16/08/2023
“Paying attention to improving the welfare of children with kidney disease and their families, especially in peripheral areas”
Dr. Oded Volovelsky, Director of Hadassah’s Pediatric Nephrology Unit, was elected Chairman of the Israeli Pediatric Nephrology Association, replacing Professor Danny Lotan of Sheba Tel Hashomer
The Israeli Pediatric Nephrology Association members elected Dr. Oded Volovelsky as chairman by a majority vote, along with the Association’s secretary, Dr. Ruty Schreiber from Soroka Hospital and Dr. Hadas Shasha Levski from the Galilee Medical Center.
Dr. Oded Volovelsky, 44, a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, completed his pediatric residency at Hadassah Medical Center and his specialist residency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (USA). Dr. Volovelsky completed his doctoral studies during his residency as part of Hadassah Medical Center’s research-physician program.
After completing his clinical and research residency in Cincinnati, Dr. Volovelsky established a world-renowned research laboratory focused primarily on finding ways to prevent kidney disease in adulthood, already in the early stages, and researching kidney disease in children with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. Dr. Oded Volovelsky’s research includes many international collaborations, and recently he won a joint research grant with Monash University in Australia in the study of the prevention of chronic kidney diseases in premature babies.
The clinical unit at Hadassah currently includes Dr. Naomi Isler and Dr. Ari Simckes, and focuses on treating the patient as a whole and not just his illness. The clinics at the center work in cooperation with experts in various fields in the hospital, such as kidney stones, urinary tract malformations, oncological diseases and neurocutaneous diseases clinics, including the multidisciplinary TSC Center. In addition, the unit leads in treating unstable children in intensive care units in collaboration with Dr. Assaf Mandel and Dr. Uri Pollak from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
The Association of Pediatric Nephrology serves as the professional umbrella organization coordinating doctors treating infants, children, and adolescents with kidney diseases in Israel. This field includes, among other things, the treatment of acute and chronic kidney failure, malformations in the structure of the kidney and urinary system, and congenital or
acquired diseases in the kidney, evaluation and treatment of kidney stones and urinary tract infections, hypertension and other diseases. These physicians constitute the central backbone in the treatment of children in the various hospitals, including clinics, neonatal and pediatric intensive care units and general, oncological and surgical pediatric departments. The profession, which began to develop only in the second half of the twentieth century, underwent significant changes with the implementation of innovative molecular and genetic tests and the use of disease-oriented biological therapies such as hyperoxaluria, hemolytic uremic syndrome and others. In addition, in recent years, the knowledge and capabilities of dialysis and kidney transplant treatment have advanced significantly, including dialysis treatments for unstable infants and children hospitalized in intensive care units.
“The field of pediatric nephrology has undergone a tremendous transformation in recent years, based on new genetic and molecular tests, providing more precise treatments for rare kidney diseases as well. In addition, advances in dialysis treatment capabilities for unstable low-weight children, including newborns, are creating an exciting revolution in the field.” I am excited and proud of this new appointment,” says Dr. Volovelsky, “My ambition is to advance the field of pediatric nephrology in Israel and in general together with my colleagues, while creating clinical collaborations and studies between centers in Israel and around the world. Improving the welfare of children with kidney disease and their families, especially in peripheral areas, is of the utmost importance to the elected committee and me.”
