Patients as Research Partners
We request patient opinions and encourage their valuable feedback as advisors and as our study participants. By directly involving patients as research partners, we aim to enhance outcomes for many individuals. Patient engagement comes from a diverse population of patients to meet the needs of all people living with kidney disease.
Patient Advisory Committee (PAC)
The Patient Advisory Committee consists of local and national community members who represent a variety of backgrounds, experiences with kidney disease, interests, ethnicities, genders, and ages. As advocates for kidney research and patient care, the PAC provides productive feedback to investigators and other nephrology professionals to continuously improve communication between patients and doctors.
Each year, the KRI hosts an all-day meeting, inviting doctors, researchers, and other medical professionals within the UW Medicine community to report and discuss their findings, progress, and goals for kidney research. The objective of the annual Patient Advisory Committee meeting is to enable our patient advisors to share their perspectives and experiences with the KRI staff to help improve the functionality of innovations currently developed by faculty within the Division of Nephrology and to enhance the overall patient experience.
Meet our Patient Advisory Committee Members
Register for a research study
Clinical Practice Guidelines
Our patients assist us by writing Clinical Practice Guidelines that apply the results of rigorous scientific research through the lens of the patient experience.
KDIGO is a global nonprofit organization developing and implementing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in kidney disease.
KDIGO Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes
Tami Sadusky
Tami received a kidney and pancreas transplant in May 1993 and a second kidney transplant in May 2011. She received her BS and MBA degrees before moving to Washington. Tami worked with the University of Washington for 22 years in grant accounting and finance and is now an active volunteer in organ donation and transplantation. She is a board member of Transplant House, a member of the UWMC Transplant Advisory Council, a member of the UWMC Team Transplant Strategic Planning and Finance Committee, a member of the Kidney Research Institute Advisory Council, and she works closely with the National Kidney Foundation and Northwest Kidney Centers.
Becca S. Cheung
Becca has been a fundraising professional in the realm of human rights and higher education for the past ten years in Seattle, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Sydney, Australia. At the age of 26, she was diagnosed with stage 5 renal failure with a 7 glomerular filtration rate (GFR). With deep roots in the Pacific Northwest, Becca works with the Office of Advancement at the Seattle Colleges Foundation — as a colleague to her kidney donor! Since her transplant in 2016, Becca has served on the former Young Professionals Advisory Forum of the Northwest Kidney Centers (NKC) and Co-Chair of the NKC Gala Committee as her way to give back to the community that saved her. Becca is an Advisory Council member at World Relief Seattle, a global refugee resettlement agency, and brings an equity lens to her volunteer work.