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 in linking ischemic insult to tubular injury. The current treatment for AKI is mainly supportive due to lack of effective therapies.
The goal of Chen’s proposal is to develop a novel therapeutic agent to protect against tubular ER stress-triggered, mitochondria-dependent apoptosis and promote cell survival in ischemic AKI.