Stephen Z. Fadem

Stephen Zale Fadem is an American nephrologist and medical educator specializing in kidney disease management, dialysis, and nephrology education.

Early life and education
Stephen Zale Fadem was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and relocated to Houston, Texas, in 1973. He is married to Joyce and has three children. He completed his high school education at Thomas Edison High School in Tulsa. He pursued undergraduate studies at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and subsequently earned his M.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine on June 10, 1973.

Career and research
Fadem completed an internship in Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston Affiliated Hospitals. He continued his training with a residency in Internal Medicine at the same institution. Subsequently, he pursued a fellowship in Renal Diseases at the University of Texas Science Center at San Antonio.

He has made contributions to nephrology through publications covering topics such as drug abuse among teenagers, corticosteroid therapy for acute renal allograft rejection, and the impact of different treatments and conditions on renal function. His publications include collaborative research on renal circulation, the effects of prostaglandin E, and drug-induced vasodilation on the kidney. Fadem has participated in over 40 clinical trials.

His areas of interest include the preservation of kidney function, fall prevention, vascular calcification, hereditary kidney disease, immune-mediated kidney disease, and aging.

Awards and recognition
Fadem has received awards from the National Kidney Foundation and the American Association of Kidney Patients. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas in 1999. In 2023, he was honored with the Distinguished Nephrology Service Award from the Renal Physicians Association. He received the AAKP Medal of Excellence in 1969 and has twice been awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award (2020, 2022) for his contributions to AAKP, the VA, and NKF.

Fadem is a member of the American Society of Nephrology (Fellow), the American College of Physicians (Fellow). and the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians (Fellow).

Selected publications

 * Allen JR, Fadem SZ, Schecter MP, Toussleng PV, and Lester B. (1972). Paseo Drug Rap, Paseo Center. A monograph on drug abuse among teenagers.
 * Vineyard GC, Fadem SZ, Drmochowskia J, Carpenter CB, and Wilson RE. (1974). Evaluation of corticosteroid therapy for acute renal allograft rejection. Surgery, Gynecology, and Obstetrics, 138:229.
 * Mauk RH, Patak RV, Fadem SZ, Lifschitz MD, and Stein JH. (1977). Effect of prostaglandin E administration in a nephrotoxic and a vasoconstrictor model of acute renal failure. Kidney International, 12:122-130.
 * Stein JH and Fadem SZ. (1978). The renal circulation. J.A.M.A, 239:1308-1312.
 * Lifschitz MD, Patak RV, Fadem SZ, and Stein JH. (1978). Urinary prostaglandin E excretion: Effect of chronic alterations in sodium intake and inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis in the rabbit. Prostaglandins, 16:607-619.
 * Patak RV, Fadem SZ, Lifschitz MD, and Stein JH. (1979). A study of factors which modify the development of norepinephrine-induced acute renal failure in the dog. Kidney International, 15:227-237.