Research

The Nephrology and Hypertension Division conducts ongoing clinical research. The major areas of interest include diabetes, the continuum of chronic kidney disease, acute renal replacement therapies, and hypertension.

Nephrology laboratories

Most forms of chronic kidney disease that require renal replacement therapies are preceded by a prolonged period of progressive, unrelenting decline in renal function, which is often independent of the initial etiology of the disease. The renal research laboratory hasfocused on the mechanisms responsible for this process. Unraveling these mechanisms may lead to the development of treatments to arrest this inexorable progression of renal insufficiency.

Increased glomerular blood pressure is an early characteristic of many forms of renal disease that progress to glomerulosclerosis including diabetes. The mechanisms involved in excessive extracellular matrix production leading to glomerulosclerosis have been a major research focus as well. Investigations include evaluating the role of mechanical forces, non-insulin mediated glucose transport, and the action of cytokines in the development of these lesions.

Our Division’s investigators work closely with the bioscientists in the Division of Hypertension and Vascular Research.