Dr. Maria Chan is the Lead Renal Dietitian at the St. George Hospital, Sydney, Honorary Clinical Principal Fellow, School of Medicine, University of Wollongong and Conjoint Associate Lecturer, School of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Maria served on the council of the International Society of Renal Nutrition & Metabolism (ISRNM) from 2004 to 2008 as chair of the dietitians division. Being the founding member of the Renal Nutrition Committee (RNC) of the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF), she is committed to improving the nutritional care and outcomes of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) globally as well as the training of renal specialist dietitians.
In Australia, Maria serves on many committees in professional organisations and NSW Ministry of Health on policy setting and strategic planning of renal services. One of her significant contributions was the development of four sets of evidence based renal nutrition practice guidelines, covering all stages of CKD including dialysis and transplantation, including the Caring for Australasians with Renal Impairment (CARI) guidelines.
Maria has received many awards and has been twice given the Outstanding Contribution Award (2007 and 2013) by the Dietitians Association of Australia. In 2015, she received the prestigious Joel Kopple Award, National Kidney Foundation, USA for her outstanding contribution to renal nutrition.
Maria has been invited to speak in national and international congresses regularly and has contributed to many peer reviewed publications, nutrition practice guidelines and book chapters. Her research interest is to examine the effects of nutrition and exercise on clinical outcomes in people with End Stage Kidney Disease.