Researcher Spotlight: Janice Lea

What is your professional background?
I am a nephrologist and professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine at Emory University. My roles in the department include being the chief medical director of Emory Dialysis and the director of Telenephrology. I am a nationally renowned expert in hypertension and am designated a “clinical specialist in hypertension” and a master clinician at Emory. I completed my internal medicine residency and renal fellowship at Emory and have been Emory faculty for 25 years. I also completed a Master of Science in Clinical Research at Emory.

In what division do you work, and who is your mentor?
Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine. I have been fortunate to have several mentors both within and outside of Emory and now serve as a mentor to others. Thanks to Dr. Jeff Sands, Renal Division Director, for all his guidance and support.

Briefly describe your research. Why is it important?
My clinical practice and research interests are in hypertension, chronic kidney disease due to diabetes and hypertension, and end-stage renal disease patients receiving home or in-center dialysis therapy with a focus in high risk minority populations. I was attracted to nephrology primarily due to the high rates of kidney disease from diabetes and hypertension in the African-American community, and thus decided to focus my research efforts on this important public health problem. I recently received a PCORI grant to improve coping skills and the utilization of home dialysis in patients with chronic kidney disease. My biggest motivation to excel as an academician is my compassion for patients, placing them as the priority in all that I do.

What do you like most about Emory?
Emory is an ideal place to pursue an academic career because of the multidisciplinary expertise across the school of medicine as well as the schools of public health and nursing to allow extensive collaborations and foster significant scholarship. There are a tremendous amount of resources at Emory to succeed, but one must have the initiative to take advantage of these opportunities.

What is your favorite movie or TV show?
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ (I can’t get away from the medicine.)

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Spend time at home with my husband and young adult son, and watch and play tennis when I can.

What is a fun fact about you?
Being a native Texan, born in Beaumont, Texas and graduating from the University of Texas undergraduate (Austin) and medical school (Galveston), I am a huge Dallas Cowboy fan from back in the day.