Antonio Alvarado, MD
• Recently married his high school sweetheart; honeymooned in South Africa
• Planning a career in nephrology
• Born in Michigan, raised in San Antonio, attended undergrad at UT and medical school at UT-Southwestern
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How did you decide to pursue a career in internal medicine? How did you choose Northwestern?
I chose internal medicine because it is challenging, dynamic, and fun. I enjoy shifting between caring for the sickest patients in the MICU to providing preventative general medicine for patients in continuity clinic. I chose Northwestern because it offered diverse clinical training, robust research opportunities, and a friendly working environment. I’ve found the leadership to be extremely supportive and dedicated to preparing residents to be excellent clinicians and academicians. Another great feature of Northwestern is the Community Health Clinic, which provides medical care for people without insurance. It’s rewarding to have a general medicine continuity clinic that serves the underprivileged in Chicago.
“Tony has the best attitude of any resident I’ve worked with in regards to workload and willingness to go the extra mile for patient care” -Michael Kriss, MD
How did you become interested in nephrology?
I became interested in nephrology as third-year medical student rotating through the inpatient service. I’ve always been fascinated by the broad spectrum of pathology found in patients with kidney disease. At Northwestern, I’ve had the chance to learn from several great mentors. While on the inpatient nephrology service with Dr. Jay Paparello, I learned about predicting the clincal course of patients with acute kidney injury and managing renal replacement therapy in the ICU. He has served as an excellent example of a clinician educator and has inspired me to pursue a career in academic nephrology.
You recently coauthored an article in The New England Journal of Medicine. Can you tell us about your research and how you got started?
I started working with Dr. Lorenzo Gallon during intern year on research involving optimizing immunosuppression in kidney transplant recipients. I enjoy this research because it focuses on long term clinical outcomes yet relies heavily on the principles of immunology and pharmacology. I recently gave an oral presentation about our findings at the American Transplant Congress in Boston. While on the transplant nephrology service with Dr. Gallon, I learned about the complexities of managing transplant patients during the perioperative period. I also acquired valuable exposure to the innovative nature of Northwestern’s Transplantation Center. Our case involving the resolution of recurrent FSGS after retransplantation into a second recipient was recently published in the NEJM. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work at a place that provides both superior clinical training and exposure to cutting edge research.
Where can we find you after hours? Tell us a bit about your travels.
I enjoy spending time with my wife and friends, watching sports (especially my hometown San Antonio Spurs!), running along the lake and trying out new restaurants. I love living in Chicago because there is so much to do from sporting events to museums to nightlife. I especially enjoy the summer months when we can spend time on the lakefront and check out festivals and outdoor concerts. My wife and I also love to travel. We learned to scuba dive in the Cayman Islands, and I proposed to her while scuba diving in Koh Lanta, Thailand. We recently returned from our honeymoon in South Africa, which included a hike to the Cape of Good Hope and several exciting safaris. There are so many fascinating places we hope to visit, but at the top of the list are Brazil (World Cup 2014!), Australia, and eventually Antarctica.
