Karen de Wolski appointed Nephrology Section Head at UWMC-Northwest

Dr. Karen de Wolski, assistant professor (Nephrology) has been appointed the new Nephrology Section Head at the University of Washington Medical Center-Northwest, effective July 1.

In this role, she will oversee the establishment of inpatient and outpatient care of patients with kidney diseases at the NW campus, strengthen our capacity to provide care to patients undergoing long-term dialysis in North King County and South Snohomish county, integrate the clinical work on the NW campus into the academic mission of the division, and support the professional development of faculty based primarily at the NW campus.

de Wolski has long been a part of the UW community. A native of Massachusetts, she graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Biology from Claremont McKenna College and completed her medical education at Quinnipiac University.

She joined the University of Washington in July 2018 as an intern, completed her nephrology fellowship at UW, and subsequently joined the faculty in 2023.

She is an outstanding clinician, a gifted educator, and an innovative leader. Since July 2024, she has served as the divisional liaison for medical student and resident education, expanding educational opportunities for learners at UW. In 2024, she was awarded a grant from the American Heart Association to apply gaming principles to teach diuretic management of hypervolemia.

Recently, she has been selected by the American Society Nephrology as one of the inaugural participants for the “Fostering Innovative Leaders in Nephrology and Dialysis” program.

de Wolski takes the helm from Dr. Fionnuala Cormack who has led the NW section at UWMC since 2019 and was instrumental in establishing the partnership with Urology that has helped provide world-class interdisciplinary care to patients with kidney stones.