Dr Gelfand received her B.A. from Harvard College in Romance Languages and Literatures and her MD from Mount Sinai School of Medicine with distinction in medical education. She is a dual board-certified nephrologist and palliative medicine physician who specializes in kidney palliative care at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Her clinical and academic focus is on symptom management, medical decision-making, and conservative kidney management as an alternative to dialysis for seriously ill patients with advanced kidney disease.