practitioner Teacher Education) from the University of Toronto. She is a staff nephrologist at Toronto East Health Network (Michael Garron Hospital) in Toronto, and continues to have a strong interest in medical student and resident education.
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.
Jordan
Thorne
Dr. Jordan Thorne
Jordan is originally from Moncton, NB and completed medical school at Dalhousie University in his home province before moving to Halifax, NS for internal medicine and nephrology training. He is now a community nephrologist based in Saint John, NB within Horizon Health Network. His professional interests include glomerular disease and health systems management.
