Michael Emmett, MD was born in a displaced persons camp near Linz, Austria, to survivors of the Holocaust on October 29, 1945. He and his family immigrated to Chester and then Philadelphia, Pa. 5 years later. He attended public schools, Pennsylvania State University (graduating magna cum laude in 1967) and Temple University School of Medicine (graduating first in his class in 1971). He received 4 major awards and was president of Temple’s Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society chapter. His internship and residency in internal medicine were completed at Yale-New Haven Medical Center followed by a nephrology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
In July 1976 Dr. Emmett joined Dallas Nephrology Associates and the staff of Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) in Dallas. His skill as a teacher was quickly recognized and he won multiple teaching awards from medical students, residents and fellows. Simultaneously, he participated in the educational programs at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Hospital, where he began a lifelong collaboration with Drs. Donald Seldin and John Fordtran. In 1986, Dr. Emmett became director of the Division of Nephrology and Metabolism of the Department of Internal Medicine, the Tompsett Professor of Medicine, director of the Nephrology Laboratory, and medical director of the Ruth Collins Diabetes Center, all at BUMC. In 1988, he became a clinical professor of medicine at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and in 2012 a Professor of Internal Medicine at Texas A&M School of Medicine. Since January 1996, Dr. Emmett has been the chairman of BUMC’s Department of Internal Medicine. He has served as the president of BUMC’s medical staff, of the medical board and of the executive committee of the medical board.
Dr. Emmett served on committees writing questions for the ABIM’s Nephrology Certification Exam from 1994 -2000, the ABIM Internal Medicine Exam from 2000-2007, and Recent Advances in Nephrology SEP 2000-2007.
In 2001 Dr. Emmett became a Master in the American College of Physicians and in 2012 a Laureate of the Texas Chapter of the ACP 2012. In 2015 he presented the Massry Lectureship for the National Kidney Foundation.
Dr. Emmett has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters, edits textbooks and computer programs and serves as a reviewer and associate editor of multiple peer-reviewed medical journals. He is an author and editor for many topics in the UpToDate on-line publication. A number of his articles describing practical approaches to acid base and electrolyte disorders have become “medical classics”. His research has focused on gastrointestinal absorption in chronic kidney disease.
He and his wife, Rachel, are very proud of their three children: Mira, an attorney in Atlanta; Daniel a gastroenterologist in Austin; and Joshua an anesthesiologist in Dallas. The Emmett’s also have seven wonderful grandchildren.
