Novel Podocyte Culturing Technique Will Advance the Search for Kidney Disease Cure

Research into cures for chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been severely hampered because of the difficulty in studying the highly specialized cells of the kidney, particularly the podocytes, outside their native microenvironment.  However, a game-changing, novel culturing technique, developed through the collaboration of scientists from WashU Division of Nephrology and the McKelvey School of Engineering, […]

Dr. Hani Suleiman Receives NIDDK R01 Grant to Study Kidney Podocyte Architecture

Hani Suleiman, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Division of Nephrology at Washington University in St. Louis, has been awarded a four-year, $1.37M R01 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to study the “Molecular Determinants of Kidney Podocyte Architecture in Health, Injury, and Recovery.” Dr. Suleiman’s research focuses […]

Physician-Scientist Ying Maggie Chen Receives Patent for Preventing and Treating ER Stress-Mediated Kidney Diseases

Dr. Ying Maggie Chen

Congratulations to Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, and co-inventors, Sun-Ji Park, PhD, Yeawon Kim, and Fumihiko Urano on their patent “Compositions and methods for treating and preventing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated kidney diseases” that was issued on September 28, 2021.   The ER plays important roles […]

Virtual Remote Conference Tools Keep Us Connected

From telemedicine to video conferencing to interviews, remote conference tools have been so useful and favorably received since the COVID-19 shutdown that they may just end up being part of our “new normal” long after the crisis has passed. Virtual conference tools have helped members of WashU Nephrology keep connected to not only our patients, […]

Dr. Maggie Chen Receives $1.8M Department of Defense Grant to Develop Treatment for FSGS

Congratulations to Ying “Maggie” Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Nephrology, who was awarded a $1.8 million grant (total cost) from the U.S. Department of Defense for her study “Development of Novel Podocyte Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Calcium Stabilizers to Treat Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS).” FSGS is the most common primary glomerulopathy leading to renal […]

Dr. Ying Maggie Chen Awarded $300K Mallinckrodt Challenge Grant

Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Nephrology, is the recipient of a 2-year, $300,000 Mallinckrodt Challenge Grant for her study “Targeting Podocyte Dysfunctional Ryanodine Receptor to Treat Nephrotic Syndrome.” “The overall goals of this proposal are to determine the molecular mechanisms underlying increased podocyte endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium efflux under ER stress […]

Promising Therapies for the Treatment of Podocyte Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-induced NS/FSGS

A new study led by Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, Division of Nephrology, found a new class of drugs that shows great promise in the treatment of nephrotic syndrome (NS) resulting from podocyte endoplasmic reticulum (ER) dysfunction. NS is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease affecting over 500 million people worldwide.  Damage to podocytes, […]

Division of Nephrology Receives Two McDonnell Genome Institute Pilot Project Awards

Congratulations to Division of Nephrology members Hani Suleiman, MD. PhD, and co-PIs Andrew Malone, MB, BCh, and Benjamin Humphreys, MD, PhD, division Chief, who were selected to receive McDonnell Genome Institute (MGI) Pilot Project awards. These awards are made possible by funds from the Dean of the School of Medicine-WUSM, the Institute of Clinical and […]

Meei-Hua Lin’s Eye-Catching Image is JASN’s New Cover

An image from a manuscript by Meei-Hua Lin, PhD, Division of Nephrology, was chosen to grace the first issue of JASN’s new cover format. Dr. Lin is a Senior Scientist in the laboratory of Jeffrey Miner, PhD, Professor of Medicine. The new cover format, debuting on the May 2018 issue, displays a detailed table of […]

Maggie Chen Awarded $1.52M NIH R01 Grant to Study Nephrotic Syndrome

Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Medicine Ying (Maggie) Chen, MD, PhD, who has been awarded a five-year $1.52M total costs, R01 grant from the NIH to fund a research project titled Podocyte Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Nephrotic Syndrome. Nephrotic syndrome (NS), characterized by heavy proteinuria and increased risk of loss of kidney function, causes serious […]