Patient Care

Hicham Cheikh Hassan, MD, MMed, FASN, FISN

Clinical Associate Professor
Division of Nephrology

Associate Program Director, Residency in Internal Medicine

Dr. Hicham Cheikh Hassan has over 20 years of clinical experience as an Academic Consultant Nephrologist, with more than a decade of practicing Nephrology in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand before relocating to Lebanon. During his time in Australia, he served as a Senior Consultant Nephrologist and Academic Leader for over 9 years at the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District in South Sydney, a health service covering four hospitals and dialysis centers. He led renal vascular services, renal transplantation services, and the district’s COVID-19 renal response team. Additionally, he established the live kidney donation assessment clinic and renal interventional services. Dr. Cheikh Hassan is highly skilled in managing renal diseases, with a clinical focus on chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, peritoneal dialysis, and kidney stones.

Dr. Cheikh Hassan graduated with Honors from the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland. He completed his residencies in Ireland and Sydney, Australia (2006-2010), followed by an Internal Medicine and Nephrology Fellowship at Liverpool Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital, and St. George Hospital in Sydney, Australia (2011-2013). In 2014, he was awarded Fellowship with the Royal Australian College of Physicians and pursued a Clinical/Research Nephrology Fellowship at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada (2014-2015).

He is academically driven and holds a position as an Associate Professor with University of Wollongong and Lebanese American University. He is the current Chair of Australian Kidney Trials Network (AKTN) Chronic Kidney Disease Working Group, Co-chair of Caring for Australians and New Zealanders with Kidney Disease (CARI) kidney stone guideline development. His research interests include clinical epidemiology, guideline development and implementation, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses. He is actively involved in national and international clinical trials, contributes to key working groups at both national and international institutions, and has numerous publications in high-impact journals.

Selected Publications

  1. Shanumugalingam R, Barrett HL, Cheikh Hassan HI et al. A Summary of 2023 Society of Obstetric Medicine of Australia and New Zealand (SOMANZ) hypertension in pregnancy guidline.  Medical Journal of Australia. 2024. Published online May 2024.
  2. Clay N, Cheikh Hassan HI,  wt al. What is the climate footprint of therapeutic diets for people with chronic kidney disease? Results from an Australian analysis. Journal of Human Nutrirtion and Dietetics. (2023) 36:2246- 2255.
  3. Dosseto A, Lambert K, Cheikh Hassan H et al. Calcium Isotopes as a Biomarker for Vascular Calcification in Chronic Kidney Disease. Metallomics (2013 Mar) 15(3) https://doi.org/10.1093/mtomcs/mfad009
  4. Cheikh Hassan HI et al. Acute kidney injury increases risk of kidney stones- a retrospective propensity score matched cohort study. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (2023) 38:138- 147.
  5. Cheikh Hassan HI et al. Association of peritonitis with cardiovascular mortality over time in the peritoneal dialysis population- an ANZDATA registry study. Kidney International Reports (2022) 7:2388- 2396.
  6. Chen JHC, Brown MA, Jose Matthew, Brennan F, Johnson DW, Roberts MA, Wong G, Cheikh Hassan H, Kennard A, Walker R, Davies CE, Boudville N, Borlace M, Hawley C, Lim WH. Temporary changes and risk factors for death from early dialysis withdrawal within 12 months of dialysis initiation- a cohort study. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (2022) 37(4): 760- 769.
  7. O’Hara DV, Wong JK, Cooper B, Wong G, Wong MG, Cheikh Hassan HI. Lessons for the clinical nephrologist: ureteric obstruction secondary to blood clot after kidney biopsy. Journal of Nephrology (2021) 34(6): 2131- 2136.
  8. Hamad MA, Allam H, Sulaiman A, Murali K, Cheikh Hassan HI. Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Herpes Zoster Vaccine in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease. Kidney International Reports (2021) 6(5):1254- 1264.
  9. Hepburn K, Lambert K, Mullan J, McAlister B, Lonergan M, Cheikh Hassan HI. Peritonitis as a Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Events in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients. Internal Medicine Journal (2021) 51:404-410
  10. Cheikh Hassan H, Chen J, Murali K. Characteristics of Australian Patients Receiving Renal Replacement Therapy who Geographically Relocate. BMC Nephrology (2020 Jul); doi: 10.1186/s12882-020-01887-6
  11. Cheikh Hassan HI, Tang M, Djurdjev O, Langsford D, M.Sood M, Levin A. Infection in Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease Leads to Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Events, End-Stage Kidney Disease and Mortality. Kidney International. (2016 Oct) 20:897-904. 
  12. Cheikh Hassan H, Brennan F, Collett G, Joseland E, Brown MA. Efficacy and Safety of Gabapentin for Uremic Pruritus and Restless Legs Syndrome in Conservatively Managed Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. (2014 Apr) 49(4): 782-789.  
  13. Cheikh Hassan H, Howlin K, Jefferys A, Spicer ST, Aravindan AN, Suryanarayanan G, Hall BM, Cleland BD, Wong JK, Suranyi MG, Makris A. High-Sensitivity Troponin as a Predictor of Cardiac Events and Mortality in the Stable Dialysis Population. Clinical Chemistry (2014) 60(2): 389- 398.

View Dr. Cheikh Hassan’s Google Scholar Citations

Professional and Research Interests

Education and Training

Professional Memberships and Organizations

Keywords

Chronic Kidney Disease, Acute Kidney Injury, Peritoneal Dialysis, Kidney Stones, Kidney Failure, Clinical Nephrology, Clinical Research, Meta-analysis, Clinical guideline