Diana Clynes

Chrissy Huffman was 23 years old and pregnant with her third son when doctors discovered her kidneys were failing. What should have been a joyful time was suddenly filled with fear and uncertainty. To support her baby’s growth, she was given weekly steroid injections and amino-stasis.

Q&A with Bruce Culleton, MD, Chief Executive Officer, ProKidney, Inc. Tell us about your first experience with a kidney patient, personally or professionally, and what impressions that left on you as a fellow human being? My earliest recollection is an experience during my Internal Medicine training 30 years ago.

Image created in PhotoshopBy Stephen Z. Fadem, MD, FACP, FASN, AAKP Medical Advisory Board ChairWhen most people think about their kidneys, they imagine two quiet organs that make urine and filter waste. Important, yes—but easy to overlook. In reality, your kidneys are deeply connected to nearly every system in your body.

As we head into 2026, members of AAKP’s National Board of Directors and Ambassador program are sharing their goals for the upcoming year! What are yours?Start 2026 off right by becoming an AAKP member! Visit and share this link today: www.aakp.org/join Here’s what AAKP members are saying about 2026. In their own words...

By Deborah Pelaez, aakpRENALIFE Independent WriterAAKP Ambassador Elizabeth Oldham grew up on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio, with her siblings and parents. Her parents were successful in their careers, her mother being a dietitian and her father, a math teacher.

Q&A with Cedric Francois, MD, PhD, Co- Founder & Chief Executive Officer/President at Apellis PharmaceuticalsTell us about your first experience with a kidney patient, personally or professionally, and what impressions that left on you as a fellow human being?

By: Michael Wayne Holliday, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., FASN Assistant Professor of Medicine/Nephrology, Baylor College of MedicineDisclaimer: The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government.