This message was sent from Upi Singh, MD, Chair & DEO of the Department of Internal Medicine earlier today.

Effective July 1, the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension will be led by Lisa Antes, MD, and Sarat Kuppachi, MD, as co-interim division directors. Chou-Long Huang, MD, PhD, has transitioned out of the role of division director to focus on his clinical practice and his productive and impressive research program. We thank Dr. Huang for his efforts on behalf of the division over the last eight years. A national search for a permanent division director will begin at a later time.

Drs. Antes and Kuppachi have many years of service and long-standing ties to the division as well as a variety of leadership roles that make them natural fits for this new position. They also have a great deal of experience in collaboration with each other, especially when it comes to the division’s fellowship programs, and they have both made significant contributions to the daily care of Iowans. The duo will also be supported by Kevin Glenn, MD, who will serve as senior advisor to the division. Dr. Glenn is the outgoing interim director of the Division of General Internal Medicine and previously served as director of the Hospitalist Program. Drs. Antes and Kuppachi will no doubt benefit from Dr. Glenn’s many years of senior department leadership.

Of course, the pair also bring their own deep well of experience to this role. Education has been Dr Antes’s primary focus in the nearly 25 years she has been with University of Iowa Health Care. She has been program director of the nephrology fellowship since 2015 and has served as the director/co-director of the CCOM medical student internal medicine clerkship since 2006. She has been recognized for her impact in education with awards like the Collegiate Teaching Award. She exercises her creativity in curricular development and design and played an important role in developing and delivering the internal medicine residency Longitudinal Teaching Skills Curriculum over the past 10 years.

Similarly, Dr. Kuppachi has been leading the transplant nephrology training program since 2017. He was also recently appointed to the role of medical director of kidney transplantation at UI Health Care. In the nearly 15 years since he came to Iowa, Dr. Kuppachi has made significant contributions to education, including as Course Director for CCOM Mechanisms of Health and Disease I for the last 9 years. He has also furthered research in delivering equitable care with dozens of publications in high-impact, peer reviewed journals on a variety of interest areas.

Between Drs. Antes and Kuppachi, and with Dr. Glenn as a ready resource, I have every confidence that the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension will be in compassionate and capable hands. The whole department stands with them and the rest of its members ready to provide support and guidance toward its inevitably bright future.

Please join me in congratulating and thanking Dr. Lisa Antes, Dr. Sarat Kuppachi, and Dr Kevin Glenn as they embark on their new roles.