New research grants awarded to Drs. Kestenbaum and Granda
New research grant awards
Early Ultrafiltration for Patients Initiating Hemodialysis
R01 from NIDDK
Dates: 02/05/2026–11/30/2030
UW Co-investigators:
Drs. Ian de Boer, Matthew Rivara, Leila Zelnick
UW Staff:
Lisa Anderson, Ernie Ayers, Carlyn Clark, Luisa Rios-Avila
Project Narrative: Most patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis treatments have ongoing volume overload, leading to high blood pressure, frequent hospitalizations, and debilitating symptoms. We propose a randomized trial to test whether a concentrated period of ultrafiltration treatments plus tapering blood pressure medications can eliminate fluid overload in hemodialysis patients and yield lasting benefits on blood pressure control, symptoms of congestion, and physical functioning.
Applying novel imaging and transcriptomics to mechanisms of cirrhosis- related kidney dysfunction
PI: K23 from NIDDK
Dates: 03/01/2026–11/30/2030
Primary Mentor:
Dr. Bryan Kestenbaum
Co-Mentors:
Drs. Shreeram Akilesh, Petter Bjornstad, Delphine Chen
Project Narrative: Cirrhosis, the most severe form of liver disease, often leads to kidney dysfunction, which heightens the risk of death; despite the gravity of this complication, the exact mechanisms behind kidney function decline remain unclear. Our preliminary data discovered signs of injury to the kidney tubules even in patients with normal glomerular filtration rate (GFR), the prevailing clinical measure of kidney function, suggesting broader impacts on kidney function that may occur early in the disease process. This work will use a combination of multi-modal imaging, gene expression profiling, and longitudinal data and bio-sample collection in a de novo recruited cohort to understand how cirrhosis affects kidney and tubular function before overt kidney disease, generating novel mechanistic insights and potentially unveiling new treatment pathways.
