Simon J Davies is a nephrologist and clinical academic. He is an emeritus professor of Nephrology and Dialysis Medicine at Keele University.
Davies' research has focused on peritoneal dialysis, examining peritoneal membrane biology, fluid and solute removal, inflammation, and patient outcomes to optimize long-term PD care. He is a recipient of the 2013 Distinguished International Medal from the American National Kidney Foundation as well as the 2018 Oreopoulos Life-Time Achievement Award from the International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis.
Education Davies completed his BSc in Pharmacology and Basic Medical Sciences in 1978 at King's College London, University of London, followed by an MBBS in 1981 from the same institution. He obtained his MD degree from the University of London in 1989 under the supervision of Stewart Cameron. Additionally, he completed a MA in Music Composition at the University of Birmingham in 2023.
Career Davies began his academic career in 1989 as a lecturer at Keele University. In 1993, he became a senior lecturer, and was appointed professor in Nephrology and Dialysis Medicine in 2004. Since retirement in 2024, he has been professor emeritus at Keele.
Davies has held several academic and professional appointments. From 2002 to 2006, he worked as clinical director of the Kidney Unit at University Hospital of North Midlands. He was subsequently appointed as the director of the Clinical Research and Health Services Research Unit at Keele from 2010 to 2016, followed by his appointment as director of the Institute for Applied Clinical Sciences, a role he held until 2020. Additionally, he was the president of the International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis from 2010 to 2012. Moreover, since 2023, he is the trustee of Kidney Research UK.
Research In his early research, Davies showed that differences between individuals in how the peritoneal membrane functions during peritoneal dialysis treatment affect patient survival. Through his work, he demonstrated that this finding was independent of co-existing medical conditions and developed the Stoke–Davies comorbidity score, which was independently validated. He also highlighted that reduced fluid removal by the peritoneal membrane, rather than uremic toxins, was a key determinant of five-year survival rates, differing from the prevailing interpretation at the time. Subsequently, he also identified three forms of membrane dysfunction affecting fluid removal: rapid glucose absorption associated with local inflammation; an acquired reduction in membrane efficiency due to fibrosis; and a genetically determined reduction in aquaporin pathway expression.
Davies has also investigated ways to measure and evaluate the hydration status of dialysis patients. This included developing a point-of-care measurement of total body water using deuterium dilution with David Smith, evaluating bioimpedance as a measure of body composition, and showing that glucose polymer solutions improve overhydration in peritoneal dialysis. His work has also focused on clinical practices as well as the inequity of access to peritoneal dialysis, highlighting its good outcomes and cost-effectiveness.
Awards and honors 2013 – Distinguished International Medal, American National Kidney Foundation 2018 – Oreopoulos Life-time Achievement Award, International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis 2023 – Gabor Zellerman Award, International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis
Selected articles Davies, S. J., Phillips, L., Griffiths, A. M., Russell, L. H., Naish, P. F., & Russell, G. I. (1998). What really happens to people on long-term peritoneal dialysis? Kidney International, 54(6), 2207–2217. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1755.1998.00230.x Davies, S. J., Phillips, L., Naish, P. F., & Russell, G. I. (2001). Peritoneal glucose exposure and changes in membrane solute transport with time on peritoneal dialysis. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 12(5), 1046–1051. https://doi.org/10.1681/ASN.V1251046 Davies, S. J., Woodrow, G., Donovan, K., Plum, J., Williams, P., Johansson, A. C., Bosselmann, H. P., Heimbürger, O., Simonsen, O., Davenport, A., Tranaeus, A., & Divino Filho, J. C. (2003). Icodextrin improves the fluid status of peritoneal dialysis patients: Results of a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 14, 2338–2344. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASN.0000083904.94897.6B Morelle, J., Marechal, C., Yu, Z., Debaix, H., Corre, T., Lambie, M., Verduijn, M., Dekker, F., Bovy, P., Evenepoel, P., Bammens, B., Selgas, R., Bajo, M. A., Coester, A. M., Sow, A., Hautem, N., Struijk, D. G., Krediet, R. T., Balligand, J.-L., Goffin, E., Crott, R., Ripoche, P., Davies, S., & Devuyst, O. (2021). AQP1 promoter variant, water transport, and outcomes in peritoneal dialysis. New England Journal of Medicine, 385(17), 1570–1580. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2034279 Davies, S. J., Coyle, D., Lindley, E. J., Keane, D., Belcher, J., Caskey, F. J., Dasgupta, I., Davenport, A., Farrington, K., Mitra, S., Ormandy, P., Wilkie, M., MacDonald, J., Zanganeh, M., Andronis, L., Solis-Trapala, I., & Sim, J. (2023). Bio-impedance spectroscopy added to a fluid management protocol does not improve preservation of residual kidney function in incident hemodialysis patients: A randomized controlled trial. Kidney International. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kint.2023.05.016
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