Ying (Maggie) Chen, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology has been awarded a Children’s Discovery Institute (CDI) and Human Pluripotent Stem Cell (HPSC) Core Pilot Grant for her proposal Modeling Tubular Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-induced Renal Fibrosis using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.
Dr. Chen’s research focuses on the genetic factors responsible for kidney dysfunction. “The goal of the proposed research,” says Chen, “is to generate human induced pluripotent stem cells from autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney disease (ADTKD) patients carrying endoplasmic reticulum stress-inducing gene mutations for disease modeling, mechanistic investigation and drug discovery study.”
ADTKD is a monogenic form of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis characterized by hyperuricemia, gout, alterations in urinary concentration, and progressive loss of kidney function. ADTKD represents approximately 25% of patients with inherited kidney disease, after exclusion of polycystic kidney disease and Alport syndrome.
“Our study will pave the way for modeling ADTKD with broad utility, including an opportunity to correct genetic defects by genome editing and a future platform for drug screening,” says Dr. Chen.
Recently established by the CDI, the HPSC Core is made up of the Genome Engineering and iPSC Center (GEiC) and the Human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC) Core. The goal of the HPSC Core is to advance research of human disease and regenerative medicine using human pluripotent stem cells. All pilot grant money is to be spent on the services provided by the GEiC or hESC Core.
See the Center of Regenerative Medicine’s website for more information on hPSC pilot grants and subsidies.