Read the latest news from the Nephrology Division.
Melissa Rocco is Our New Chromalloy Kidney Center Social Worker
WashU Nephrology welcomes Melissa “Missy” Rocco, MSW, LCSW, as our new Chromalloy Kidney Center Social Worker. Missy earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Truman State University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Missouri-Columbia and has over 25 years of experience in the dialysis field. She was the Manager of […]
NephMadness 2023 Tips Off Today
The 11th edition of NephMadness officially starts today, March 1, 2023. The month-long event, hosted by AJKD Blog, is an online, interactive, educational activity modeled on March Madness, the annual US college basketball tournament, except with nephrology concepts. Social media tools are used to encourage a good-natured, robust discussion about the latest news and […]
Farewell to Postdoctoral Fellow Kohei Omachi
WashU Nephrology bids a heartfelt farewell to postdoctoral research fellow Kohei Omachi, PhD, who is returning to Japan after almost five years of research in the Jeff Miner Laboratory. He will be taking a position at the RIKEN Institute in Kobei. Dr. Omachi has been a prolific researcher of the inherited disease Alport syndrome during […]
Will Ross to Receive Frankie Freeman Inspirational Award
WashU Nephrology congratulates Will Ross, MD, MPH, Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine, Nephrology, and Associate Dean for Diversity at Washington University School of Medicine, who will receive the Frankie Freeman Inspirational Award at the Ethical Society of St. Louis this Friday, February 17, 2023. The event is sponsored by the St. Louis County Library (SLCL), […]
WashU Nephrology/Transplant and IGSS Gather in Guatemala for 5th Annual Nephrology Symposium
The 5th Annual Nephrology Symposium, a collaboration between Washington University Nephrology and Transplant and the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) was held February 3-5, 2023, in Guatemala City. The two centers, now in their 8th year of collaboration, are official “Sister Renal Centers” under the sponsorship of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN). The meeting, […]
Frank O’Brien Receives LeJIT Teaching Award
Frank O’Brien, MD, FASN, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, is the recipient of the LeJIT Teaching Award for his outstanding performance during the 2022 Block 6 Medicine Clerkship (November – December 2022). The LeJIT award is given for completing “just-in-time” assessments (“JITs”) and providing meaningful, timely feedback to students, which helps them develop […]
Celebrating National Women Physicians Day 2023
February 3rd is National Women Physicians Day. This year, it marks the 202st birthday of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, who was the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States (in 1849). This day gives us the opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of all women doctors and to say “Thank You” for all […]
Fae Harper, RN, BSN, is the New Nurse Manager for Nephrology Outpatient Office
WashU Nephrology is pleased to announce that Fabrienne (Fae) Harper, RN, BSN, has accepted the position of Nurse Manager for our Nephrology Outpatient Office. She will start on February 1, 2023. Harper has been working with hemodialysis patients for over 22 years. She joined the Chromalloy American Kidney Center in 2006, where she remained until joining […]
Chrissy Bracht-Ladiero, RN, BSN, and Laura Eggleton, LMSW, Join WashU Nephrology
WashU Nephrology welcomes two new employees to our team: Chrissy Bracht-Ladiero, RN, BSN, joins us as our Outpatient Clinical Nurse Coordinator at Chromalloy Kidney Center. After earning her nursing degree in 2012, Chrissy worked at Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital in Chesterfield, MO, until 2014 and earned her BSN from Southeast Missouri State University shortly thereafter. She […]
Dr. Monica Chang-Panesso Receives 2023 SSCI Research Scholar Award
WashU Nephrology congratulates Monica Chang-Panesso, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, on receiving the 2023 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (SSCI) Research Scholar Award for her proposal titled “Tubular Senescence and Proliferative Capacity of the Aging Kidney.” The SSCI Research Scholar Award is given to developing physician-scientist as they undertake innovative research projects related to internal […]









