About ASN

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

ASN celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by highlighting influential Asian American and Pacific Islander members within the nephrology community.

May 2023

Tara Chang, MD, MS, FASN

Self-Introduction

I am a child of immigrants: my mom's family fled China during the 1940s to Taiwan and my dad's family is an ethnic minority (Hakka) in Taiwan. My parents came to the U.S. separately in the late 1960s and met in graduate school, eventually settling down in Michigan where I was born and raised. I was one of only a handful of Asian Americans in my elementary school and while most everyone was very nice, microaggressions ("but where are you REALLY from") and macroaggressions were nearly daily occurrences. Fast forward a few decades, I now live in the California Bay Area, one of the most diverse places in the country. My kids attend a public, bilingual English-Mandarin school, where they are encouraged to celebrate their culture and heritage every day. There's still work to be done, but it's remarkable to see how far we've come.

What does Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month mean to you?

There can often be a misconception that because Asian Americans make up a large proportion of the nephrology workforce and ASN membership, that dedicated efforts to include us in diversity efforts are not needed. Unfortunately, overt racism directed at Asian Americans has surged in recent years, and Asian Americans continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions. Therefore, I appreciate seeing ASN celebrate AAPI Heritage Month and recognize the many contributions of the AAPI community to advance kidney health for all.

What additional diversity initiatives, programming, and support would you like to see from ASN?

I appreciate ASN working with our newly created CATION+ group to see how we can work with ASN to improve opportunities for nephrology professionals as well as think about potential patient-facing initiatives that could focus on CKD awareness in certain higher risk AAPI communities.

Devika Nair, MD, MS, FASN

Self-Introduction

I am a nephrologist and physician scientist focused on improving the identification and treatment of functional decline in adults with kidney disease.

What additional diversity initiatives, programming, and support would you like to see from ASN?

I would love to see dedicated support from ASN for patient-initiated research questions, projects, and outreach strategies to better involve patients who have limited prior advocacy experience or access to care.

Silvi Shah, MD, MS, FASN

Self-Introduction

I am a transplant nephrologist and a physician scientist at the University of Cincinnati with a research focus on women's heath, health equity, and cardiovascular health in patients with kidney disease.

What does Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month mean to you?

It signifies diversity and inclusion of all individuals in our society.

How has ASN impacted you as a person of color?

Increasing focus on diversity and inclusion has been encouraging and increases my belongingness.

What additional diversity initiatives, programming, and support would you like to see from ASN?

Encouraging representation in all forums especially leadership/committees.

Emily J. Steinbach, PhD

Self-Introduction

I am currently a research fellow at the University of Iowa in Pediatric Nephrology under Dr. Lyndsay Harshman. I was born in Seoul, South Korea and adopted at six months old by my family in the small town of Centerville, Iowa. I received my BS in Cell and Developmental Biology with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Iowa in 2019 and went on to finish my PhD in Biomedical Science/ Radiation Oncology in 2022 at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. My research focuses on redox metabolism in the "kidney-brain axis," and I am involved in many other projects to better improve the lives of children and families with CKD.

What does Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month mean to you?

Growing up adopted is hard! Being a foreign adoptee adds a lot of different cultural and racial identities. Answering simple questions such as "where are you from?" and "do you have any family medical history of X?" is almost always a blank response for many adoptees. AAPI Month is a time where one layer of my identity feels seen.

How has ASN impacted you as a person of color?

I have always felt as though I have had a seat at the table with ASN, no matter my color.

What additional diversity initiatives, programming, and support would you like to see from ASN?

I would love to see continued research initiatives for inherited kidney diseases, especially those with limited family history.

May 2022

Steven C. Cheng, MD

What does Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month mean to you?

AAPI heritage month is a special opportunity to reflect on my family's history and heritage, and to share aspects of that culture with others. It means honoring the stories that my parents told and passing them on to my children. It means enjoying traditions that have been passed down and eating an awful lot of really great food.

How has ASN impacted you as a person of color?

I think ASN has worked hard to foster communities where everyone can feel like they have a voice, a place, and an opportunity to be heard. I'm proud of ASN leadership in their recent advocacy for inclusion and equity in our practice, our communities, and our training.

What additional diversity initiatives, programming, and support would you like to see from ASN?

As a program director, I'd love to see ASN take a leadership role in assisting the many outstanding foreign medical graduates who are training in our programs. They constitute a large and important part of our nephrology work force, and yet finding positions and jobs can be an additional hurdle. We owe it to these incredible trainees to open doors for all the opportunities that can be enjoyed in a nephrology career.