The nephrology fellowship program at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and UTHSC offers a comprehensive curriculum in all aspects of clinical pediatric nephrology, including hypertension, chronic kidney disease, diabetic nephropathy, congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT), hereditary kidney diseases, acute kidney injury, glomerulonephritis, tubular diseases, kidney transplant, acute/chronic hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and continuous renal replacement therapy.
One of the unique features of our program is the opportunity to gain experience in both Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This exposure provides a distinct perspective in the field of onco-nephrology.
In addition to our diverse clinical exposure, we offer specialized clinics that focus on specific areas such as the Tuberous Sclerosis Center of Excellence, newborn-renal clinic, sickle cell nephropathy clinic and hereditary kidney diseases clinic. These subspecialized clinics further enhance our fellows’ training and provide unique opportunities for clinical research.
Our program strongly emphasizes research and provides numerous avenues for our fellows to engage in meaningful studies. We actively collaborate with esteemed organizations such as the Pediatric Nephrology Research Consortium (PNRC), Children’s Hospital Neonatal Consortium (CHNC), Neonatal Kidney Collaborative (NKC), North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies (NAPRTCS) and Improving Renal Outcomes Collaborative (iROC). With active funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), we conduct research on various areas including glomerular disease, tuberous sclerosis, innate immunity and sickle cell nephropathy. Moreover, our collaboration with the University of Memphis and St. Jude presents outstanding research pathways for our fellows.
Overall, our pediatric and med-peds nephrology fellowship program at UTHSC offers a comprehensive and diverse training experience that combines clinical excellence with abundant research opportunities.
Research Interests
- Basic and clinical research to understand the fundamental underpinnings of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) renal disease
- Treatments to preserve renal function for vulnerable TSC population
- Neonatal nephrology
- Pathophysiology of sickle cell nephropathy
- APOL1 risk alleles and influence on the development kidney disease in patients with sickle cell anemia
- Application of engineering principles to nephrology with ongoing research in sensors
- Onco-nephrology research focusing on kidney involvement in patients with stem cell transplant and different types of cancers
- Hypertension
- IgA nephropathy and Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP)
- Multiple ongoing QI projects focusing on early detection of AKI; improving utilizations of ABPM for kidney transplant and CKD patients
Active Research Areas
- Tuberous Sclerosis
- Neonatal Nephrology
- Sickle cell Nephrology
- HTN
- HSP/IgA
- Onco-Nephrology
- Multiple QI projects
