Dr. Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS?
Update this Profile
Dr. Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS, Nephrologist (Pediatric)
We verify the medical license of each FindaTopDoc Verified Doctor to ensure that their license is active and they are in good medical standing.

Dr. Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS

Nephrologist (Pediatric) | Pediatric Nephrology

3/5(2)
3401 Civic Center Blvd Children's Hospital Philadelphia PA, 19104
Rating

3/5

About

Dr. Sandra Amaral is a pediatric nephrologist practicing in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Amaral specializes in caring for children with kidney disease, particularly children with advanced chronic kidney disease, on dialysis or with kidney transplants. She directs the pediatric kidney transplant and pediatric hand transplant programs at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She also does clinical and translational research to improve the health and quality of life of chidren with kidney disease. She and her dedicated, multi-disciplinary team care for the whole patient and strive to develop long-lasting, trusting and collaborative relationships with patients and families.

Education and Training

Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins Master's Degree 0

HAHNEMANN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MEDICINE 2000

Board Certification

nephrology

PediatricsAmerican Board of PediatricsABP- Pediatric Nephrology

Provider Details

Female English, Portuguese
Dr. Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS
Dr. Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS's Expert Contributions
  • My son has difficulty using the bathroom?

    I would suggest starting with the pediatrician. The pediatrician can ask more detailed questions to figure out what the problem is and what the next steps should be. Dr. Sandi Amaral READ MORE

  • Why does my son have kidney pain?

    Hello. I recommend that you see a primary care provider and have your son examined. This could be a kidney infection or a stone. It could be from trauma or it could just be muscle pain from an overall viral syndrome. The only way to know for sure is for him to get a good physical exam, urine sample and possibly blood work depending on the exam. Best wishes, Dr. Sandra Amaral READ MORE

Areas of expertise and specialization

kidney transplant medicineacute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract, hematuriahemolytic uremic syndrome in children, nephrotic syndrome in children, polycystic kidney disease, protein in urine (proteinuria), and urinary tract infection

Faculty Titles & Positions

  • Associate Professor University of Pennsylvania 2020 - Present

Treatments

  • Fever
  • Birth Defects

Professional Memberships

  • International Pediatric Nephrology Association, the International Pediatric Transplant Association, the American Society of Transplantation, the American Society of Nephrology, and the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology  

Fellowships

  • Johns Hopkins pediatric nephrology 

Charities and Philanthropic Endeavors

  • CHOP IT UP Cooking Camp

Fellowships

  • Pediatric Nephrologist, Johns Hopkins University

Professional Society Memberships

  • American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, American Society of Transplantation, International Pediatric Nephrology Association, International Pediatric Transplant Association, American Society of Nephrology

Articles and Publications

  • 50+ publications

What do you attribute your success to?

  • Excellent mentorship, supportive colleagues and staff.

Hobbies / Sports

  • Yoga, Cooking

Favorite professional publications

  • Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, American Journal of Transplantation

Areas of research

Kidney transplant access and outcomes; health equity research; adherence studies; translational biomarker studies

Dr. Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS's Practice location

Practice At

3401 Civic Center Blvd Children's Hospital -
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Get Direction
New patients: 215-590-2449
Fax: 215-590-0425

Dr. Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS's reviews

(2)
Write Review

Patient Experience with Dr. Amaral


3.0

Based on 2 reviews

Dr. Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS has a rating of 3 out of 5 stars based on the reviews from 2 patients. FindaTopDoc has aggregated the experiences from real patients to help give you more insights and information on how to choose the best Nephrologist (Pediatric) in your area. These reviews do not reflect a providers level of clinical care, but are a compilation of quality indicators such as bedside manner, wait time, staff friendliness, ease of appointment, and knowledge of conditions and treatments.

Media Releases

Get to know Nephrologist Dr. Sandra Amaral, who serves patients in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Amaral is a fellowship-trained nephrologist whose area of expertise is kidney transplant medicine. She is an attending physician within the Division of Nephrology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and is a part of the Kidney Transplant and Dialysis Program. She also holds the Distinguished Endowed Chair with the Department of Pediatrics.

Among her other titles include: Medical Director of the Kidney Transplant and Hand Transplant programs at CHOP, where she leads the Kidney Transplant Transition Clinic Program; Founder & Director of the CHOP IT Up  Cooking Camp for youth with kidney disease; Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; and Associate Fellow of the Center for Health Behavior Research at the University of Pennsylvania.

Some of the conditions that she treats include acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract, hematuria, hemolytic uremic syndrome in children, nephrotic syndrome in children, polycystic kidney disease, protein in urine (proteinuria), and urinary tract infection.

Academically, Dr. Amaral completed her undergraduate training at Wesleyan University, with a major in Western European History, Philosophy, and Literature. She then received her medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania-Hahnemann University School of Medicine, and her internship and residency in pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. She further completed her fellowship in pediatric nephrology at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, and received a Master of Health Science degree in Biostatistics and Epidemiology from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins. 

Before she joined CHOP, Dr. Amaral served as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University-Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta from 2006-2011.

With years of experience, the doctor is board-certified in pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP). The mission of the ABP is to advance child health by certifying pediatricians who meet standards of excellence and are committed to continuous learning and improvement.

A staunch public policy advocate for children and young adults with renal disease and their caregivers, Dr. Amaral serves on the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology (ASPN) Council, and previously chaired the ASPN Public Policy Committee. She has served on the United Network for Organ Sharing Pediatrics, Kidney Committees, and patient affaris, she regularly engages in Capitol Hill Advocacy Days with the ASPN and the American Society of Nephrology.

Continuously advancing her efforts, she is an active member of the International Pediatric Nephrology Association, the International Pediatric Transplant Association, the American Society of Transplantation, the American Society of Nephrology, and the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, among others.

Pediatric Nephrology is a specialty of pediatrics that concerns itself with the kidneys: the study of normal kidney function and kidney disease, the preservation of kidney health, and the treatment of kidney disease, from diet and medication to renal replacement therapy. Nephrologists have advanced training in treating kidney disease. They diagnose and treat kidney failure, as well as help patients by prescribing medications, offering special diet advice, and coordinating dialysis and transplant care when the time comes. 

Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Amaral’s research is focused on kidney transplantation with particular interests in reducing treatment burden for adolescents and young adults — from designing studies to make daily medication regimens easier to diagnosing transplant injury earlier using innovative, non-invasive approaches. She is currently the principal investigator of U-REAACT, a text messaging intervention to promote treatment adherence in youth with kidney transplants and spina bifida. She is also co-principal investigator of an international study, VIRTUUS, to validate urinary biomarker signals associated with rejection and infections in children with kidney transplants. 

Among her editorial positions, Dr. Amaral is a reviewer for the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the American Journal of Transplantation, Pediatric Nephrology, and Pediatric Transplantation.

Attributing her success to excellent mentorship & supportive colleagues and staff, she has been the recipient of many awards and honors, including: Philadelphia Magazine’s Top Doctors in Pediatric Nephrology, 2022; Castle Connolly Top Doctor, Philadelphia, 2016; Castle Connolly Top Doctor, United States, 2015-2016; Selection to the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology Leadership Development Program, 2015; Healthcare Heroes Finalist, Physician category, Atlanta Business Chronicle, 2010; Guide to America’s Top Pediatricians, Pediatric Nephrology, Consumers’ Research Council of America, 2010; Golden Apple Honorable Mention Award, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Health Education Expo, recognizing outstanding accomplishment in healthcare education, 2008; Pediatric Research Funding Recipient, 2008; Clinical Innovator Award for New Program Development, Emory University, Department of Pediatrics, 2008; Best Doctors in America, 2007-2016; Joseph W. Crooks Faculty Development Award in Children’s Health, Emory University, Department of Pediatrics, 2006; National Kidney Foundation Travel Award, 2006;National Kidney Foundation Mini-Grant recipient, 2004; Renal Disease Epidemiology Training Grant recipient, 2003; American Society of Pediatric Nephrology Travel Award, 2002; MCP-Hahnemann Student Research Fellowship Award, 1997; and Primary Care Scholar, Penn. State Univ. College of Medicine, Primary Care Initiative Program, 1995.

Outside of practicing medicine, Dr. Amaral enjoys doing yoga, reading, cooking, and spending time with her family. Her favorite professional publications are the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and the American Journal of Transplantation.

Recommended Articles

  • Ear Infection: What Is Otitis Interna?

    Before learning about otitis interna, let us review the basic anatomy of the internal ear to understand the topic easily.What causes ear infections?The occurrence of ear infections happens due to viral or bacterial infections that affect the middle ear. It is mostly the sections of the ear behind...

  • Friends Fundraise for a 5-Year-Old with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

    Harrison Williams was only 16-months old when he was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The family heard the diagnosis while driving on their first family holiday together. They were happily traveling along when the pediatrician called and told them to turn the car around and...

  • Wilms Tumor Facts

    Wilms TumorWilms tumor, also called as nephroblastoma, is a type of cancerous tumor in the kidneys. The name of the disease comes from a German doctor named Max Wilms, who wrote about it in 1899. Children ages 3-4 years old are more likely to develop Wilms tumor.Wilms tumor accounts for around 9 out...

  • Nephrotic Syndrome in Children: What You Need to Know

    Nephrotic Syndrome in ChildrenNephrotic syndrome in children is not a disease, but rather a group of symptoms that usually indicate kidney damage (particularly glomeruli damage) and proteinuria (high levels of protein in the urine). When there is kidney damage, a protein called albumin, which is...

  • What Could Lead to Nephrotic Syndrome?

    IntroductionNephrotic syndrome refers to a group of symptoms that occur when there is something wrong with your kidneys. It can affect people of all ages and is often treatable. Kidney damage may be suspected if an individual shows any of the following symptoms:...

  • What Is Renal Ultrasound Used For?

    A renal ultrasound is actually a diagnostic procedure, wherein high-frequency sound waves are transmitted through the body tissues that are inaudible to the human ear. The echoes recorded into videos or images of the internal structures of the body.A wide range of diseases and conditions can be...

Nearby Providers

Nearest Hospitals

THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY HOSPITALl

111 SOUTH 11TH STREET PHILADELPHIA PA 19107

Head south on Civic Center Boulevard 400 ft
Turn left onto East Service Drive 508 ft
Turn left onto Health Sciences Drive 384 ft
Make a slight right 248 ft
Continue straight onto Convention Avenue 612 ft
Turn right onto South Street 1.4 mi
Turn left onto South Broad Street (PA 611) 1688 ft
Turn right onto Locust Street 1479 ft
Turn left onto South 11th Street 854 ft
You have arrived at your destination, on the right

PENN PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL CENTERl

51 NORTH 39TH STREET PHILADELPHIA PA 19104

Head south on Civic Center Boulevard 1719 ft
Turn right onto South University Avenue 1267 ft
Keep right 774 ft
Continue straight onto South 38th Street (US 13) 2273 ft
Turn left onto Filbert Street 355 ft
Turn right onto Saunders Street 277 ft
You have arrived at your destination, on the left

HAHNEMANN UNIVERSITY HOSPITALl

230 NORTH BROAD STREET PHILADELPHIA PA 19102

Head south on Civic Center Boulevard 400 ft
Turn left onto East Service Drive 508 ft
Turn left onto Health Sciences Drive 384 ft
Make a slight right 248 ft
Continue straight onto Convention Avenue 612 ft
Turn right onto South Street 774 ft
Take the ramp on the left 866 ft
Merge right onto Schuylkill Expressway (I 76) 2968 ft
Take the ramp on the right 1804 ft
Merge left onto Vine Street Expressway (I 676) 3486 ft
Take the ramp on the right 546 ft
Make a slight left 489 ft
Go straight onto Vine Street 60 ft
You have arrived at your destination, on the right