The Renal Research Institute

01/19/2026

Today, we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His commitment to justice, equity, and service continues to inspire progress across communities, science, and society.

At Renal Research Institute, we reflect on the responsibility we share to advance knowledge, improve lives, and work toward a more equitable future for all.

01/05/2026

In this episode of Frontiers in Kidney Medicine and Biointelligence, Len Usvyat sits down with Felicia Speed, PhD, LMSW, Vice President of Social Work Services at Fresenius Medical Care, for a powerful conversation about aging, end-of-life realities, and how depression affects people living with kidney disease.

Felicia shares stories from more than 26 years in nephrology social work and reminds us that behind every data point is a person navigating grief, hope, fear, and the desire to leave a legacy. She also explains the difference between grief and depression, the emotional weight of caregiving, and why listening may be the most important skill we have in patient care.

This episode offers a compassionate look at the human experience of chronic illness and what it truly means to support patients and families through some of life’s hardest moments.

Watch the full conversation here.

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Llhwjn14dIs
🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6kzqKjkMOjyRyFINqsQHQ6

01/01/2026

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗲

As we welcome 2026, we remain committed to advancing science, strengthening collaboration, and creating meaningful impact for patients around the world.

Wishing you a bright, healthy, and hopeful start to the year ahead.

12/22/2025

Missed our latest Frontiers conversation?

Discover how health coaching helps patients take charge of their well-being—from small daily choices to sustainable behavior change.

🎙️ Join Len Usvyat and Ingrid Adelsberger as they discuss the power of coaching, exercise, and nutrition in managing chronic conditions.

🎙️ Tune in to learn how small, consistent actions can create lasting impact.

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vBke2GaxnEM

🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6kzqKjkMOjyRyFINqsQHQ6

12/19/2025

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 — 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿?

In the closing session of the ERA Symposium, Drs. 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗸 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗿 and 𝗔𝗺𝘂𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗳𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 sat down with patients 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗵𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗲𝗿 and 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗻𝗮 to discuss how technology, data, and AI are shaping the patient experience.

Their conversation revealed great insights on trust, transparency, and the enduring importance of human connection in care.

🎥 Watch the full patient panel on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vXUi16X5VLc

In this closing session of the ERA Symposium 2025, Drs. Hendrik Dannemeyer and Amun Hofmann are joined by patients Klaus Pohnitzer and Nicole Cihelna to disc...

12/17/2025

𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀—𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼.

In the ERA Symposium Afternoon Q&A, Dr. Lili Chan (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) led a discussion with Drs. Amun Hofmann, Emel Hamilton, Dr. med. Hendrik Dannemeyer, Martin Holler, and Carlo Reverberi on the evolving relationship between humans and machines in healthcare.

From trust and training to the balance between automation and human judgment, the panel explored how AI can enhance, rather than diminish, clinical expertise.

🎥 Watch the full discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CJy2TdBD9k8

Moderated by Dr. Lili Chan, Associate Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, this ERA Symposium Afternoon Q&A brings together leading voic...

12/15/2025

𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲.

At the ERA Symposium, Dr. Emel Hamilton, Global Leader of Clinical Systems at Fresenius Medical Care, examined the realities behind AI integration in medicine.

Her session, “The Challenges of IT and AI Integration,” reveals why 85% of AI projects never make it beyond the pilot stage and what it really takes—clean data, connected systems, and clinician trust—to make AI useful at the bedside.

🎥 Watch the full discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4bosUrazLUo

At the ERA Symposium 2025, Dr. Emel Hamilton, Global Leader of Clinical Systems at Fresenius Medical Care, breaks down what’s really holding artificial intel...

12/12/2025

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.

At the ERA Symposium, 𝗗𝗿. 𝗔𝗺𝘂𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻, vascular surgeon at Klinik Ottakring, shared his unique journey as a clinician and coder—exploring how data science and AI can reshape vascular access care.

In his talk, “The Clinician-Coder Perspective: Data Science in Vascular Access Care,” Dr. Hofmann discusses the opportunities and challenges of integrating data science into everyday clinical practice, from improving prediction models to rethinking how clinicians and data scientists collaborate.

🎥 Watch the full discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bfKuniux6Fg

At the ERA Symposium 2025, Dr. Amun Hofmann, vascular and endovascular surgeon at Klinik Ottakring in Vienna, explores how clinicians can use data science to...

12/10/2025

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲?

At the ERA Symposium, Dr. Hendrik Dannemeyer, Medical Director at NephroCare Hamburg-Altona GmbH, shared how learning Python helped transform patient management.

His presentation, “How Nephrologists Can Leverage Coding & Python to Improve Patient Care,” explores how writing code can help solve real-world challenges—from optimizing outpatient scheduling to improving prioritization and digital literacy within clinical teams.

🎥 Watch the full discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JnQ8aoE_ZZY

At the ERA Symposium 2025, Dr. Hendrik Dannemeyer, Medical Director at NephroCare Hamburg-Altona GmbH, demonstrates how learning to code can directly improve...

12/09/2025

From all of us at the Renal Research Institute, Happy Holidays.

Our team came together to share a simple message and reflect on the work ahead as we continue turning scientific insights into meaningful impact for patients worldwide.

Wishing you a joyful, healthy start to the new year, and thank you for being part of the RRI community.

From all of us at the Renal Research Institute, Happy Holidays.This year’s video features members of the RRI team, followed by a message from Len Usvyat high...

12/08/2025

𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁.

At the ERA Symposium, Dr. Carlo Reverberi, Professor at Università Milano – Bicocca and the Milan Center for Neuroscience, explored the human factor in AI-assisted medicine.

His presentation, “AI Ergonomics: The Human Factor in AI-Assisted Medicine,” examined how clinicians integrate AI advice with their own judgment—and why overconfidence, variability, and cognitive bias can impact outcomes. The talk underscores that better results in AI-assisted care depend as much on human insight as on the algorithms themselves.

🎥 Watch the full discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Db0paQn4EFg

At the ERA Symposium 2025, Dr. Carlo Reverberi, Professor at Università Milano–Bicocca and Milan Center for Neuroscience, explores how cognitive science and ...

12/05/2025

𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲-𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀.

At the ERA Symposium, Dr. Martin Holler, Professor at Idea_Lab, University of Graz, demonstrated how machine learning and large-scale data collection can improve emergency care for cardiac arrest patients.

His session, “How Large-Scale Data Collection and Machine Learning Shape Quality Management in Emergency Care,” highlights how defibrillator and physiological data are being used to detect chest compressions, predict circulatory states, and evaluate treatment performance, all independent of proprietary software.

🎥 Watch the full discussion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qOIgZnnYJnI

At the ERA Symposium 2025, Dr. Martin Holler, Professor at Idea_Lab, University of Graz, presents innovative research on using large-scale real-world data an...