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

A Vanderbilt study found that renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAASi) inhibitor drugs, which are commonly used to regulate high blood pressure, do not disproportionately increase the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with COVID-19 compared to patients hospitalized with influenza.

Vanderbilt research has revealed an important mechanism in the kidney by which a cell surface receptor known as DDR1 fans the flames of inflammation and fibrosis that ultimately lead to kidney failure.

A new method developed by Vanderbilt researchers to generate kidney cells from stem cells offers a faster and less expensive way to make these valuable tools for studying kidney diseases.

Vanderbilt's Ambra Pozzi, PhD, has been elected president of the American Society for Matrix Biology (ASMB), a scientific organization that promotes research on the extracellular matrix with the aim of improving human health.

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

Signaling molecules called EETs could improve insulin resistance, a primary risk factor for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.