John Stivelman, MD
July 26, 2026
Dr. John Stivelman served as Chief Medical Officer of Northwest Kidney Centers (NKC) from 1999 to 2010 and as Senior Medical Director from 2011 through 2015. He joined the University of Washington Division of Nephrology faculty in 1999, earned promotion to Professor in 2008, and became Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 2015.
Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1950, Dr. Stivelman earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University. In 1972, he received a Fulbright-Hays Scholarship to the Free University of Berlin, which he ultimately declined. He earned his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978, where he joined the Beta Chapter of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He completed a one-year internship and two-year residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, followed by a three-year fellowship in nephrology in the Renal Division at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Dr. Stivelman began his academic career as an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School from 1984 to 1986. In 1988, he joined the University of Arizona as an Assistant Professor of Medicine before moving to Emory University. He relocated to Seattle in 1999 and joined the University of Washington faculty.
As Chief Medical Officer of Northwest Kidney Centers, Dr. Stivelman established high standards for clinical care during a period of significant organizational growth. He expanded dialysis services, strengthened nephrology education, developed a rigorous dialysis care curriculum for University of Washington fellows, and mentored physicians who continue to lead dialysis programs throughout the community.
Dr. Stivelman earned national recognition as a clinician, scholar, and advocate with deep expertise in dialysis care. He advanced public policy and standards of care for patients receiving long-term dialysis, contributed to the development of CMS Medical Evidence Form 2728, and focused his research on improving the management of anemia in patients with kidney failure. He also served in leadership roles with the National Kidney Foundation, the ASN/RPA Joint Committee on Physician Accountability, and the ESRD Networks.
