Vasantha Jotwani, MD

Biography

I am a clinician-investigator at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Medical Center, and my goal is to reduce the burden of kidney disease by identifying and intervening on kidney injury at the earliest stages. I am the recipient of a NHLBI-funded R01 to investigate the intersection of mitochondrial health, cardiovascular risk and blood pressure targets in hypertensive adults, and a NIDDK-funded K23 award focused on urinary biomarkers for detection of drug-induced nephrotoxicity in persons with and without HIV infection. My initial work demonstrated the potential for urinary biomarkers to capture distinct types of kidney damage and to prognosticate long-term kidney risk in HIV-infected individuals. With our collaborators, we built a panel of urinary biomarkers to detect kidney damage across the nephron; these markers have been studied in various settings as indicators of acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. My work made the novel contribution that biomarkers specific for tubular dysfunction and injury can be used to identify tubular toxicity from antiretroviral medications, both in HIV-infected individuals and in HIV-uninfected individuals receiving pre-exposure prophylaxis. Additionally, I am a co-Investigator for an ongoing NIDDK-funded R01 that focuses on urinary biomarkers of kidney tubular health in SPRINT participants with CKD. I also serve as a co-Investigator for a NIA-funded R01 that aims to investigate the role of mitochondrial health in acute and chronic kidney diseases and a NIDDK-funded R01 that will examine the impact of mitochondrial health on kidney function in an exercise trial. 

I am dedicated to my clinical practice as a nephrologist, and I care for patients at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and UCSF Parnassus Medical Center. At the SFVAMC, I serve on the inpatient nephrology consult service and I provide outpatient nephrology consultation services for referring physicians through the SFVA Renal clinic. I also provide outpatient nephrology consultation services through the UCSF Parnassus Nephrology practice, where I have held an ambulatory panel since 2014. I manage a small dialysis practice at Satellite Health and Wellbound for my patients who have progressed to end-stage kidney disease. 

Finally, I serve as the SFVAMC Site Director for the UCSF Nephrology Fellowship program. In this capacity, I oversee the nephrology fellows on all clinical, elective and research rotations at the SFVAMC. I am responsible for design, organization, and implementation of the weekly fellowship lecture series, and I chair the Nephrology Fellowship Program Evaluation Committee. In July of 2021, we launched a wellness program for the UCSF Nephrology Fellowship program. Developed with input from fellows and with the support of division leadership, our multi-pronged program includes social events to improve fellows' sense of connection, monthly tips that address health and well-being, and monthly recognition of 2-3 fellows to appreciate their efforts.