Reem A. Mustafa, M.D., Ph.D., MPH

Professional Background

I am a clinical nephrologist who is board certified in Preventive Medicine, Internal Medicine and Nephrology. I work with patients who have kidney disease and those who progress and develop kidney failure needing any form of dialysis or transplant. I am especially interested in managing patients with chronic kidney disease and their other medical conditions to slow the progression of their disease.
I am very interested and formally trained in research with a Masters degree in Public Health and a PhD degree in Health Research Methodology/Clinical Epidemiology.

• MBBS, Faculty of Medicine, Univ. of Jordan

• Kansas Board of Healing Arts, Kansas

Research

Overview

My research interest focuses on the application of principles of evidence-based medicine in clinical and public health decision-making. I also study the effect of these principles on clinical and patient-important outcomes. I am also interested in utilizing pragmatic clinical trials to study the effect of different feasible interventions to improve the outcomes and quality of life of patients with kidney disease. I am also very interested in studying decision making about dialysis modalities especially studying intensive home hemodialysis. I am especially interested in decision-making regarding healthcare related tests and diagnostic strategies; challenges and suggested solutions, which included the use of models when direct evidence is lacking. I have experience with decision analysis and mathematical models and presenting them to guideline panels and different decision-makers and critically appraising them.
I have extensive experience in the development and assessment of clinical practice guidelines through my work with The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) working group and I serve on the GRADE Guidance Group. I have been involved with multiple guideline development groups internationally through the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Society of Hematology (ASH), American College of Physicians (ACP), and the Canadian Society of Nephrology (CSN) among others. I am a co-founder of the U.S. GRADE network and the Evidence Foundation which mission is to support initiatives in evidence-based health care through training, mentorship, education, and collaboration with multiple stakeholders. I am especially interested in implementing conceptual frameworks for stakeholder engagement and methods for evaluating engagement for systematic reviews and guidelines development with a focus on engaging and empowering diverse and underserved populations.