Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to share the sad news that our former colleague and one of my mentors, Dr. Blanche Chavers, passed away this weekend.
Blanche was an absolute force in pediatric nephrology. Over her forty-year career here at the University of Minnesota, she didn’t just take care of patients—she broke barriers for women in medicine, completely changed how we treat children with kidney disease, and shaped the careers of generations of physicians.
It is hard to overstate the impact Blanche had on our department and pediatric nephrology in general:
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Blanche broke new ground from the very start, becoming our institution’s first female Pediatric Nephrology fellow in 1982, and earned her well-deserved promotion to Professor of Pediatrics in 1999.
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Working alongside surgical pioneers, she developed the revolutionary clinical protocols that made kidney transplantation safe and successful for infants under the age of two. This fundamentally changed what was once thought impossible into today’s global standard of care.
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Blanche cared deeply about training the next generation. She mentored dozens of fellows who are now practicing all over the world, and she made a point to co-publish scientific papers with nearly every fellow she trained here.
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Her leadership shaped the national stage through her service as Councilor of the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology (ASPN) and as Pediatric Lead Investigator for the USRDS. Through her work with the USRDS, she spearheaded early, critical research that exposed racial disparities in pediatric transplantation to advocate for true equity in patient care.
Blanche was also a brilliant scientist. Her early, foundational research published in the New England Journal of Medicine was the first to link microalbuminuria to early structural kidney damage in type 1 diabetes. On top of that, her reference laboratory brought in continuous federal funding for over fifteen years, providing vital data to the medical community right up until her retirement in late 2021.
It was incredibly fitting that her lifetime of service was recognized with the ASPN Founders Award (click here to watch her acceptance talk)—the highest honor in our field. View Blanche’s legacy interview at z.umn.edu/bchavers.
On a personal note, Blanche was an extraordinary mentor to me and so many others in our division. She led with a rare combination of brilliant intellect, fierce advocacy for her patients, and a generous spirit that lifted up everyone around her. When faced with a difficult problem, I often find myself asking “What would Blanche do?”. Her wisdom, humor, and steady guidance shaped the trajectory of my own career, and I know her loss leaves a profound void in the hearts of all who had the privilege of working alongside her.
Please keep her husband, son, and all her loved ones in your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Michelle
Posted: June 26, 2026