Accomplishment Recognition

Dr. Anuja Java Highlighted in Inaugural Veterans Health Administration Kidney Newsletter

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is dedicated to providing quality health care services to Veterans with kidney disease.  To spread the word of recent innovative kidney medicine services, research, and resources, they recently published the inaugural edition of their VHA Kidney Medicine Newsletter. 

WashU Nephrology is proud that our very own Anuja Java, MD, who is Director of Kidney Transplant at the John Cochran VA Medical Center, was highlighted in the newsletter for her efforts to increase access for kidney transplant patients at the VA.

Dr. Java is a renowned physician-scientist and an expert in rare complement diseases and their involvement in kidney damage.  In 2022, she was appointed to the Veterans Affairs Kidney Medicine Field Advisory Board through the VHA Kidney Medicine Program to head a newly launched kidney transplant subcommittee tasked with improving coordination of care and reporting quality of care for Veterans receiving maintenance dialysis in the community with a particular focus on increasing referrals for kidney transplant evaluations.  Java also recently received a National Kidney Foundation Award of Excellence for her contribution in promoting the awareness, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease in the St. Louis community. 

In the Veteran-facing newsletter, which was sent to over 10,000 subscribers, Java discusses her plan to expand kidney transplant services at the St. Louis VA by streamlining the transplant referral process and building collaborative relationships with the community nephrologists serving our Veterans.  “Pre-transplant evaluations can take a long time and are resource intensive,” she says in the article.  “It’s critical to initiate the process early to minimize time on dialysis.”  There are currently more than 150 Veterans in the St. Louis region who are receiving dialysis.

The newsletter is planned to be published semi-annually.

The VHA offers free web-based education on kidney disease and treatment through the VA eKidney Clinic, the VA Mobile Kidney App (currently in beta testing), and the Veterans Health Library.  The National Kidney Foundation webpage is also a good source of information.

Veterans in need of kidney transplant services can visit the  VA National Transplant Program Page or contact their local VHA Dialysis Facility for more information. 

Follow @anuja_java@VeteransHealth and @WUNephrology on Twitter; visit and “Like” us on Facebook.