Marva Moxey-Mims, M.D. '83, a leading expert in chronic kidney disease and glomerular disease who has conceptualized and overseen multicenter clinical studies aimed at improving chronic kidney disease treatment, has been named Chief of Pediatric Nephrology at Children’s National Health System.
Dr. Moxey-Mims comes to Children’s National from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health where she served as Deputy Director for clinical science and oversaw a research portfolio that included clinical trials for kidney disease and genitourinary dysfunction in adults and children. As Pediatric Nephrology Division Chief, Dr. Moxey-Mims plans to add new staff and restructure a division already ranked among the nation’s leaders by U.S. News & World Report in order to carve out dedicated time for research and improve care for children with kidney disease.
”Children’s National is honored to welcome Dr. Moxey-Mims as the new leader for our talented nephrology team,” says Robin Steinhorn, M.D., senior vice president of the Center for Hospital-Based Specialties. “She brings unparalleled expertise in this field, is a member of a number of influential national committees and has authored more than 90 scientific publications, including peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Under her guidance, Pediatric Nephrology at Children’s is well-positioned to continue to lead the nation in clinical care and research.”
“I want to inspire the division,” Dr. Moxey-Mims says. “I want the faculty to be happy in their work here and to look forward to coming to work every day. I want them to have enough time to pursue their academic interests, so clinicians not only continue to provide excellent patient care but also can conduct research. All of the staff has potential projects in mind; it’s just a matter of finding the time to do them.”
From a pragmatic standpoint, Children’s pediatric nephrologists will start with what is feasible: Continuing and expanding current cross-disciplinary research projects.
“There are some research projects that will be important to pursue, but we just don’t have the building blocks in place right now to move in that specific direction,” she says. “However, continuing ongoing collaborations with our colleagues in neonatology, oncology, hematology and urology are reasonable places to start. I agree with the cliché that success breeds success. If we have an established collaboration and can build on it, that is how we start expanding our research enterprise.”
To that end, the division is in the early stage of joining an existing consortium that is studying four types of glomerular disease, conditions caused by varying mechanisms that often lead to kidney failure. “Information that is gathered will inform care going forward,” she says. “Part of what is being done in these studies is obtaining a better understanding of how disease progresses in different groups of children and adults and quantifying the impact of varying treatment approaches. It’s very exciting for Children’s National to be a new player in this.”
