Joachim (Joe) Ix, MD, MAS

Dr. Ix is Professor and Division Chief in the Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology-Hypertension. He graduated with his MD degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at UC San Francisco before joining the faculty at UC San Diego. Heis a nephrologist, epidemiologist, and clinical trialist. 

Tracks:   Epidemiology, Health Behavior

His research focuses in two main areas, novel therapies in chronic kidney disease mineral bone disorders (CKD-MBD), and non-invasive assessment of kidney tubule health and understanding the impacts of impaired tubule health on cardiovascular disease and kidney disease outcomes. Chronic kidney disease leads to altered homeostasis of calcium, phosphate, and associated regulatory hormones. These factors, in turn, are strongly associated with vascular calcification and cardiac structural abnormalities. Dr. Ix's team has used large observational epidemiology studies to determine the presence and quantify the strength of associations of these factors with cardiovascular disease and related outcomes in CKD patients. The strength and consistency of these findings makes intervention to improve CKD-MBD an important target in lowering cardiovascular disease event risk in CKD patients. His team has identified novel therapies that lower intestinal phosphate absorption, and are conducting clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these therapies in CKD patients in multi-center randomized clinical trials.

• Applied Public Health Statistics
• Epidemiology