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The ISN Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) fosters leadership potential to drive change in global kidney health. Since its launch, the ELP has become a springboard for early-career nephrologists and researchers to lead initiatives, shape policy, and influence the future of nephrology both locally and globally. 

Applications for the ISN Emerging Leaders Program are open! Apply by September 15! 

Here is just a small sample of how ELP members are now shaping the future of local and global kidney care through leadership roles. 

Cohort 1 

Anna Francis (Australia): Championing multidisciplinary leadership 

The scope of Anna Francis’ work highlights how the ELP nurtures multidisciplinary leadership. She is the president of the Australian and New Zealand Pediatric Nephrology Association, a councilor of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology, and a contributor to the KDIGO 2024 guidelines on the evaluation and management of chronic kidney disease. She was also named an ISN-Global Kidney Health Atlas (ISN-GKHA)Fellow for 2023–2024, in recognition of her contributions to global kidney health data and capacity building. She also contributed significantly to the joint international consensus statement “Chronic kidney disease and the global public health agenda: an international consensus,” which laid important groundwork for the WHO kidney disease resolution. 

Vivek Kumar (India): Driving research and local implementation  

Vivek Kumar is a member of the ISN South Asia Regional Board and the ISN Clinical Research Program and served on the ISN Nominating Committee (2023–2024). He also serves on the Scientific Committee of the Indian Society of Nephrology.  

As a direct example of the ELP’s influence on research funding and local implementation of ISN tools, he secured two national grants as lead principal investigator from the Indian Council of Medical Research: one to establish a multi-centric clinical trial on metformin use in polycystic kidney disease, and another to implement the ISN Acute Kidney Injury Toolkit at community health centers. 

Cohort 2 

Peace Bagasha (Uganda): Expanding kidney care systems 

Peace Bagasha’s work has a national impact and aligns with ISN’s global initiatives. She leads the nephrology unit at Mulago Hospital and plays a pivotal role in Uganda’s new transplant program. Her involvement as the country lead for Uganda in the ISN-supported Capacity Accelerator Regional Empowerment in Nephrology (CARE-NEPH) East Africa Project is helping to build sustainable kidney care systems in the region. She also serves as a board member of the Uganda Kidney Foundation, where she is responsible for research. 

Maria Pippias (UK): Advancing sustainability in kidney care 

Maria Pippias is a member of the National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) Environmental Sustainability in Transplantation (ESIT) group. She has delivered several talks on sustainable kidney care, including a plenary at the 2024 ISPD conference in Dubai, and presentations at ERA 2024 and AFRAN 2025. She is the author of an invited review on sustainable peritoneal dialysis, currently under review in Peritoneal Dialysis International. 

Maria actively contributes to ISN initiatives as a member of the Western Europe Regional Board and has played a key role in developing the ISN–SharE-RR Toolkit, offering guidance on establishing renal registries worldwide. In recognition of her contributions to global kidney health data and capacity building, she was named an ISN-GKHA Fellow for 2023–2024. 

If you’re ready to take the next step in shaping kidney care in your region — and globally, apply to the ELP now! 

The ELP is supported by unrestricted educational grants from AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim.