Congratulations to Patricia Kao, MD, MS, MHPE, Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, and Vikas Dharnidharka, MD, MPH, Alexis F. Hartmann Sr., MD, Endowed Professor of Pediatrics, who are part of a select group of WashU faculty members to receive the 2024 Dean’s Impact Awards.
Launched in 2023, the Dean’s Impact Awards honor individuals who demonstrate unwavering dedication to advancing the careers of others through exceptional mentorship and sponsorship of learners, clinicians, educators, and researchers. Fifty-three recipients of various disciplines across the School of Medicine were recognized with this year’s award at a ceremony in the Missouri Botanical Garden on April 30, 2024.
Since joining WashU Nephrology in 2016, Kao has built an extensive list of accomplishments in medical education, most notably being the creator and director of the Washington University Teaching Physician Pathway (WUTPP). With the support of the prestigious Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Teaching Fellowship (2017-2019), she designed and pioneered the WUTPP program and curriculum, which provides residents and fellows who are interested in medical education with the opportunity for in-depth professional development as clinical educators. Since 2017, 121 residents and fellows from internal medicine, pediatrics, ob-gyn, general surgery, dermatology, radiation oncology, and physical medicine and rehabilitation have graduated from, or are currently participating in, one of Dr. Kao’s clinician educator programs.
“WUTPP trainees have made major contributions to the WUSM educational mission through teaching and developing curriculum for numerous UME (undergraduate medical education) and GME (graduate medical education) programs, and by disseminating their education scholarship at national meetings and in peer-review journals.”
Patricia Kao, Director of Washington University Teaching Physician Pathway (WUTPP)
In 2022, Kao was recognized as an Outstanding Reviewer by the Journal of Graduate Medical Education.
Learn more about Dr. Kao’s achievements here and in the following WashU Nephrology News articles:
- Nephrologist Patricia Kao Recognized as 2022 Outstanding Reviewer by JGME
- Nephrologist Patricia Kao Receives Inaugural Academy of Educators Exemplary Educator Award
- WashU Nephrologists Patricia Kao, Timothy Yau, Steven Cheng, Tingting Li and Seth Goldberg Receive Academy of Educators Inaugural Honor Roll Awards
- Drs. Yau, Cheng, Goldberg, Kao and Ross to be Honored at Distinguished Service Teaching Award Ceremony
- Dr. Patricia Kao Receives AAIM Educational Innovation Grant
- Patricia Kao, MD, Awarded Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Teaching Fellowship
- Nephrology Well-Represented at Academy of Educators Induction
Dr. Dharnidharka, as Director of Pediatric Nephrology, Hypertension and Apheresis at WashU and the Vice-Chair for Clinical Investigation in the Department of Pediatrics, provides highly specialized care to children and young adults with all types of kidney disease, with a focus on end-stage renal disease and kidney transplant. He has mentored and sponsored many junior colleagues and has published more than 230 peer-reviewed journal articles. Most recently, he is co-author of the manuscript “Cell-Free DNA for the Detection of Kidney Allograft Rejection,” published in Nature Medicine,” June 2, 2024. WashU transplant nephrologist Tarek Alhamad, MD, MPH, MBA, is also one of the co-authors. In his off-time, Dharnidharka is a dedicated table tennis and pickleball champion. Last month he won one gold, two silver, and one bronze medal at the St Louis Senior Olympics across table tennis and pickle ball events!
Find out more about Dr. Dharnidharka here and in the following WashU Nephrology News articles:
- Vikas Dharnidharka Installed as Alexis F. Hartmann Professor of Pediatrics
- Dr. Vikas Dharnidharka Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
- Vikas Dharnidharka Receives PCEN Grant to Study Recurrent FSGS in Pediatric Transplant Patients
- WashU Transplant Nephrology/BJH Transplant Present at American Transplant Congress 2022
- Pediatric Nephrology Division Chief Finds Fun – and Awards – in the Sport of Table Tennis
On X, follow @kao_patricia, @Vikas_R_D, and @WUNephrology. Keep up with all that is new at WashU Nephrology via Facebook, Instagram, and our website.