Our Team

Sheldon Hirsch, MD

Dr. Hirsch was born and raised in New York and attended Amherst College and Tufts Medical School in Massachusetts. He did his internship and residency at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago and his clinical renal fellowship at UCLA. Dr. Hirsch has been with Lakeside Nephrology since 1988.

Paru P. Kathpalia, MD

The author of numerous peer reviewed scientific publications and board certified in both Internal Medicine and Nephrology, Dr. Kathpalia has been with the practice since 2012. He is the Medical Director of the Fresenius Garfield Dialysis Unit, a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology.

Chris C. Najafi, MD

Dr. Najafi joined Lakeside Nephrology in 2000 after completing his Nephrology training at Rush University Medical Center. He is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Nephrology. He has served as the Medical Director of Fresenius Medical Care Skokie Dialysis facility since 2001.

Alexander Hlepas, MD

Dr. Hlepas grew up in Greece and Germany and obtained his medical degree from Charité University in Berlin, Germany. He has been in Chicago since 2018, where he completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Rush University Medical Center. He has a particular interest in vascular access, stone disease, and polycystic kidney disease. He is the author of several publications.