Deidra C. Crews MD, ScM is an American nephrologist and epidemiologist. She is the Deputy Director of Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity and a Professor of Medicine at

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, th ...

. Crews research focuses on social drivers of disparities in kidney disease and hypertension.

Early life and education

Crews completed her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in Biology from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

before earning her medical degree at the

Saint Louis University School of Medicine Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a private school, private, Jesuit medical school. Part of Saint Louis University, the institution was established in 1836. The school has an enrollment of around 700, with about 550 faculty members and ...

. Upon graduating, she received the 2003 John H. Gladney, M.D. Diversity Award. Following her MD, Crews completed her nephrology

fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in clinical epidemiology degree at

. As a senior postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins, Crews was selected as a 2010-2014 Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program scholar, sponsored by the

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...

Career

In 2009, Crews joined the Division of Nephrology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as an instructor. Early in her career she used data from Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Lifespan Study to investigate why African Americans with incomes below the poverty line have a significantly higher risk of chronic kidney disease than their white counterparts. She then collaborated with L. Ebony Boulware to develop interventions and strategies to improve dietary choices in the African-American population to help prevent chronic kidney disease. Their work was recognized with an inaugural President's Research Recognition Award in 2012. As an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

of nephrology, Crews continued to receive recognition for her work health, environmental, genetic, historical, cultural, and socioeconomic factors impacting African-American health, longevity, and quality of life. In April 2013, she was named the recipient of the second annual Ernest Just Prize. She also received a K23 award from the

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is part of the United States National Institutes of Health, which in turn is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. NIDDK is approximately the fifth-larges ...

for her project "Race, Socioeconomic Status, Diet and Chronic Kidney Disease" through 2017. The following year, Crews was one of many Johns Hopkins faculty members honored with the 2014 Diversity Recognition Award. Outside of Johns Hopkins, Crews was appointed to the

National Kidney Foundation The National Kidney Foundation, Inc. (NKF) is a voluntary nonprofit health organization in the United States, headquartered in New York City. Its mission is to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, improve the health and well-being of indiv ...

of Maryland Board of Directors in June 2015. She was also inducted into the

Alpha Omega Alpha Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society () is an honor society in the field of medicine. It has active chapters in 132 Liaison Committee on Medical Education, LCME-accredited medical schools in the United States and Lebanon. It annually elects ove ...

Honor Medical Society in 2017 and appointed to 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 r ...

's executive committee in 2018. At the same time, Crews earned recognition from the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

as an Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine Scholar for three years. In further recognition of her work, Crews received Johns Hopkins President's Frontier Award as someone who is "poised to break new ground and be leaders in their fields." The following year, she was also named one of the inaugural recipients of the American Society of Nephrology's Distinguished Leader Midcareer Award. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Crews co-authored articles examining how the novel

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

affects those with

acute kidney injury Acute kidney injury (AKI), previously called acute renal failure (ARF), is a sudden decrease in renal function, kidney function that develops within seven days, as shown by an increase in serum creatinine or a decrease in urine output, or both. ...

. She also sat on a task force that recommended U.S. laboratories discontinue a long-standing clinical standard that factors a patient's race into kidney function tests. Crews' research was recognized at a national level with an election to the

American Society for Clinical Investigation The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), established in 1908, is one of the oldest and most respected medical honor societies in the United States. Organization and purpose The ASCI is an honorary society to which more than 2,800 p ...

in 2020. In January 2021, Crews stepped down as associate vice chair for diversity and inclusion. She then led a successful application for the Mid-Atlantic Center for Cardiometabolic Health Equity alongside Lisa Cooper. The center's aim is to address cardiometabolic health disparities among socially disadvantaged populations across Maryland by testing the effectiveness of several evidence-based strategies. Crews was elected to the

in 2023.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crews, Deidra Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American nephrologists American women epidemiologists American epidemiologists African-American women physicians 21st-century American women physicians 21st-century American physicians 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American physicians Members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation University of Virginia alumni Saint Louis University alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty Johns Hopkins University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the National Academy of Medicine Physician-scientists