Professional Interests

Dr. Raff is a Professor of Medicine and the Associate Chair of Medicine for Undergraduate Medical Education. She has been the Course Director for the Einstein first year medical student Renal System Course since 2007 and the Internal Medicine Clerkship and Acting Internship Director since 2012.

She a faculty mentor for the student led Step 1 Group near-peer evidence based guidance program and the Internal Medicine Interest Group.

She has a clinical practice of CKD and ESRD patients and enjoys rounding on the inpatient Renal Consult and Dialysis services.

Dr. Raff’s contributions in the field of Medical Education include serving as a Case Editor for  Aquifer Internal Medicine, contributing author and reviewer for the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM) curriculum revision and MKSAP 19 Nephrology section committee member.

She has been recognized for her teaching excellence at Einstein with the Samuel M. Rosen Outstanding Teacher Award for Excellence in Basic Science Teaching, the Harry Eagle Award for Outstanding Basic Science Teaching, the Harry H. Gordon Award for Outstanding Clinical Teaching and membership in the Leo M. Davidoff Society.

Dr. Raff received a bachelor's degree in biology from Indiana University and a MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital and a chief resident year at NYU Downtown Hospital. She returned to Montefiore Einstein for a Nephrology Fellowship and joined the Einstein Division of Nephrology faculty in 2004.

Selected Publications

1. Fitz M, Adams W, Haist S, Hauer K, Ross P, Raff A, Agarwal G, Vu T, Appelbaum J, Lang V, Miller C, Grum C and the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine – National Board of Medical Examiners EXPRESS Study Group. Which Internal Medicine Clerkship Characteristics Are Associated With Students' Performance on the NBME Medicine Subject Exam? A Multi-Institutional Analysis. Acad Med. 2020;10.1097/ACM.0000000000003322 [published online ahead of print, 2020 Mar 17]. 

2. Brien K (Author), Calvo L (Associate editor), Raff A (Case editor). Aquifer Internal Medicine Case 33: 49-year-old woman with confusion. 2019 https://www.aquifer.org

3. Khan M, Gil N, Lin W, Fiter R, Kenawy D, Burton W, Raff A.  The impact of Step 1 scores on medical students’ residency specialty choice. Med Sci Educ. 28(4): 699-705. 2018.

4. Ludwig A, Raff A, Lin J, Schoenbaum E. Group Observed Structured Encounter (GOSCE) for third year medical students improves self-assessment of clinical communication. Medical Teacher 39(9): 931-5. 2017.

5. Golestaneh L, Neugarten J, Southern W, Kargoli F, Raff A.  Improving the diagnostic workup of hyponatremia in the setting of kidney disease: a continuing medical education (CME) initiative. Int Urol Nephrol 49(3): 491-7. 2017

6. Czapka M, Raff A, Risley M.  Safe Transitions: An active learning module for discharge summaries and interprofessional care. MedEdPORTAL iCollaborative. 2017

7. Tanenbaum, E, Johnson J, Jordan, E, Cottral J, Tenore C, Burton W, McGinn A, Raff A.  An effective evidence-based student run near-peer support group for the USMLE Step 1 Exam.  Med Sci Educ. 26(4): 691-9. 2016

8. Ludwig A, Lee R, Parish S, Raff A. Four-station group observed structured clinical encounter for formative assessment of communication skills for internal medicine clerks. MedEdPORTAL Publications. 12:10444. 2016 

9. Chen W, Melamed M, Hostetter T, Bauer C, Raff A, Almudevar A, Lalonde A, Messing S, Abramowitz M.  Effect of oral sodium bicarbonate on fibroblast growth factor-23 in patients with chronic kidney disease: a pilot study.  BMC Nephrol. 17(1): 114. doi: 10.1186/s12882-016-0331-6. 2016

10. Jion Y, Raff A, Grosberg B, Evans R.  The risk and management of kidney stones from the use of topiramate and zonisamide in migraine and idiopathic intracranial hypertension.  Headache. 55(1): 161-6. 2015

11. Jion Y, Raff A, Grosberg B, Evans R.  Topiramate and nephrolithiasis: a response.  Headache. 55(5): 710-2. 2015

12. Abramowitz, M, Melamed M, Bauer C, Raff A, Hostetter T.  Effects of oral sodium bicarbonate in patients with CKD.  Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 8(5): 714-20. 2013

13. Berman N, Lectura M, Thurman J, Reinecke J, Raff A, Melamed M, Quan Z, Evans T, Meyer T, Hostetter T.  A zebrafish model for uremic toxicity: role of the complement pathway.  Blood Purif. 35(4): 265-9. 2013

14. Bomback A, Raff A.  Olfactory function in dialysis patients: a potential key to understanding the uremic state.  Kidney Int.  80(8): 803-5.  2011

15. Ponda M, Quan Z, Melamed M, Raff A, Meyer T, Hostetter T.   Methylamine clearance by haemodialysis is low.  Nephrol Dial Transplant.  25(5): 1608-13. 2010

16. Raff A,  Lieu S, Melamed M, Quan Z, Ponda M, Meyer T, Hostetter T.  Relationship of Impaired Olfactory Function in ESRD to Malnutrition and Retained Uremic Molecules. Am J Kidney Dis.  52(1): 102-10.  2008

17. Raff A, Meyer T, Hostetter T.  New Insights into uremic toxicity.  Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens.  17(6): 560-5.  2008

18. Susztak K, Raff A, Schiffer M, Bottinger E.  Glucose – induced   reactive oxygen species cause apoptosis of podocytes and podocyte depletion at the onset of diabetic nephropathy. Diabetes. 55(1): 225-33.  2006

19. Schiffer M. Susztak K, Ranalletta M, Raff A, Bottinger E, Charron M.  Localization of the GLUT8 transporter in murine kidney and regulation in vivo in non-diabetic and diabetic conditions.  Am J Physiol Renal Physiol, 289(1): F186-193.  2005

20. Raff A, Hebert T, Pullman J, Coco M.  Crescentic post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis with nephrotic syndrome in the adult: is aggressive therapy warranted?  Clinical Nephrology, 63(5): 375-380.  2005

21. Spector M, Raff A, DeSilva H, Lee K, Osley M.  Hir1p and Hir2p function as transcriptional corepressors to regulate histone gene transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell cycle.  Molecular and Cellular Biology, 17(2):  545-552.  1997

22. Recht J, Dunn B, Raff A, Osley M.  Functional analysis of histone H2A and H2B in transcriptional repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Molecular and Cellular Biology, 16(6):  2545-2553.  1996

23. Kopczynski J, Raff A, Bonner J.  Translational readthrough at nonsense mutations in the HSF1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.  Molecular and General Genetics, 234: 369-378.  1992