Division of Nephrology
Congratulations to Chenjian Gu, a Postdoc in our lab, for being awarded the highly competitive American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Cure Ben J. Lipps Research Fellowship Program grants. The Ben J. Lipps Research Fellowship Program grants are designed to support postdoctoral fellows in conducting original, high-quality research that will help establish the beginnings of […]
In our newly published article in Nature Communications, a multi-center group led by Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, WashU Division of Nephrology, describes previously unknown mechanisms of action of mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) and its therapeutic function, with regards to kidney disease. MANF is a secreted endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein that possesses cytoprotective properties. […]
Albuminuria is the hallmark of nephrotic syndrome (NS), a leading cause of chronic kidney disease that affects 500 million people worldwide, but the molecular mechanism underlying albuminuria-induced kidney injury remains poorly defined. Using a genetic model of nephrotic syndrome and an acquired model of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, Sun-Ji Park, PhD, in her second first-author PNAS […]
A new, minimally-invasive bio-diagnostic device may replace painful blood collection techniques used to detect acute kidney injury (AKI) biomarkers in children in the future. WashU collaborators, nephrologist Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, and bio-engineer Srikanth Singamaneni, PhD, have received a grant from the OVCR (Office of Vice Chancellor for Research) Seed Grant Program to study […]
Founded in 1908, ASCI is one of the oldest and most esteemed nonprofit honor societies of physician-scientists.
A total of 95 new members, from 46 different institutions and a wide variety of medical backgrounds, is formally inducted during the ASCI Dinner and New Member Induction Ceremony in Chicago on April 8, 2022.
Congratulations to Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, and co-inventors Sun-Ji Park, 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 in […]
Yeawon Kim, a member of the Y. Maggie Chen Lab, is first author of the study titled “Ultrabright Plasmonic-Fluor Nanolabel-Enabled Detection of a Urinary ER Stress Biomarker in Autosomal Dominant Tubulointerstitial Kidney Disease (ADTKD),”published, in the American Journal of Physiology – Renal Physiology as an Innovative Methodology article. (Authors: Yeawon Kim, Zheyu Wang, Chuang Li, Kendrah Kidd, Yixuan Wang, Bryce […]
Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Division of Nephrology, is the recipient of a UAB-UCSD O’Brien Center Pilot Award to study therapies for acute kidney injury (AKI) Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury is the leading cause of AKI in both native and transplanted kidneys. Evidence shows that tubular endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays a causative role […]
Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at Washington University in St. Louis, will present at the 2021 FASEB Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Conference: Structure, Function, and Disease virtual conference to be held June 22-24, 2021. Dr Chen will speak on Endoplasmic Reticulum Dyshomeostasis and Kidney Disease. This FASEB […]
Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at Washington University in St. Louis, will present at the 2021 George M. O’Brien Kidney Center at Yale Annual Symposium. The virtual event is held Friday, May 7, 2021. Advances in Kidney Research is the theme of this year’s symposium. Dr. Chen will […]
American Society of Nephrology and KidneyCure (ASN Foundation) have invited Maggie, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Nephrology, Washington University, to serve on their ASN Grants Review Committee. Established in 2012, KidneyCure currently provides over $3 million per year to nephrology fellows and new investigators to help facilitate in their transition […]
Maggie has been appointed as a special government employee to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) Nephrology Subcommittee. Subcommittee members provide scientific peer review of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) research program applications submitted to Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development and Clinical Science Research and Development Services. Chen will serve on the nephrology panel to […]
We are awarded a Northwestern University George M. O’Brien Kidney Core Center (NU GoKidney) Pilot and Feasibility Grant. NU GoKidney is a kidney research center that fosters research leading to the discovery of novel nephrotherapeutics that will transform the prevention and treatment of kidney diseases and eventually lead to cures. The center’s goal is to […]
Maggie is awarded a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense for her study “Develop Novel Podocyte Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Calcium Stabilizers to Treat Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS).” FSGS is the most common primary glomerulopathy leading to renal failure and disproportionately affects African-Americans, a highly represented population among military personnel and Veterans. While […]
Maggie 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. The proposed study could lead to a significant leap […]
A new study first-authored by Sun-Ji Park, 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, the highly specialized epithelial cells that […]
Maggie just received an Investigator Matching Micro Grant funded by the Center for Drug Discovery (CDD) at Washington University for her proposal titled Development of a Novel Biotherapeutic Protein to Treat Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Mediated Kidney Disease. Although accumulating evidence has highlighted the important role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in the pathogenesis of various glomerular […]
Yeawon and Maggie were among the Washington University innovators and inventors honored at the 2nd Annual Celebration of Inventors on May 7, 2019, at Innovation Hall in the Cortex Innovation Community. The event was sponsored by the Office of Technology Management (OTM). Recognized at the celebration were a total of 117 faculty members who were […]
A U.S. patent was issued on 12/18/2018 to Division of Nephrology faculty member Ying (Maggie) Chen, MD, PhD, and co-inventor Yeawon Kim for their discovery of noninvasive biomarkers that have the potential to help diagnose certain human kidney diseases in their earliest stages of development. The patent is based on their research published in JCI […]