Dr. Anna Strasma is a nephrologist and medical instructor in the Department of Medicine at Duke. During her nephrology fellowship at Duke, she participated in and graduated from the Global Health Pathway and the MSc-Global Health program in 2023.

Dr. Strasma became interested in global health due to her consistent involvement with a non-governmental organization in Nicaragua since her childhood. During her time in Nicaragua, she learned of the devastatingly high prevalence of kidney disease in the region. The cause of this kidney disease is still unknown and called chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu). This problem led her to pursue a career in Nephrology and remains her major research interest.

As a global health and nephrology fellow, Dr. Strasma performed an epidemiologic analysis of kidney disease in a population in Nicaragua and in an immigrant population in Houston, Texas. She is one of the founding members of the Environmental Exposures and Kidney Health (EEKH) group, which meets monthly with scientists from diverse backgrounds and institutions. She was awarded a Fogarty Global Health Fellowship for her current project in Costa Rica.

Her research interests include chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu), dialysis delivery in resource-limited settings, kidney disease in underserved populations in the U.S., and the connection between environmental exposures and kidney disease. She has a diverse set of mentors across the U.S. and internationally with a variety of projects including clinical and translational research on CKDu in Sri Lanka and improving dialysis delivery in Costa Rica. In 2023, she is in Costa Rica studying community perceptions of research and CKDu with support from both Fogarty International and HYC’s Global Health Pathway.

Dr. Strasma recently joined the Hubert-Yeargan Center and is looking forward to providing research mentorship and teaching to Duke students, residents, and fellows. She is committed to addressing global health problems in partnership with local communities and interdisciplinary teams.

Dr. Strasma earned her undergraduate degree from Georgia Tech, medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia, and completed her internal medicine residency at Baylor College of Medicine. She also obtained her Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at the National School of Tropical Medicine in Houston.