Professional Bio
T. Alp Ikizler, MD, is the Director of Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Professor of Medicine and Catherine McLaughlin Hakim Chair in Vascular Biology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is a member of American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), Association of American Physicians (AAP), and FASEB Board of Directors. Dr. Ikizler’s clinical interests and expertise are focused on the care of the patients with chronic kidney disease, end-stage kidney disease on maintenance dialysis and acute kidney injury. His research is focused on nutritional and metabolic aspects of acute and chronic disease states. His research group has been instrumental in examining the adverse nutritional and metabolic effects of uremia and extracorporeal therapies in patients with advanced kidney disease. His group initially delineated protein and energy catabolic aspects of hemodialysis and went on to show that certain anabolic interventions could overcome these adverse effects acutely and over long periods of time. Based on these landmark studies, nutritional supplementation during dialysis is now a routine clinical practice. Dr. Ikizler’s group also showed that uremia and dialysis therapies induce exaggerated local and systemic inflammation and oxidative stress burden leading to development of insulin resistance and protein catabolism. These findings have led to the first clinical study to use anti-cytokine therapy and the largest randomized clinical trial testing the efficacy of an anti-oxidant regimen in dialysis patients. Dr. Ikizler is the principal investigator of several ongoing studies aimed at improving the outcomes and quality of life in patient populations ranging from early kidney disease, patients on maintenance dialysis and patients with acute kidney injury. Dr. Ikizler is currently an associate editor for Kidney International. He was the past president of International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism, 2010 – 2012, an associate editor of Journal of American Society of Nephrology, 2006-2012, director of the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation Program at Vanderbilt, 2005 – 2017, and member and Chair of American Board of Internal Medicine Nephrology Test Writing Committee, 2008 - 2018. He is the recipient of National Kidney Foundation Joel Kopple Award, International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism Thomas Addis Award and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Excellence in Mentoring Translational Scientist Award. He is also the co-chair of Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative – Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Nutrition in Kidney Disease Clinical Practice Guideline Work Group. He has published over 300 original articles, 50 editorial reviews and 20 book chapters. He is the co-editor of Handbook of Nutrition in Kidney Disease, 7th edition and Chronic Kidney Disease, Dialysis, and Transplantation, 4th edition.
Publications
Education
Internship - Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and OB&GYN - Istanbul University, 1987
MD - Istanbul University, 1987
Residency - Sisli Etfal Hospital, 1992
Fellowship - Nephrology - Vanderbilt University, 1996
Contact
Email
Kimryn.Rathmell@Vumc.Org
Address
777 Preston Research Building
2220 Pierce Ave
Nashville, TN 37232-6307