Stephen M. Korbet, MD is the Lester and Muriel Anixter Professor of Nephrology and former Chief of the Division of Nephrology at Rush University Medical Center form 2009-2017. He graduated from Rush Medical College in 1979 where he was elected a member of Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. His internship, residency and fellowship in nephrology were spent at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center where he was named Outstanding Resident.
Korbet became a member of the Section of Nephrology at Rush in 1984 and over the course of the last 35 years he has been extensively involved in clinical research. His areas of interest include renal biopsy, glomerular diseases with a particular focus on lupus nephritis and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and the management of anemia in end stage renal disease.
His research in the area of lupus nephritis was instrumental in the 2004 revision of the classification of lupus nephritis developed by the International Society of Nephrology and Renal Pathology Society. His work in the area of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis led to the increasing awareness of the treatability of this otherwise progressive form of renal disease.
Korbet has had extensive experience in large collaborative studies. Over the past 30 years he has been the primary investigator in numerous large scale multicenter prospective studies involving the use of recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO) in correcting anemia in dialysis patients [1986-1989: The phase III multicenter study of recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO) in correction of anemia of hemodialysis patients.; 1989-1991: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of recombinant human erythropoietin in peritoneal dialysis patients.; 1994-1997: The effects of normal versus anemic hematocrit on outcomes of cardiac disease in hemodialysis patients.; 2000: A randomized study comparing the efficiency of once vs three times weekly administration of SC Novel Erythropoietin Stimulating Protein (NESP) to ESRD patients on hemodialysis]. Additionally, from 2006-2009 he was involved in a multicenter study with the use of Ferric citrate as a phosphate binder in hemodialysis patients.
He has published extensively with over a 125 peer reviewed articles, 30 book chapters and he has co-edited two books on lupus nephritis. Since 2009 Korbet has co-authored the Up To Date chapter on “Indications for and complications of renal biopsy”. He has lectured worldwide as a visiting professor and at societal meetings. He has been named in the “Best Doctors in America” yearly for over 25 years. He is a member of numerous organizations and was inducted as a Master of the American College of Physicians in 2013. In 2019 he was awarded the “Distinguished Alumni Award in Research and Education” presented by the Rush Medical College Alumni Association.
