Suzanne Watnick recognized with Shaul G. Massry Distinguished Lecture Award

Dr. Suzanne Watnick, professor (Nephrology) is the recipient of the 2024 Shaul G. Massry Distinguished Lecture Award from the National Kidney Foundation.

This lectureship was established in 1996 to honor Dr. Shaul G. Massry for his scientific achievements and his contribution to the kidney healthcare community and to the National Kidney Foundation.

Dr. Watnick is a practicing nephrologist at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, specializing in care for those with chronic kidney disease, including end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).

She has extensive experience in the oversight of provision of care for ESKD patients both at the VA and in Washington state regarding all aspects of care delivery, having served as the Chief Medical Officer at Northwest Kidney Centers until 2023.

She has served on several national advisory boards, including the VA Renal Field Advisory Committee, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Policy and Advocacy Committee, and the ASN Quality Committee, and the ASN Home Dialysis Task Force, addressing legislative and regulatory policy concerns. She has worked on many quality and payment issues related to dialysis, such as the rollout of bundled care to present day issues around value-based care programs and implementation of new guidelines.

She continues to teach medical residents and nephrology fellows about dialysis care, previously serving as Nephrology Program Director at OHSU for over a decade. Also, she has served as the primary liaison for research operations between the Kidney Research Institute and Northwest Kidney Centers.