Nephrology Clinical Research
The U-M Medical School Department of Internal Medicine Division of Nephrology has a broad range of clinical research interests and has seen exciting growth in several areas of research.
Faculty in the division are lead investigators and collaborators on 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 the Detroit Medical Center and St. John Hospital, as well as across the United States and internationally.
Key Areas of Research
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 Black 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 & 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 minority populations
- Clinical pharmacology of immunosuppressive medications
Clinical Research Faculty
Michael Heung, MD, MS
Alan B Leichtman
Joseph M Messana
Abhijit S Naik, MBBS, MPH
Rajiv Saran, MBBS, DTCD, MD, MRCP (UK), MS
Jonathan H Segal
Vahakn B Shahinian, MD
Balazs Szamosfalvi, MD
William F Weitzel III
Julie Anne Wright Nunes
Lenar Yessayan, MD
