Dr. Cheryl Lynne Kunis, MD, MS

Expert Publications

• A randomized trial of cyclosporine in patients with steroid-resistant focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. North America Nephrotic Syndrome Study Group.
• Treatment of glomerulonephritis in the elderly.
• Cyclosporine in patients with steroid-resistant membranous nephropathy: a randomized trial.
• Beneficial effect of rituximab in the treatment of recurrent idiopathic membranous nephropathy after kidney transplantation.
• Adult respiratory distress syndrome associated with oral cyclosporine.
• The hyperlipidemia of the nephrotic syndrome. Relation to plasma albumin concentration, oncotic pressure, and viscosity.
• The emergency treatment of hyperkalemia.

Media Releases

Get to know Nephrologist Dr. Cheryl Lynne Kunis, who serves patients in New York, New York.

A fellowship-trained nephrologist, Dr. Kunis is currently Clinical Professor of Medicine Emerita at Columbia University, Adjunct Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and a member of the Mount Sinai Independent Physicians’ Association. 

“I have viewed nephrology as a way to integrate many different aspects of medicine, from hypertension to diabetes to transplantation. I have devoted myself to clinical practice and clinical research projects in the area of glomerular disease, especially diabetes mellitus” she stated. 

A 1975 graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Kunis went on to perform her residency in internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in 1978. She then completed her fellowship in nephrology with the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in 1981, and her Master of Science degree in Bioethics at Columbia University in 2014. 

Board-certified in both internal medicine and nephrology, the doctor is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). The ABIM is a physician-led, non-profit, independent evaluation organization driven by doctors who want to achieve higher standards for better care in a rapidly changing world.

Continuously advancing her efforts, Dr. Kunis is an active member of the American Society of Hypertension, the American Society of Nephrology, the International Society of Nephrology, and the New York Society of Nephrology.

Among her other roles, Dr. Kunis serves as bioethicist for the Program to Increase Diversity among Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research (PRIDE) at NYU and Downstate Medical Centers; has been a Board member of Physicians for a National Health Program since 2014 and is Director of their National Issues Working Group.

Her goal is to educate the public and medical professionals to help create an equitable universal healthcare system in the United States, firmly believing that healthcare injustice is the greatest injustice of all.

Nephrology is a specialty of medicine and 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 care when the time comes. 

A Board Member of Community Impact at Columbia University, Dr. Kunis has won The Dr. Maurice Russell Award in recognition of her outstanding commitment to public service. She has also been the recipient of the PNHP Health Justice Award in 2021.

On a more personal note, she speaks multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and French.

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