Matthew A. Sparks, MD
Nephrologist
My Locations
About Me
I enjoy taking care of patients with a wide variety of kidney disorders. My clinical interests include glomerulonephritis, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, cancer-related kidney disease, and electrolyte disorders. I enjoy working as a team and serve as the clinic director of the nephrology fellows clinic. My goal is to ensure each patient is offered evidence-based treatments and is well informed and educated about kidney health.
LGBTQ+ Identified or Ally
- Associate Professor of Medicine, Medicine, Nephrology 2021
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Training and Education
In the News
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Clinical Focus and Research
My research interests include hypertension pathogenesis, the renin angiotensin system, adverse effects of medications, pathophysiology of kidney disease, and mechanism of action of SGLT2 inhibitors. I am also interested in medical education and curriculum design. I have worked to leverage social media to enhance medical education. I am a founding faculty member and program director of the Nephrology Social Media Collective (NSMC) internship and member of the board of directors of nephrology journal club (NephJC), a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing free online medical education in nephrology.
- U2C/TL1 NC KUH TRIO Networking Development Core awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill 2023 - 2028
- The Paired Undergraduate Mentoring Program (PUMP) in Uronephrology awarded by National Institutes of Health 2022 - 2027
- Duke Training Grant in Nephrology awarded by National Institutes of Health 1995 - 2023
- Lerma, Edgar V., Matthew A. Sparks, and Joel Topf. Nephrology Secrets, 2018.
- Shankar, Mythri, and Matthew A. Sparks. “The evolution of social media in nephrology education: A mini-review.” Front Nephrol 3 (2023): 1123969. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneph.2023.1123969.
- Rajagopal, Madhumitha, Hridyesh Sikri, Stephen C. Ward, Matthew A. Sparks, and Samira S. Farouk. “Acute Kidney Injury in a Patient With a Kidney Transplant and Posttransplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder: A Quiz.” Am J Kidney Dis 80, no. 5 (November 2022): A20–22. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.ajkd.2022.05.019.
- Yang, Ting, Chengcheng Song, Donna L. Ralph, Portia Andrews, Matthew A. Sparks, Beverly H. Koller, Alicia A. McDonough, and Thomas M. Coffman. “Cell-Specific Actions of the Prostaglandin E-Prostanoid Receptor 4 Attenuating Hypertension: A Dominant Role for Kidney Epithelial Cells Compared With Macrophages.” J Am Heart Assoc 11, no. 19 (October 4, 2022): e026581. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.122.026581.
- Sparks, M. A., and Harpreet Singh. “Thrombotic Microangiopathies.” In Nephrology Secrets, edited by Matthew Sparks, Joel Topf, and Edgar Lerma, 2018.
- Sparks, M. A., and Harpreet Singh. “Thrombotic Microangiopathies.” In Nephrology Secrets, edited by Matthew Sparks, Joel Topf, and Edgar Lerma, 2018.
- 1. Olyaei, A. J., E. Lerma, S. A. Tuchman, and M. A. Sparks. “Rational Dosing of Chemotherapy in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.” In Onconephrology Cancer, Chemotherapy and the Kidney, edited by K. D. Jhaveri and A. Salahudeen, 105–29. Springer, 2015.
- Kram, Bridgette, William Harris, Komal Safdar, Frances Hung, Hui-Jie Lee, Daniel Edmonston, Matthew Sparks, and Dan Gilstrap. “IMPACT OF TREATMENT MODALITIES ON ICU LENGTH OF STAY FOR PATIENTS ADMITTED WITH SEVERE HYPONATREMIA.” In CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE, Vol. 52, 2024.
- Katz, Guy, Melissa Briones, Nina Couette, Meridith Balbach, Sabahat Usmani, Lauren He, Michael Macklin, et al. “RheumMadness and TheMednet: The Impact of a Collaboration Between Independent Educational Initiatives.” In ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATOLOGY, 75:1531–34, 2023.
- Balbach, Meridith, Sabahat Usmani, Guy Katz, Lauren He, Michael Macklin, Iman Qaiser, John Kellogg, et al. “An Atypical ClassRheum: RheumMadness, a Collaborative Rheumatology Competition Building Knowledge and Community.” In ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATOLOGY, 75:1528–31, 2023.
Insurance Accepted
Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.
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Aetna
- Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
- Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS
- Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
- Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
- Aetna Open Choice PPO
- Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
- Aetna Select HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice
- Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
- Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
- Aetna/CVS Health
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Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
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Cigna
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
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*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
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Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
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Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
- Gateway Health Alliance
- Healthgram
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Humana
- Humana Choice (PPO)
- Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
- Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
- Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
- MedCost
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Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
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NC Medicaid
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
- Carolina Complete Health
- Healthy Blue
- NC Medicaid Direct
- WellCare of North Carolina
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TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
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United Healthcare
- AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
- AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
- AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
- All Savers Alternate Funding
- All Savers Fully Insured
- United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)**
- United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
- United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
- United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
- United Healthcare Option PPO
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
- United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
- United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
- United Medical Resources (UMR)
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.
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**Duke Health does not participate in UHC plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.