Division of Nephrology and Hypertension Archives

From left, Raymond C. Harris, MD, Shirong Cao, MD, PhD, Ming-Zhi Zhang, MD, MSc, and colleagues are studying the role of inflammation in obesity.

Study sheds light on the dark side of obesity

May. 12, 2022—Vanderbilt research that promotes the anti-inflammatory pathway in macrophages could also reduce some of the bad side effects of obesity.

Schaefer named Adult Solid Organ Transplant Center medical director

Apr. 6, 2022—Heidi Schaefer, MD, has been named medical director of the Adult Solid Organ Transplant Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Adriana Hung, MD, MPH, talks with patient Sylvester Norman, who is participating in the VA Department’s Million Veteran Program.

Gene variants increase risk of kidney failure in veterans of African ancestry with COVID-19: study

Feb. 10, 2022—Gene variants increased the risk of acute kidney injury and death in veterans of African ancestry who were hospitalized with COVID-19, possibly explaining some health disparities associated with COVID-19.

The role of integrins in kidney “integrity”

Jan. 13, 2022—Receptors called integrins play a critical role in maintaining the structure of the kidney, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

New Department of Medicine roles push forward initiatives in clinical research

Nov. 15, 2021—T. Alp Ikizler, MD, director of Vanderbilt's Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, has been named vice chair for Clinical Research in the Department of Medicine.

Osama El Shamy, MD, and Megha Salani, MD, are working to expand VUMC’s Home Dialysis Program.

Home Dialysis Program experiencing rapid growth

Aug. 19, 2021—Osama El Shamy, MD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, has long been a proponent of the benefits of home dialysis.

Gene expression in diabetic nephropathy

Aug. 5, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers are looking to mRNA populations in podocytes — kidney cells that help filter blood — to help identify potential targets for treating diabetic kidney disease.

Clue to diabetic kidney disease

Oct. 5, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers have identified a signaling pathway that promotes kidney fibrosis in patients with diabetes — and that could be targeted with an existing approved medication.

William Fissell, MD, has been working on the Kidney Project to create an implantable bioartificial kidney for the last decade.

VUMC, UCSF win KidneyX award for implantable home dialysis system

Jul. 22, 2020—A $500,000 KidneyX prize has been awarded to The Kidney Project — a collaboration between Vanderbilt University Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) — for the development of an implantable dialysis system that would enable patients to safely and effectively treat kidney failure at home.

Group’s efforts lead to removal of race as a variable in common test of kidney function

Jul. 13, 2020—A group of Vanderbilt students, residents and faculty — connected through their passion for health equity — have identified and worked together to rectify longstanding concerns about the inappropriate use of race as a variable in the calculation of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), which estimates a patient’s level of kidney function and helps determine the stage of kidney disease.

Protecting the injured kidney

Jun. 4, 2020—Leslie Gewin and colleagues have upended conventional dogma about Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in the kidney, finding that it protects against chronic kidney disease rather than promoting it.

Implant one day may replace dialysis

May. 18, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers used pharmacological manipulations to increase salt and water transport by kidney cells grown in culture, a step necessary for realizing an implantable artificial kidney device.