Dorothea Nitsch

Professor Dorothea Nitsch is a Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), where she is based in the Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology within the Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health. Since 2023, she shares the role of Medical Director at LSHTM with Professor Sinead Langan. She also holds a clinical contract as an Honorary Consultant Nephrologist with the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.

Her educational background includes a medical degree from the University of Basel (Switzerland), where she also completed her Doctoral Thesis at the Biocenter, and an MSc in Medical Statistics from LSHTM in 2003, after which she joined the institution. Her professional journey includes several years of clinical work in Internal Medicine and Renal Medicine in Switzerland up to specialist level.

Professor Nitsch's research focuses primarily on chronic kidney disease (CKD), including risk factors, outcomes, and management strategies. She has led major initiatives such as the National CKD Audit, which investigates the identification and management of CKD in UK primary care. Her work spans international collaborations, particularly with Chiang Mai University in Thailand, and she serves as principal investigator of the MRC at Older Age study, which contributes to the Chronic Kidney Disease Prognosis Consortium. She has collaborated with the UK Renal Registry since 2003 and currently serves as the UK Kidney Association Director of Informatics Research. Her research portfolio includes studies on Mesoamerican nephropathy, validation of renal function biomarkers in Sub-Saharan Africa (ARK study), and investigations into renal function markers in children.

Her recent publication record demonstrates significant contributions to nephrology, epidemiology, and global health, with a particular emphasis on kidney disease epidemiology, health disparities, and the intersection of kidney disease with other conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive impairment. Her work spans multiple continents and addresses both high-income and resource-limited settings.

Professor Nitsch has received research funding from various sources including the MRC, NIHR, Kidney Research UK, and the UK Kidney Association. Her professional activities include leadership roles in the International Society of Nephrology (ISN), membership on NHS England committees, and contributions to clinical practice guidelines.

In teaching, she previously served as Programme Director for the MSc in Epidemiology until 2017 and now serves as its Exam Board Chair. Until 2023, she co-organized the Distance Learning Module in Global Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology (EPM307) and continues to tutor this module. She also teaches study design to face-to-face MSc students.