Dr. Vanessa Grubbs is an internist, nephrologist, kidney donor, physician-scientist, and author of Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers: A Kidney Doctor's Search for the Perfect Match. Dr. Grubbs is from Spring Lake, North Carolina. She is a Duke University undergraduate and medical school alum and completed her nephrology specialty training at UCSF, where she became a faculty member. While maintaining a clinical and research practice, she distinguished herself as a leading voice in nephrology, palliative care, and racial disparities. She left UCSF in 2019 but continues to publish in medical journals and speak at academic institutions. Currently, Dr. Grubbs is a part-time primary care physician, runs "Real Kidney Talk with The People's Nephrologist" on YouTube, and, in 2022, she founded Black Doc Village, a non-profit organization dedicated to actively advocating for Black trainees and physicians. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, and recipient of her left kidney, Robert Phillips.