Day In The Life
For 75 years, our kidney community has been at the forefront of innovation, care and compassion. To mark this milestone, we’re excited to launch our "Day In The Life" series, where we shine a spotlight on the incredible professionals who make a difference in the lives of kidney patients every single day.
Each month, we’ll take you behind the scenes to explore the daily routines, challenges and triumphs of kidney professionals across the UK. From pharmacists to nurses, surgeons to researchers, these stories celebrate the dedication and passion that define our community.
Featured Professional: Sara Perkins, Senior Specialist Pharmacist in Renal and Transplant Services at North Bristol NHS Trust
Kicking off our series is Sara Perkins, with 21 years as a pharmacist and 16 years of experience in kidney care, her work is a testament to the vital role pharmacists play in improving patient outcomes.
Featured Professional: Emma Dunning, Renal Transplant Clinical Nurse Specialist at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Continuing our series, we meet Emma Dunning, whose dedication to transplant nursing reflects the profound impact specialist nurses have on patient journeys. With years of experience guiding recipients through every stage of transplantation, her work embodies the expertise and compassion at the heart of kidney care.
Featured Professional: Charlotte Marshallsay, AKI Trainee Advanced Care Practitioner
Charlotte shares how no two days are the same, the challenges of working in a specialist AKI team, and how skills from her palliative care background help her support patients. From triaging and clinics to teaching and patient reviews, she gives a glimpse into her varied and vital role.
Featured Professional: Josie Tidmore, M.Phil Student and Fulbright Fellow at Cardiff University
Join Josie to hear about her varied role at the Wales Kidney Research Unit in which she spends her days in the lab checking cell cultures, planning and conducting experiments and collaborating with her lab team to solve research challenges.
Featured Professional: Dr Shrinivas Dighe, Post-Doc Molecular Biologist at the Wales Kidney Research Unit.
Meet Shrinivas, a research scientist and molecular biologist focused on understanding kidney disease using model systems such as fruit flies and advanced techniques to identify novel biomarkers. First though, his day must of course start with a coffee!
Featured Professional: Dr Tanya Smith, Clinical Academic at the Wales Kidney Research Unit
Introducing Tanya, an academic anaesthetist who balances clinical work in the hospital with kidney-focused research at the Wales Kidney Research Unit, studying sex-specific differences in kidney disease using single-cell sequencing. Her days vary between collecting and analysing samples, working in surgery with at-risk patients, and engaging in research, teaching and collaboration.