Dr. Katie Westreich, MD
Nephrology and Hypertension
University of North Carolina
What inspired you to pursue the field of nephrology?
The kidney is, in my opinion, the smartest organ in the body! I fell in love with it when I studied it in medical school, particularly looking at slides of renal pathology.
When I did my pediatric nephrology rotation, I learned that pediatric nephrologists have long-term, close relationships with their patients and their families, and get to watch them grow and do well, especially kiddos who get a transplant after kidney failure or having to be on dialysis for a while.
We get to see babies, young kids, adolescents, and near grown ups, and enjoy the variety. We get to see kids do well in an outpatient setting, as well as take care of very ill children in the intensive care unit, and do kidney biopsies (procedures are fun!). The job has a lot of variety, is intellectually challenging, and naturally draws a smart, engaged subgroup of doctors who are usually very nice, kind, dorks who are lovely to be around and work with!
What are some methods of maintaining kidney health that people may overlook?
I think it’s not well known how much the kidneys can suffer from all the downstream effects of obesity. High blood pressure and diabetes often result, and these two diagnoses are the leading causes of kidney failure in the united states. Staying fit and a healthy weight is very important for kidney health.
Have there been any notable innovations in the last few years that have altered how research is conducted in nephrology?
Zebrafish have recently become an animal model utilized in research for many human diseases, including kidney diseases.
For people interested in pursuing the field of nephrology, are there any specific topics that you would recommend as potentially interesting?
Anatomy and physiology will teach you about the kidney. After studying the physiology of the kidney, you’ll know if you like it or not! Also if you want to practice nephrology in North Carolina, medical Spanish will really be helpful!
Has your career been affected in any way due to the COVID-19 Pandemic? If so, how?
Everyone in healthcare has had their career affected by COVID-19. My patients have been sick with it. I work from home more. My kids are schooling from home and I only have about half the childcare that I used to have, so I can’t work as much as I used to, so the stress level is high. Anytime my patients need to come to the hospital for a kidney biopsy they need a negative COVID test first, which delays biopsies in a way that I think impacts patient care.