Departmental Division Director, Division of Nephrology

On behalf of the entire Department of Medicine, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Heather Reich as the incoming Department Division Director, Nephrology, effective July 1, 2022. We are grateful to Dr. Rulan Parekh for her leadership.

Dr. Parekh assumed the role of the first female University of Toronto Division Director (DDD) in Nephrology in 2019, and leaves sizeable shoes to fill as she focuses on her work as Vice-President of Academics, responsible for Research, Education and Innovation at Women’s College Hospital. During her tenure as DDD she shepherded the Division through the unprecedented challenges that the pandemic placed on nephrology learners, educators and researchers and made an indelible mark on Toronto nephrology. 

Dr. Parekh set herself apart by being exceptionally generous with her time to trainees and junior faculty, and supported the promotion of Division members both within the university and internationally through successful nomination of faculty members for important awards recognizing their accomplishments. She has fostered scholarship and research engagement through highly successful activities such as annual research cafes, and city-wide round celebration of promotions. She bolstered Division morale through simple pleasures such as “team nephrology” jackets and safe social gatherings. The entire nephrology division is grateful for her contributions and dedication, particularly during these challenging recent years.     

Dr. Reich is a nephrologist at the UHN/Mount Sinai and a Senior Scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute. She is an Associate Professor and holds the Gabor Zellerman Chair in nephrology research at the University of Toronto. She is an internationally recognized clinician and researcher in glomerulonephritis (GN), with a focus on IgA nephropathy and the mechanisms associated with disease progression.  Her work has been consistently supported by peer-reviewed funding from agencies including the Kidney Foundation, the CIHR and NIH. 

Dr. Reich co-directs the Toronto GN Registry, and established the first national network to study GN. She has contributed to >120 peer-reviewed publications, including the International Society of Nephrology guidelines for treatment of GN. She is passionate about educating the next generation of clinicians and researchers and she served as co-director of the American Society of Nephrology annual GN course. She is most proud of the cohort of post-graduate trainees she has mentored to establish independent careers as expert GN clinicians and researchers across Canada, the US and in international centres including India, Thailand and Australia.  

My heartiest congratulations to Dr. Reich, and many thanks to Dr. Parekh for all her work.

Sincerely,

Dr. Gillian Hawker, Sir John and Lady Eaton Professor and Chair