#NephMadness 2026: The Winners
NephMadness 2026 is over, and as usual we saw our fair share of buzzer beaters, upsets, and Cinderella stories. Team B-cell Modulators from the IgA Nephropathy Region emerged from a crowded field as the new champion, and its ascendance was good news for our new set of winners!
Grand Prizes
Each Grand Prize individual winner will receive a one-year online subscription to Advances in Kidney Disease and Health and Nature Reviews Nephrology.
TOP OVERALL SCORE: Santiago Moreno Tobón
“Nephrology has evolved rapidly in recent years, introducing new treatments and diagnostic approaches that enable us to better advocate for kidney health. The highlight of NephMadness—and my primary motivation for participating—is that it consolidates this knowledge through an engaging and competitive format, while fostering connections and networking across the global nephrology community via insightful debates and discussions. It is an invaluable educational resource for students, residents, fellows, and specialists alike.”
TOP MEDICAL STUDENT SCORE: Ian Fleming – @ianflemingcu.bsky.social
“I really enjoyed participating in this year’s Nephmadness as it allowed me to read about many of the top stories in Nephrology from 2026. As a medical student, I was able to impress attending physicians with some of my knowledge of current clinical trials and basic science in nephrology. I am also a huge fan of March Madness, and I loved the spirit of making the Nephmadness bracket!”
TOP RESIDENT SCORE: David Mathew
“While Nephmadness is an excellent opportunity to keep up to date with developing treatments, controversies and current opinion in Nephrology my favourite region is always the ‘Animal House‘. The write-ups are always a fascinating trip into uncharted waters for me!”
TOP FELLOW SCORE: Alexander Lanes – @lanes1213
“I have been participating in NephMadness since I was a resident. I also love sports and have been filling out a March Madness bracket for years, so the idea of combining the two was awesome to me! On the one hand, it’s great to discuss the most up-to-date nephrology topics with my co-fellows and attendings, while on the other hand, smack-talking people’s choices/brackets is a lot of fun! Our division had a few weekly sessions on the different topics, and we were able to have active conversations/debates (obviously, with March Madness-themed music blaring in the background). I’m looking forward to filling out my bracket next year and winning the Top Attending Score! Thanks to AJKD for helping organize this event and making learning a little more fun!”
TOP ATTENDING SCORE: Basu Gopal @basunephro.bsky.social – @BasuNephro
“I love the fact that NephMadness how it uses an engaging, competitive format to highlight cutting-edge topics in nephrology education, making complex information fun and accessible for the entire community. My favourite part is to see how different perspectives are pitted against each other passionately online, following the SoMe debates and finally trying to make sense of how the BRP decides!!
I submitted a bracket to progress my engage with the SoMe nephrology education community, challenge my clinical knowledge and participate in a unique and enjoyable tradition that fosters great discussion among nephrologists worldwide, while making it all fun!!”
Social Prizes
BEST BLOGGER: Anuja Java @anujajava.bsky.social – @anuja_java
“What’s not to love about NephMadness!!!
It is genuinely one of the most creative and enjoyable ways to teach nephrology. The topics are relevant across every stage of training and practice, and it fosters a real sense of community and collaboration. I could go on and on.
I have always enjoyed writing for NephMadness, but writing the commentary felt especially meaningful because it gave me the opportunity to share my thoughts and perspectives openly.”
BEST SOCIAL MEDIA POSTER: Brian Rifkin @brianrifkin.bsky.social – @brian_rifkin
“NephMadness is a wonderful way to learn about the latest and greatest in nephrology.
I’m a fan of edu-tainment and the gamification of teaching/learning.Animal House is always a fan favorite, and this year didn’t disappoint CAT vs DOG.I think most people didn’t even read the section before having very strong feelings about each team.I have also been a strong advocate for POCUS at my institution and have spent countless hours teaching residents about using POCUS at the bedside. I will be referring them back to these NephMadness summaries for years to come.Finally, after the winner was announced someone told me they didn’t understand NephMadness, and how the winners were picked, it seemed random. I reminded them that much like life, NephMadness is random and educational and fun…much like life as a nephrologist.”🚨🚨🚨It is official!!!Team Cat 🐈 has just won #NephMadness 2026 in the greatest upset of all time!!!#NephSky(April Fools)
— Brian Rifkin (@brianrifkin.bsky.social) 2026-04-01T11:53:04.075Z
Group Prizes
HIGHEST-SCORING GROUP: AzNephOfficial – Azerbaijan Medical University @amu_nephrology
“We have been participating in the NephMadness competition as a team for 5 years. Through this platform, we have made many friendships and refreshed our nephrology knowledge. We would like to express our gratitude to the organizers and all participants. See you next year!” – Elgun Haziyev – @haziyev_elgun
MOST ENTRIES GROUP: HGM Nefrología – Hospital General de México @hgm_nefrologia – @hgmnefrologia.bsky.social
This is the third consecutive win for HGM Nefrologia for Most Entries. They also won Best Party in 2024 and 2025. Chilango dominance continues!
BEST PARTY: UTSW Operation Homeostasis – University of Texas Southwest Medical Center @UTSWNephrology
“I’ve been a fan of NephMadness since fellowship, circa 2019, and I’m always up for a friendly competition and a good party. I’ve helped organize the UTSW NephMadness Party since 2022, and it’s been really special to see the engagement and support grow each year. This year’s pop art/comic theme let us go all out with the theme and decorations, and having AI as one of the regions was an amazing addition; it truly turned us into superheroes, this time the ones who wear capes. My favorite part of this year was the increased participation, which led to great discussions, but most of all, seeing fellows, faculty, and their families all together just having a great time. Looking forward for next year!” – Stephanie Torres Rodriguez – @stephanietr612
“Fantastic job inspiring enthusiasm and making it a fun and memorable experience. I also really enjoyed seeing everyone “getting into character” with the AI generated comic book scenes, the masks, and the penalty spankings.” – Kamal Sambandam – @KSamKidney
“Our fellows, faculty, and administrative team completely leaned in to the comic book superhero theme for a fantastic NephMadness event!” – Samir M. Parikh – @samirparikhmd
“Fellows and families spent quality (and comical) time learning about how expensive dog dialysis was!!” – Naveen Balakrishnan – @NBalakrishnanMD
Honorable Mentions: Some of the other great NephMadness parties the happened around the world:
The #NephMadness bracketology in Ottawa is on! this year we are going to win.
— Swapnil Hiremath 🍁🇨🇦 (@hswapnil.medsky.social) 2026-03-10T21:03:02.530Z
Congratulations to The Winners of NephMadness 2026!
Special thanks to Sarah Pratta from Elsevier and Susan Allison from NRN for the complimentary subscriptions to Advances in Kidney Disease and Health and Nature Reviews Nephrology.
There was one prize category where we needed to break a tie: Top Resident. For more details on how tiebreakers work specifically and the determination of winners and prizes in general, please see NephMadness 2026 Rules.
Final Standings | Match Results | #NephMadness | #NephMadness 
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