In January 2008, Dugan W. Maddux, MD met Eli A. Friedman, MD at a restaurant in Manhattan to record this interview for the Nephrology Oral History Project. Dr. Friedman’s distinguished career in nephrology began with a fellowship at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in the early 1960s. Since establishing the first federally funded dialysis facility at Downstate Medical Center in 1963, his extensive research, prolific publications, and tireless clinical work have earned him international recognition as a leader and mentor in the field. From early bedside electrolyte testing using the Scribner kit to his relationship with pioneering innovator Willem Kolff, this interview captures vivid and insightful stories from the formative years of renal care.
