Nephrology Research and
Director:
Associate Director: Lisa Guay-Woodford, MD
Established: 1976
The
mission of the Nephrology Research and Training Center is to support research
and training directed at the following: providing new insights into the
molecular physiology and regulatory mechanisms that control renal hemodynamics and tubular transport function; diagnosing,
treating, and preventing kidney and urinary tract diseases and hypertension;
improving the health and well-being of those affected by kidney and urinary
tract diseases and hypertension; increasing the number of organs available for
renal transplants; and enhancing public awareness of important health issues
related to kidney and urinary tract diseases and hypertension.
The Center currently has 70 faculty
members including members from 6 different Schools at UAB (Medicine, Public
Health, Health Professions, Dentistry, Optometry and Engineering). A number of Center members have secondary
appointments in other Departments such as Physiology and Biophysics, Cell
Biology, and Pathology. There is also
participation in other campus-wide Centers including: the BioMatrix Engineering
and Regenerative Medicine (BERM) Center, the Center for Free Radical Biology,
the Imaging Center, the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, the Alabama
Transplant Center, the Alabama Organ Center, the recessive polycystic kidney
disease core center, the Howell and Elizabeth Heflin Center for Human Genetics,
and the James A. Pittman General Clinical Research Center.
Center Research
The Nephrology
Research and
There are a number of research interests of the Center
including studies of the biophysics, molecular biology, and regulatory control
of renal epithelial cell ion transporters and channels. A major focus of the Center involves basic
research in polycystic kidney disease. Recent
work has focused on the role of the cilium in the pathogenesis of polycystic
kidney disease. The Center is also known
for work characterizing the epithelial sodium channel and mutations that occur
in this channel that cause Liddle’s Syndrome. A longstanding research interest has been in
the area of the tubuloglomerular feedback mechanism
that plays an essential role in renal hemodynamics
and GFR. Other areas of interest include
studies to elucidate the pathophysiology of acute renal failure and gene
therapy for kidney diseases.
The
NRTC is also known for both basic science and clinical studies on various
aspects of hypertension, including salt sensitive hypertension in African
Americans. There is intense interest in
defining the various intracellular messenger/enzyme systems that are activated
in response to dietary salt intake including TGF-b, MAP kinases, and the nitric oxide pathway that may mediate
some of the deleterious effects of hypertension. There is also exciting, ongoing work to
define the mechanisms for and prevention of renal transplant rejection, IgA nephropathy, and renal failure due to multiple myeloma.
Training
The NRTC provides a rich environment
for both graduate and postgraduate training.
In conjunction with the basic science departments at UAB, the Center has
been highly successful in recruiting, training, and guiding students to the
completion of the PhD degree. The Center
attracts first-rate postdoctoral fellows from the
The research laboratories within the
Center offer modern state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, and expertise to
perform biological research. Molecular
biology tools, electrophysiology including patch clamp techniques, and
fluorescence imaging microscopy are available within the Center. Recently, members of the Center, in
conjunction with the
For additional
information:
Director:
Email: agarwal@uab.edu
Phone: 205-996-6670
Associate Director: Lisa
Guay-Woodford, MD
Email: lgw@uab.edu
Phone: 205-934-7308
Administrator: Audrey Moore
Email: aamoore@uab.edu
Phone: 205-996-6670
Approved by:
Date: April 3, 2008
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