Patient Advisory Board

At ProKidney, we believe that the most effective clinical trials are those that focus on the patient experience and are representative of the disease across all populations.

Our Patient Advisory Board (PAB) is a dedicated group of individuals who have lived the experience of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and are actively engaged in the broader CKD community. Their personal and professional insights are invaluable in helping ProKidney conduct trials that truly reflect the needs and concerns of CKD patients. By including the patient’s voice in the clinical trial process, we seek to ensure that our research aligns with what matters most to those living with or at risk for CKD. Our PAB contributions will help us refine our approach to clinical trials, improve patient engagement, and ultimately bring forward therapies that are more impactful for the CKD community and create a more inclusive healthcare ecosystem.

Kevin Fowler

Position: Advisory Board Member

Kevin Fowler worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 25 years in both the commercial and R&D organizations. His career has encompassed a breadth and depth of skills and experiences. During his pharma career, he demonstrated leadership in sales management, training, public affairs, global marketing, patient advocacy, and patient marketing. He formed his own patient advocacy and patient engagement consulting business in 2014, “The Voice of the Patient, Inc. His clients currently include Alexion , Bayer, Dimerix, eGenesis, Memo Therapeutics, Travere Therapeutics, Phreesia, and ProKidney. In 2017, Kevin was selected to be a Patient Editor, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. In 2023, he was asked to serve a second term as Patient Voice Editor. In 2021, Kevin was awarded the American Society of Transplantation Transplant Advocacy Award. He has contributed or been primary author in over 25 articles published in the American Journal of Kidney Disease, American Journal of Transplantation, Clinical Journal of American Society of Nephrology, and Kidney Medicine.

Based upon his personal experiences of having a pre-emptive kidney transplant in 2004, he has a deep passion for patient advocacy and patient engagement. Kevin brings the patient voice to several organizations as a volunteer:

Board of Directors, Kidney Health Initiative
Kidney Research Institute, Patient Advisory Committee
National Kidney Foundation, Coalition for Kidney Health
Board of Directors, Improving Renal Outcomes in Children (IROC)
Global Renal Exercise Network

Dr. Patrick Gee

Position: Advisory Board Member

Dr. Patrick Gee is an inspirational leader and healthcare consultant dedicated to advocating for justice and uplifting communities throughout his career.

With a background in criminal justice and a PhD in Justice, Law, & Criminology, Patrick has a proven record of accomplishment of service and excellence. His passion for positive change has led him to receive prestigious awards such as the Virginia Department of Corrections Volunteerism and Community Outreach Award, the Governor’s Award for Volunteerism, and the NABCJ Owen Bell Award for Chapter Development.

As a Healthcare Consultant and Professional Patient Activist, Patrick has received many accolades, including the American Society of Nephrology President’s Medal and Celeste Castillo Lee Lectureship in 2022, and the National Kidney Foundation’s Celeste Castillo Lee Patient Engagement Award in 2025.

Despite facing personal health challenges, including battling Stage 3b End-Stage Kidney Disease and enduring multiple surgeries post-transplant, Patrick’s resilience, and determination shine through. His unwavering commitment to advocacy and his mantra, “I am the Voice for the Voiceless and the Face for the Faceless in the fight against kidney disease,” exemplifies his dedication to championing health equality and fighting for those whose voices are often unheard.

Amanda Grandinetti

Position: Advisory Board Member

Amanda Grandinetti, MPH is a research methodologist, a current Ph.D. candidate in health sciences for patient repeated outcomes in nephrology, current member of the Kidney Health Initiative (KHI) board of directors, and the former chair of the KHI Patient and Family Partnership Council. Amanda has also served on several boards for the National Kidney Foundation and has worked with many pharmaceutical companies. Amanda has had FSGS since she was 14 years old. Her kidneys failed 8 years later and was on in-center hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis for two and a half years. She has received two kidney transplants from her friends (2013, 2014). Amanda has been completely healthy since her second transplant. Her passion is not a hobby, it is a way of life. Amanda aims to change the current landscape of how kidney disease is treated so that patients do not have to suffer.

Nichole M. Jefferson, MBA

Position: Advisory Board Member

Nichole Jefferson was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease in 2003 and underwent both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. On June 12, 2008, she received the gift of a kidney transplant. However, due to the numerous challenges she faced after the transplant, Nichole came to the realization that a transplant is another form of treatment, not a cure. This insight sparked her passion for advocacy. Nichole now shares her journey with her community and underserved populations, and actively engages with legislators on issues such as early detection and other concerns related to chronic kidney disease. Through her advocacy efforts, Nichole gained valuable knowledge about her own health, which enabled her to detect early signs of her transplanted kidney’s failure. She promptly alerted her doctors, which allowed her to avoid dialysis before receiving a second transplant on April 23, 2020.

Nichole is currently the President of the Home Dialyzors United (HDU) Board. She also serves on the Kidney Precision Medicine Project Community Engagement Committee and co-leads the NIDDK APOLLO Community Advisory Board. Nichole is eager to contribute her perspective as a patient to support ProKidney’s initiatives.

Nichole M. Jefferson, MBA

Advisory Board Member

Nichole Jefferson was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease in 2003...

Glenda V. Roberts

Position: Advisory Board Member

Glenda V. Roberts is the Director of Communications and Patient Engagement for the Mount Sinai Center for Kidney Innovation. She has served as a patient partner on over 20 observational studies and clinical trials. Recognized for her remarkable work in kidney health research, Glenda has received several prestigious awards and has significantly elevated the patient voice in kidney research and dialysis innovation, authored or coauthored over 50 publications, and contributed her insights to national and international organizations, including the Kidney Health Initiative, KDIGO, ISN Global Kidney Trials, and the NKF-ASN Task Force Reassessing the Inclusion of Race in Diagnosing Kidney Disease. Glenda received the National Voice Award from the AAKP, and Presidential Volunteer Service Awards from Presidents Donald J. Trump and Joseph R. Biden. Recently, she made history as the first patient to receive the ASN President’s Award and the NKF Celeste Castillo Lee Patient Engagement Award.

Curtis Warfield

Position: Advisory Board Member

Curtis Warfield is a dedicated systems analyst from Indianapolis, IN, and a passionate advocate for kidney disease awareness and organ donation following his own kidney transplant in 2016. He serves on the Kidney Health Initiative’s Patient and Family Partnership Council and co-chairs the National Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Advocate Committee. Curtis is active in legislative advocacy, representing patient voices on various policy committees and boards. He holds a B.S. from Central Michigan University and an M.S. in Management from Oakland City University, and has received the 2021 NKF Celeste Castillo Lee Patient Engagement Award. Curtis is married for 39 years, a father of four, and a grandparent.

Dave White

Position: Advisory Board Member

Dave White is a proofreader at an international law firm.

When I heard the words “your kidneys are no longer working” during an emergency room visit in 2009, I was not ready or willing to accept the news. My first six months as a dialysis patient were challenging and scary, and I am fortunate to have a loving family and support system that did not give up on me when I tried to give up on myself.

A care plan meeting in 2010 changed my attitude and my future. My dialysis care team worked with me to develop a plan of care that empowered me to reach my full potential as a person living with a serious illness. Most importantly, I was told I had to own the plan for it to work. Thankfully, I listened, took charge of my health, and eventually thrived on dialysis before receiving a kidney transplant from a deceased donor in 2015.

Dave serves as an Expert Advisory Panelist with the Kidney Transplant Collaborative, on the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s Committee on Performance Measurement, am a Founding Member of the Alliance for Person-Centered Care and is a Voting Member of the FDA’s Patient Engagement Advisory Committee, its first and only advisory committee whose members are all patients, caregivers, and representatives of patient organizations. He serves or has served in leadership roles with the American Association of Kidney Patients, the Kidney Health Initiative, the Light Collective, the Patient Advocate Foundation and the National Patient Advocate Foundation, PCORI, Quality Insights Renal Network 5, and the Veterans Transplantation Association.