Clinical Research

The Division of Nephrology and its affiliated faculty have had exciting growth in several areas of clinical research and have a broad range of clinical research interests. Key areas of intense research among division members include:

Cardiovascular Disease

  • clinical trials in mechanisms of hypertension and accelerated cardiovascular disease in chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal disease, and renal transplantation
  • clinical trials exploring effects of vitamin supplementation on vascular disease among patients with kidney disease
  • kidney disease and hypertension in the African American population

Acute Renal Failure

  • studies in survival of hospital patients with acute renal failure and examination of delivery of renal replacement therapies
  • development of a bioartificial kidney now in a multi-center clinical trial

End-Stage Renal Disease, Dialysis, and Kidney Transplantation

  • examination of various dialysis access techniques for hemodialysis therapy
  • bioengineering and investigation of dialysis access with an emphasis on surveillance techniques
  • access to kidney transplantation and renal transplant survival in the minority population
  • clinical pharmacology of immunosuppressive medications

Faculty in the division are lead investigators and collaborators on recent NIH-sponsored multi-center clinical trials like the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study. Many faculty conduct patient-oriented research at the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR), which was founded in 2006 to enable and enhance clinical and translational research at the University of Michigan.

Clinician scientists in the division have spear-headed collaborations with investigators regionally at Detroit Medical Center and St. John Hospital, as well as across the United States and internationally.

Faculty involved in clinical research: