Steve M. Sozio, MD

Dr. Sozio is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health. In addition to his training in internal medicine and nephrology, he has advanced training in epidemiology through the MHS program and medical education through the MEHP program. This affords him the opportunity to merge the worlds of clinical care, research, and education. 

He has been course director in the Genes to Society-Renal, Epidemiology, and Adult Learning courses, advisor and faculty leader in the Nathans College of the Colleges Advisory program, program developer in the Scholarly Concentrations Program, Nephrology Fellowship Program, TL1 Program, and IEE Small Grants Mentoring Committee, and leader in multiple areas locally, nationally, and internationally. He has taught in seven separate countries in these efforts. His teaching acumen has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Lisa J. Heiser Award for Junior Faculty Contribution in Education, W. Barry Wood Jr. Award for Excellence in Teaching, Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award, Alumni Excellence Award in the MEHP Program, Professors’ Award for Excellence in Teaching, and American Society of Nephrology Distinguished Educator Award.

In addition to an active teaching and clinical portfolio, Dr. Sozio performs cutting-edge research. His research has been in two distinct but successful areas:

1) Clinical research related to chronic kidney disease and end stage renal disease;

2) Educational research in undergraduate and graduate medical education.

The Sozio lab pursues work related to stroke, cognitive impairment, manifestations of kidney disease, and systematic reviews on clinical topics, and collaborates on multiple projects with other key investigators. In particular, Dr. Sozio has been an active investigator in the Choices for Healthy Outcomes in Caring for ESRD (CHOICE) Study, Predictors of Arrhythmic and Cardiovascular Risk in End Stage Renal Disease (PACE) Study, Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study, and work funded through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Center. In total, his works are referenced in multiple guidelines including those from NKF-KDOQI, KDIGO, AHA, and AUA.

Equally important to the Sozio lab is the ground-breaking educational research they pursue. Dr. Sozio performs studies at the UME and GME levels, investing in understanding learners’ mentorship, research, and transitional experiences. For example, Dr. Sozio and his group validated a scale to assess mentorship characteristics in the preclinical Johns Hopkins Scholarly Concentrations medical student program. Dr. Sozio subsequently published on the international collaboration of the Bezmialem University Scholarly Concentrations Program. His group also reported on the Johns Hopkins nephrology fellowship night float system, the first such in-house night float system in the country. His work therefore can be used by other programs both nationally and internationally, especially as they plan their own curriculum.

Finally, Dr. Sozio leads several efforts at the national level through the American Society of Nephrology. He leads the Best Practices Project, designed to understand characteristics of medical school and residency programs that are the highest achieving in recruiting trainees into nephrology. Working with Kurtis Pivert [director of ASN Data Analytics], Dr. Sozio leads the Data Sub-Committee of ASN. Dr. Sozio also leads the ASN Fellow Survey, which queries all fellows on their training programs, the perceptions of the field, and career aspirations. His work helps shape how training programs understand the nephrology workforce, and can be a catalyst for change.