Nathan W. Levin is an American physician and founder of the Renal Research Institute, LLC., a research institute dedicated to improving the outcomes of patients with kidney disease, particularly those requiring dialysis. Levin is one of the most prominent and renowned figures in clinical nephrology as well as nephrology research. He has authored multiple book chapters and over 350 peer-reviewed publications, including articles in leading journals such as ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

'', the ''

New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one. His ...

'', and ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

''.

Education and career

Levin received his medical degree from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. After his graduation he was a post-doctoral fellow at the College of Physicians of South Africa and later became a diplomate of the

American Board of Internal Medicine The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, self-appointed physician-evaluation organization that certifies physicians practicing internal medicine and its subspecialties. The American Board of Internal Medicine is n ...

and a fellow of the

American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a national organization of internists, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults.Sokanu "What is an Internist?" Retrieved October 20, 2014 With 161,000 members, ACP is the largest ...

. In 1974, upon training at the General Hospital in

and the Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, he received his subspecialty diploma from the Board of Nephrology. During his medical career he held professorial appointments at the

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Medical School in Chicago, the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in Ann Arbor, the

Mount Sinai School of Medicine The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City. It is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sinai Health System, which manages eig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, and the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a research-intensive medical school located in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein operates as an independent degree-granting institution as part of t ...

. In 2005, Levin was appointed medical director of the Survey & Certification Group for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). His hospital appointments include Chief of the Renal Section at the V.A. Hospital in Chicago, Head of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at

Henry Ford Hospital Henry Ford Hospital (HFH) is an 877-bed tertiary care hospital, education and research complex at the western edge of the New Center area in Detroit, Michigan. The flagship facility for the Henry Ford Health System, it was one of the first hos ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, and Chief of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at

Beth Israel Medical Center Mount Sinai Beth Israel is a 799-bed teaching hospital in Manhattan. It is part of the Mount Sinai Health System, a nonprofit health system formed in September 2013 by the merger of Continuum Health Partners and Mount Sinai Medical Center, an ...

in New York City. He has held prominent positions in many professional societies, including President of the Michigan End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network, President of the Renal Physicians Association (RPA), and President of the RPA Research and Education Foundation. He was co-chairman of the AAMI Hemodialysis Reuse Committee and the

National Kidney Foundation The National Kidney Foundation, Inc. (NKF) is a voluntary health organization in the United States, headquartered in New York City, with over 30 local offices across the country. Its mission is to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, impr ...

–Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF–KDOQI), member of the Clinical Practice Committee of the

American Society of Nephrology Founded in 1966, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is the world's largest professional society devoted to the study of kidney disease. Composed of over 20,000 physicians and scientists, ASN promotes expert patient care, advances medical ...

, member of the

International Society of Nephrology The International Society of Nephrology (ISN) is an organization concerned with kidney health. Introduction The ISN has over 9,000 professional members from more than 156 countries. In addition, the ISN closely collaborates with over 100 nation ...

’s Membership Committee, member of the Council for the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism ( ISRNM), and member of the American Diabetes Association. Levin was recently awarded the Belding Scribner Trailblazer Award, the Distinguished Nephrology Service Award of the RPA, the AAKP Medal of Excellence, the Fresenius Lifetime Achievement Award, the AAMI Recognition Award, the Garabed Eknoyan Award of the National Kidney Foundation and the Recognition Award for his role as Co-Chairman of the DOQI Advisory Council. Among Levin's most prominent scientific projects are his role as one of the principal investigators of the HEMO study and his role as investigator in the CHOICE Study. The HEMO study was a randomized, controlled, multicenter

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...

which studied the effects of the dose of dialysis and the level of flux of the dialyzer membrane on mortality and morbidity among 1846 patients undergoing maintenance

hemodialysis Hemodialysis, also spelled haemodialysis, or simply dialysis, is a process of purifying the blood of a person whose kidneys are not working normally. This type of dialysis achieves the extracorporeal removal of waste products such as creatinin ...

. The CHOICE (Choices for Healthy Outcomes in Caring for ESRD) Study investigated the relationships between dialysis modality (

peritoneal dialysis Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a type of dialysis which uses the peritoneum in a person's abdomen as the membrane through which fluid and dissolved substances are exchanged with the blood. It is used to remove excess fluid, correct electrolyte pro ...

versus

) and patient survival. Furthermore, Levin is one of the principal investigators of the Frequent Hemodialysis Network (FHN) Study which investigates the effects of daily (six-times weekly) in-center

versus conventional three-times weekly

with respect to

morbidity A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

, mortality and

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

. In 1997 Levin co-founded with Linda L. Donald the Renal Research Institute in

, NY, US. This institute is a joint venture between

Fresenius Medical Care Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA is an American- German healthcare company which provides kidney dialysis services through a network of 4,171 outpatient dialysis centers, serving 345,425 patients. The company primarily treats end-stage renal ...

North America and

. It is an administratively distinct institution and a collaborative effort among a selected group of dialysis facilities with strong ties to academic research institutions. Renal Research Institute trains

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

s from countries all around the world in kidney disease-related

clinical research Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treatm ...

. In 2015, Levin, together with Linda L. Donald, founded Easy Water for Everyone

a USA NGO which utilizes a unique device, based on repurposed hemodialyzers, to remove pathogens of all types, including small viruses from fecally polluted water in Ghana, Uganda and Senegal. Over several years, this effort has progressed to the installation of 35 sites. The technology utilizes polysulfone hemodialyzers with a pore size excluding all pathogens. The prime result of the project has been a very large reduction in the incidence of diarrhea (approximately 70%) in children from weaning to the age of 5. Over 20,000 people now have access of pure water for drinking and for

hand washing Hand washing (or handwashing), also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning one's hands with soap or handwash and water to remove viruses/bacteria/microorganisms, dirt, grease, or other harmful and unwanted substances stuck to the hands ...

. In 2015 Levin began to work as a consultant with responsibility for quality and research in a new organization called Dialyze Directbr>
which has as its purpose the provision of dialysis in nursing homes throughout the United States.

Honors and awards

* 2013 Honorary Professor, Zhenghou University, Henan Province, China * 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award in Hemodialysis Annual Dialysis Conference * 2012 Belding H. Scribner Award * 2012 Joel D. Kopple Award * 2011 Fulbright Senior Specialist, The Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) * 2010 Honorary Chair * 2009 Belding Scribner Trailblazer Award * 2009 Renal Physicians Associates Distinguished Nephrology Service Award * 2008 AAKP Medal of Excellence * 2007 Fresenius Lifetime Achievement Award * 2007 AAMI Recognition Award * 2005 NKF Garabed Eknoyan Award * 2003 Doctor honoris causa, Poland * 1997 Recognition Award, Co-Chairman, DOQI Advisory Council AMGEN salutes the invaluable contribution and leadership towards the Development of the NKF-DOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines * 1992 NIH Award for HEMO and CHOICE studies * 1980 American of Physicians Fellowship

Recent publications

# Sengstock D, Sands RL, Gillespie BW, Zhang X, Kiser M, Eisele G, Vaitkevicius P, Kuhlmann M, Levin NW, Hinderliter A, Rajagopalan S, Saran R: Dominance of traditional cardiovascular risk factors over renal function in predicting arterial stiffness in subjects with chronic kidney disease. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2010 Mar;25(3):853-61 # Kaysen GA, Kotanko P, Zhu F, Sarkar SR, Heymsfield SB, Kuhlmann MK, Dwyer T, Usvyat L, Havel P, Levin NW: Relationship between adiposity and cardiovascular risk factors in prevalent hemodialysis patients. J Ren Nutr. 2009 Sep;19(5):357-64. # Derose SF, Rutkowski MP, Levin NW, Liu IL, Shi JM, Jacobsen SJ, Crooks PW: Incidence of end-stage renal disease and death among insured African Americans with chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int. 2009 Sep;76(6):629-37 # Thijssen S1, Zhu F, Kotanko P, Levin NW: Comment on "higher serum creatinine concentrations in black patients with chronic kidney disease: beyond nutritional status and body composition". Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2009 May;4(5):1011-3. # Carter M1, Zhu F, Kotanko P, Kuhlmann M, Ramirez L, Heymsfield SB, Handelman G, Levin NW: Assessment of body composition in dialysis patients by arm bioimpedance compared to MRI and 40K measurements. Blood Purif. 2009;27(4):330-7. # Wystrychowski G, Kitzler TM, Thijssen S, Usvyat L, Kotanko P, Levin NW: Impact of switch of vascular access type on key clinical and laboratory parameters in chronic haemodialysis patients. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2009;24:2194-2200. # van der Sande FM, Wystrychowski G, Kooman JP, Rosales L, Raimann J, Kotanko P, Carter M, Chan CT, Leunissen KM, Levin NW: Control of core temperature and blood pressure stability during hemodialysis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2009;4:93-98. # Thijssen S, Zhu F, Kotanko P, Levin NW: Comment on "higher serum creatinine concentrations in black patients with chronic kidney disease: beyond nutritional status and body composition". Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2009;4:1011-1013. # Tentori F, Albert JM, Young EW, Blayney MJ, Robinson BM, Pisoni RL, Akiba T, Greenwood RN, Kimata N, Levin NW, Piera LM, Saran R, Wolfe RA, Port FK: The survival advantage for haemodialysis patients taking vitamin D is questioned: findings from the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2009;24:963-972. # Sengstock D, Sands RL, Gillespie BW, Zhang X, Kiser M, Eisele G, Vaitkevicius P, Kuhlmann M, Levin NW, Hinderliter A, Rajagopalan S, Saran R: Dominance of traditional cardiovascular risk factors over renal function in predicting arterial stiffness in subjects with chronic kidney disease. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2009. # Levin NW, Kotanko P, Ronco C: RRI's 11th International Conference on Dialysis, Advances in CKD 2009, emphasizes new developments in both technology and process. Blood Purif 2009;27:5. # Kshirsagar AV, Craig RG, Moss KL, Beck JD, Offenbacher S, Kotanko P, Klemmer PJ, Yoshino M, Levin NW, Yip JK, Almas K, Lupovici EM, Usvyat LA, Falk RJ: Periodontal disease adversely affects the survival of patients with end-stage renal disease. Kidney Int 2009;75:746-751. # Kotanko P, Thijssen S, Usvyat L, Tashman A, Kruse A, Huber C, Levin NW: Temporal evolution of clinical parameters before death in dialysis patients: a new concept. Blood Purif 2009;27:38-47. # Kaysen GA, Kotanko P, Zhu F, Sarkar SR, Heymsfield SB, Kuhlmann MK, Dwyer T, Usvyat L, Havel P, Levin NW: Relationship between adiposity and cardiovascular risk factors in prevalent hemodialysis patients. J Ren Nutr 2009;19:357-364. # Derose SF, Rutkowski MP, Levin NW, Liu IL, Shi JM, Jacobsen SJ, Crooks PW: Incidence of end-stage renal disease and death among insured African Americans with chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int 2009;76:629-637. # Carter M, Zhu F, Kotanko P, Kuhlmann M, Ramirez L, Heymsfield SB, Handelman G, Levin NW: Assessment of body composition in dialysis patients by arm bioimpedance compared to MRI and 40K measurements. Blood Purif 2009;27:330-337. # Zhu F, Leonard EF, Levin NW: Extracellular fluid redistribution during hemodialysis: bioimpedance measurement and model. Physiol Meas 2008;29:S491-501. # Zhu F, Kuhlmann MK, Kotanko P, Seibert E, Leonard EF, Levin NW: A method for the estimation of hydration state during hemodialysis using a calf bioimpedance technique. Physiol Meas 2008;29:S503-516. # Thijssen S, Kotanko P, Levin NW: What are the potential solutions for the problems with current methods for quantifying hemodialysis?: volume and large/protein-bound toxins. Semin Dial 2008;21:409-411. # Thijssen S, Kitzler TM, Levin NW: Salt: its role in chronic kidney disease. J Ren Nutr 2008;18:18-26. # Ronco C, Levin NW: Dialysis: Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease. Preface. Blood Purif 2008;26:5. # Richter A, Kuhlmann MK, Seibert E, Kotanko P, Levin NW, Handelman GJ: Vitamin C deficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism in chronic haemodialysis patients. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2008;23:2058-2063. # Raimann J, Liu L, Ulloa D, Kotanko P, Levin NW: Consequences of overhydration and the need for dry weight assessment. Contrib Nephrol 2008;161:99-107. # Raimann J, Liu L, Tyagi S, Levin NW, Kotanko P: A fresh look at dry weight. Hemodial Int 2008;12:395-405. # Kuhlmann MK, Levin NW: How common is malnutrition in ESRD? New approaches to diagnosis of malnutrition. Blood Purif 2008;26:49-53. # Kuhlmann MK, Levin NW: Potential interplay between nutrition and inflammation in dialysis patients. Contrib Nephrol 2008;161:76-82. # Kruse A, Uehlinger DE, Gotch F, Kotanko P, Levin NW: Red blood cell lifespan, erythropoiesis and hemoglobin control. Contrib Nephrol 2008;161:247-254. # Kotanko P, Thijssen S, Levin NW: Association between erythropoietin responsiveness and body composition in dialysis patients. Blood Purif 2008;26:82-89. # Kotanko P, Levin NW, Zhu F: Current state of bioimpedance technologies in dialysis. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2008;23:808-812. # Kaysen GA, Kotanko P, Zhu F, Sarkar SR, Heymsfield SB, Kuhlmann MK, Levin NW: Estimation of adipose pools in hemodialysis patients from anthropometric measures. J Ren Nutr 2008;18:473-478. # Hirachan P, Thijssen S, Levin NW, Kotanko P: Body composition and outcomes in chronic hemodialysis patients. Contrib Nephrol 2008;161:108-114. # Handelman GJ, Levin NW: Iron and anemia in human biology: a review of mechanisms. Heart Fail Rev 2008;13:393-404. # Daugirdas JT, Levin NW, Kotanko P, Depner TA, Kuhlmann MK, Chertow GM, Rocco MV: Comparison of proposed alternative methods for rescaling dialysis dose: resting energy expenditure, high metabolic rate organ mass, liver size, and body surface area. Semin Dial 2008;21:377-384. # Daugirdas JT, Depner TA, Greene T, Kuhlmann MK, Levin NW, Chertow GM, Rocco MV: Surface-area-normalized Kt/V: a method of rescaling dialysis dose to body surface area-implications for different-size patients by gender. Semin Dial 2008;21:415-421. # Jochen G. Raimann, Joseph Marfo Boaheng, Philipp Narh, Harrison Matti, Seth Johnson, Linda Donald, Hongbin Zhang, Friedrich Port, Nathan W. Levin: Public health benefits of water purification using recycled hemodialyzers in developing countries. Scientific Reports Nature Research (2020) 10:11101.

External links

Renal Research Institute: official homepageList of current PubMed entries for Nathan W. LevinInterview with Dr. Nathan W. Levin
talking about his career, developments and experiences.

Easy Water for Everyone: homepage

Dialyze Direct: homepage {{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Nathan W. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American nephrologists Northwestern University faculty University of Michigan faculty