Pranav Garimella, MD

Dr. Garimella is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Nephrology at UC San Diego. He is the founding Director of the UCSD PKD Center of Excellence as well as the Director of Acute Dialysis Services. He joined the American Kidney Fund as Chief Medical Officer in January 2025 as AKF’s first CMO. He received his training in India, Chicago, and completed his fellowship at Tufts University, training in clinical nephrology with a focus on polycystic kidney disease with Dr. Ron Perrone. Dr. Garimella is an established researcher whose research focus includes novel biomarkers of kidney function, cardiovascular disease, bone health and mortality. His research has been funded by the NIH, the Veterans Medical Research Foundation and UC San Diego. Dr. Garimella is also a trained epidemiologist who has authored several book chapters and over 110 articles in peer-reviewed journals including Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and Kidney International. He serves on the Editorial Board for Kidney Medicine, and as an as ad-hoc reviewer for multiple journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, American Journal of Kidney Diseases, and Clinical Nephrology. He has also received several awards for his research, clinical work, professionalism and teaching, and is a fellow of the American Society of Nephrology (FASN). He is also involved in initiatives to develop programs specifically targeted at minority populations in an effort to improve health literacy and potentially clinical outcomes.