Faculty Endowments

kidney in hands

Our faculty members hold endowed chairs, professorships, and funds thanks to the generous contributions of our donors. These endowments support us in our goals to prevent, detect, and treat kidney disease.

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Belding H. Scribner Endowed Chair in Medicine

Rajnish Mehrotra, MD

Rajnish Mehrotra, MD, MS 

Professor
Division Head
Current holder of the Chair

The Belding H. Scribner Endowed Chair in Medicine was developed in honor of our first division head, Dr. Belding Hibbard Scribner. Dr. Scibner Belding Scribner, MDbelieved strongly that dialysis should be done primarily in a setting outside the hospital, should never be done for profit, and should be universally available. Including the Scribner Shunt, none of his technical developments in dialysis that followed were ever patented.

In 1962, together with Dr. James Havilland, then President of the King County Medical Society, Dr. Scribner developed the first non-profit, outpatient dialysis facility in the United States, the Seattle Artificial Kidney Center, which has since grown into the still-non-profit Northwest Kidney Centers with satellite facilities that dialyze thousands of patients in the Seattle/Puget Sound area.

Previous holders of the Chair: 
William G. Couser, MD 

Stuart Shankland, MD, MBA, FRCP

 


 Joseph W. Eschbach, MD Endowed Chair in Kidney Research 

Ian de Boer, MD

Ian de Boer, MD, MS 

Professor
Current holder of the Chair

The Joseph W. Eschbach, MD Endowed Chair in Kidney Research was created to recognize Dr. Joseph Eschbach’s Joseph Eschbach, MDenduring contributions to the well-being of people with kidney disease. A clinical professor of medicine at the UW for 45 years, Eschbach discovered and helped develop a hormone treatment for anemia in kidney patients that has proven nearly 100 percent effective.

In 2007 the Northwest Kidney Centers and the biotechnology company Kirin-Amgen honored him by establishing the Joseph W. Eschbach Endowed Chair in Kidney Research at the UW with a $ 1.5 million gift. “This is the greatest honor of my career, he said upon learning of the recognition.

Previous holder of the Chair: 
Jonathan Himmelfarb, MD

 

Arthur Stach Family Endowed Professorship

Nisha Bansal, MD

Nisha Bansal, MD, MAS

Professor
Inaugural holder of the Professorship

The Arthur Stach Family Endowed Professorship was established to recognize excellence in research and teaching by a mid-career faculty member in the Division of Nephrology. 

Art Stach was born and raised in Snohomish, Washington. He had a great love for the land and spent most of his life farming in the Snohomish Valley. He was also employed by Scott Paper Company for 25 years. He had a personal interest in enhancing the quality of life for people living with kidney failure. For this reason, he made a generous donation through his will to the UW Division of Nephrology to support faculty in nephrology.

 


David S. And Nayda Utterberg Endowed Professorship in Nephrology in Honor of Dr. Rajnish Mehrotra

Bryan Kestenbaum, MD

Bryan Kestenbaum, MD, MS

Professor
Current holder of the Professorship

The David S. And Nayda Utterberg Endowed Professorship in Nephrology in Honor of Dr. Rajnish Mehrotra would not have been possible without the generous support of David and Nayda UtterbergNayda Utterberg and her late husband, David Utterberg. David's noteworthy contributions to kidney failure treatment included the StreamLine blood tubing and MasterGuard safety needle products.

David's relentless pursuit of excellence significantly changed the medical field and positively impacted the lives of healthcare professionals and patients worldwide. His pioneering work led to more than one hundred United States and foreign patents related to blood treatment and safety medical devices. 

Previous holder of the Professorship: 
Rajnish Mehrotra, MD, MS

 


The Bill Peckham Endowed Fund for Person-Centered Care

Ann OHare, MD

Ann M. O'Hare, MD

Professor
Inaugural holder of the Fund

The Bill Peckham Endowed Fund for Person-Centered Care was established in the loving memory of Bill Peckham. Bill developed Bill Peckhamkidney failure in his early 20s and spent decades on home hemodialysis. He was a strong advocate for patient engagement, he served on the Board of Trustees of the Northwest Kidney Centers, including a term as Chair, and catalyzed the founding of the Kidney Research Institute at the University of Washington.

During his years on dialysis, Bill visited 34 countries on five continents, dialyzing in 23 of them. Bill said often, “Dialysis should not take over our lives. Dialysis should enable us to live the life we were meant to live.” While he passed away in 2019,  he continues to be an inspiration.

Joyce F. Jackson, CEO Emeritus of Northwest Kidney Centers, was instrumental in establishing this endowment in Bill's name.

 

Make a gift

Thank you for supporting our work in kidney research, patient care, and nephrology education!

Your support allows UW Nephrology to advance life-changing medical breakthroughs, provide exceptional care for everyone in our community, and train the next generation of physicians and researchers.

To learn more about giving opportunities, including endowments, don't hesitate to get in touch with Helen Scarlett, Director for Philanthropy, UW Medicine Advancement, 206.685.8692, helenvs@uw.edu