Researchers Explore the Kidney in Health and Disease at APS/ASN Conference

(Rockville, Md.) June 23, 2022—Kidney researchers will meet next week to discuss a wide range of topics including circadian regulation of kidney function and blood pressure, renal consequences of obesity and kidney crosstalk with other organs at the American Physiological Society (APS) and American Society for Nephrology (ASN) Control of Renal Function in Health and Disease conference. The conference will be held June 26–30 in Charlottesville, Virginia.  

“This is the most exciting summer conference focusing on kidney function,” conference co-organizers Michelle L. Gumz, PhD, of the University of Florida, and Pablo Ortiz, PhD, of Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, said in a statement. “We focus on bringing together top technological advances in the field and novel concepts in how we study renal function and kidney disease. By inviting speakers that are driving their own fields, we expect to broaden the scope of our science and spur innovation on how we study renal function.”  

Highlighted conference sessions are listed below. View the meeting program for more information. 

Program Highlights 

Sunday, June 26 

Keynote address: New frontiers in kidney research 
Speaker: Anna Greka MD, PhD, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 

Monday, June 27 

Session 1: Novel insights into circadian clock-mediated regulation of kidney function and blood Pressure 
Chair: Jennifer Pollock, PhD, FAPS, University of Alabama at Birmingham 

Speakers: 

“New insights into the role of circadian clock proteins in renal physiology” 
Michelle Gumz, PhD, University of Florida 

“Insights from a novel BMAL1 knockout rat” 
David Pollock, PhD, FAPS, University of Alabama at Birmingham 

“Understanding the circadian clock in polycystic kidney disease” 
Reena Rao, PhD, University of Kansas Medical Center 

“Systolic blood pressure rhythms are driven by timing of food intake, the molecular clock and sex in rats”
Megan Rhoads, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham 

“Adrenal-specific KO of the circadian clock protein BMAL1 alters blood pressure rhythm”
Hannah Costello, PhD, University of Florida 

“Time restricted feeding ameliorates renal damage and improves vascular metabolism in mice with diet-induced obesity”
Paramita Pati, DPhil, University of Alabama at Birmingham 

“Gut microbiota modulates renal gene expression in a sex-specific manner”
Brittni Moore, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore 

Session 2: Renal consequences of obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes 
Chairs: Christopher Wilcox, MD, PhD, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.; Riyaz Mohamed, PhD, Augusta University, Georgia 

Speakers: 

“Kidney responses to inhibiting SGLTs” 
Volker Vallon, MD, FAPS, University of California, San Diego 

“Renal tubular IL-1β induces salt sensitivity in diabetes by activating renal macrophages” 
Jorge Giani, PhD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles 

“Role of T cells in enhanced susceptibility of female Dahl rats compared to males.” 
Jennifer Sullivan, PhD, Augusta University, Georgia 

“Novel insights into SGLT2 inhibition in the diabetic kidney: role of macula sensa SGLT1-NOS1 pathway”
Jie Zhang, PhD, University of South Florida 

“CPT1a is not required for tubular fatty acid metabolism: compensatory role for peroxisomes?”
Safaa Hammoud, PhD, Washington University, St. Louis 

“Vitamin D supplementation mitigates canagliflozin-induced adverse changes in phosphate and vitamin D metabolism in kidney—a protective effect on bone”
Zhinous Yazdi, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine 

“Sex hormones-mediated differences in mitochondrial metabolic profiles of healthy male and female Sprague Dawley rats”
Ryan Schibalski, Augusta University, Georgia 

Session 3: New sensing and signaling pathways in the control of renal function 
Chairs: Helle Praetorius, MD, PhD, Aarhus University, Denmark; Minolfa Prieto-Carrasquero, MD, PhD, Tulane University, New Orleans 

Speakers: 

“Olfactory receptor 558 and blood pressure regulation” 
Jennifer Pluznick, PhD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore 

“Modulation of estrogen receptor signaling sensitizes female mice to the development of diabetes” 
Blythe Shepard, PhD, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 

“The renin cell baroreceptor is a nuclear mechanotransducer crucial for the control of homeostasis.” 
Maria Luisa Sequeira, MD, University of Virginia 

“Conjugated bile acids are depleted during hypertension, nutritional rescue of which lowers blood pressure in the Dahl salt-sensitive rat” 
Bina Joe, PhD, FAPS, University Toledo, Ohio 

Session 4: JGA, renin and glomerular dynamics 
Chairs: Ruisheng Liu, MD, PhD, University of South Florida; Jeff Garvin, PhD, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland 

Speakers: 

“Novel insights on proximal tubule injury and repair in AKI” 
Ina Schiessl, PhD, Aarhus University, Denmark 

“Regulation of renin release from juxtaglomerular cells in diabetes” 
Mariela Mendez, PhD, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit 

“Tissue regenerative and neuron-like interoceptive functions of the macula densa” 
Janos Peti-Peterdi, MD, PhD, University of Southern California 

“Discovery and functions of a neuroendothelial cell type in the kidney and beyond”
Georgina Gyarmati, MD, MPH, University of Southern California 

“Role of GATA3 in renin cell identity”
Jesus Neyra, University of Virginia 

“The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in baboons with pig kidneys”
Luis “Gabby” Navar, PhD, FAPS, Tulane University, New Orleans 

“MiR-204 in podocytes protects against the development of albuminuria and renal injury”
Jing Liu, PhD, University of Rochester Medical Center, New York 

Session 5: Immune system contributions to renal tubular transport, hemodynamics and hypertension 
Chairs: Paul O’Connor, PhD, Augusta University, Georgia; Justine Abais-Battad, PhD, Augusta University, Georgia 

Speakers: 

“Endothelium-derived ET-1 drives T cell activation and sickle cell nephropathy”
Jennifer Pollock, PhD, FAPS, University of Alabama at Birmingham 

“Renal vulnerability to iron-mediated inflammation and damage in lupus nephritis” 
Erika Boesen, PhD, University of Nebraska Medical Center 

“ENaC-dependent activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in antigen presenting cells contributes to salt-sensitive hypertension” 
Annet Kirabo, PhD, DVM, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 

“Reactive oxygen species from T cells mediate pregnancy-specific renal damage in the Dahl SS rat”
John Henry Dasinger, PhD, Augusta University, Georgia 

“F4/80hi resident macrophages contribute to cisplatin-induced kidney fibrosis and M2 polarization”
Sophia Sears, PhD, University of Louisville, Kentucky 

“Hypertensive stimulation on the regulation of the immunological synapse interface in male and female renal endothelial cells”
Alex Colvert, Medical College of South Carolina 

“Gonadectomy abolishes sex differences in renal T regulatory cells in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats”
Karl Diaz-Sanders, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University 

Session 6: The kidney and hypertension 
Chairs: Alexander Staruschenko, PhD, FAPS, University of South Florida; Niru Ramkumar, MD, PhD, University of Utah School of Medicine 

Speakers: 

“Are histone deacetylase enzymes in the kidney involved in blood pressure regulation?” 
Kelly Hyndman, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham 

“Renal metabolism and hypertension” 
Mingyu Liang, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin 

“Pressure natriuresis and control of salt and water: impact of sex, age and dietary potassium” 
Alicia McDonough, PhD, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California 

“Mitochondrial bioenergetics in salt-sensitive hypertension: the implications of the atrial natriuretic peptide” 
Daria Ilatovskaya, PhD, Augusta University, Georgia 

Wednesday, June 29 

Session 7: Single cell RNAseq and organoids (or other new methods) in renal physiology and disease 
Chairs: David Ellison, MD, Oregon Health & Sciences University; Joo-Seop Park, PhD, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center 

Speakers: 

“Epigenomic and transcriptomic analyses define core cell types, genes and targetable mechanisms for kidney disease” 
Katalin Susztak, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania 

“Single cell analyses of kidney injury, repair and failed repair” 
Ben Humphreys, MD, PhD, Washington University, St. Louis 

“Using iPSC and organoids to study renal function and disease” 
Benjamin Freedman, PhD, University of Washington 

“The gut microbiome regulates glomerular filtration rate”
Jiaojiao Xu, DSc, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore 

“Mef2 family of transcription factors promotes renin cells differentiation”
Alexandre Martini, PhD, University of Virginia 

“High throughput investigation of the metabolic flux of intact cortical kidney tubules”
Johannes Jägers, PhD, Aarhus University, Denmark 

“Compensatory changes in oxygen extraction and metabolomic profiles in the kidney of Sprague-Dawley rats fed a high-salt diet”
Satoshi Shimada, MD, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin 

Session 8: Polycystic and other inherited kidney diseases 
Chairs: Reena Rao, PhD, University of Kansas Medical Center; Peter Harris, PhD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 

Speakers: 

“Targeting pannexin-1 in the treatment of polycystic kidney diseases” 
Tengis Pavlov, PhD, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit 

“The role of the Hippo/Warts pathway in PKD” 
Thomas Carroll, PhD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center 

“Roles of autophagy in kidney function and disease” 
Mary Choi, MD, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York 

“Renal histaminergic system and acute effects of histamine receptor 2 blockage in salt-sensitive hypertension”
Denisha Spires, PhD, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University 

“HIF-1α mediates suppression of NRF2 in severe ischemic acute kidney injury”
Corina Bondi, PhD, University of Pittsburgh 

“Novel renoprotective mechanism of CD14 in salt-sensitive hypertension”
Emily Burns, Augusta University, Georgia 

“Inhibition of RET signaling attenuates compensatory hypertrophic renal remodeling in the 5/6Nx rat model of chronic kidney disease”
Amanda Marks, Medical College of Wisconsin 

Session 9: New ways to study an old problem: mathematical modeling and novel models to study kidney function and disease 
Chairs: Paul Welling, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore; Owen Richfield, Tulane University, New Orleans 

Speakers: 

“Adaptive changes in renal hemodynamics and tubular transport in pregnancy, hypertension, and obesity: modeling and analysis” 
Anita Layton, PhD, University of Waterloo, Canada 

“Assessing synchronization of renal blood flow and consequences for oxygenation perfusion matching in the kidney” 
Branko Braam, MD, PhD, University of Alberta, Canada 

“Pig models of metabolic syndrome, renovascular hypertension and chronic kidney disease” 
Alejandro Chade, MD, University of Mississippi Medical Center 

“Novel analytical approaches to assess renal autoregulation in conscious rats” 
Aaron Polichnowski, PhD, East Tennessee State University 

Thursday, June 30 

Session 10: Integrative biology of kidney function and disease: kidney crosstalk with other organs, stress and nerves 
Chairs: Leslie Gewin, MD, Washington University, St. Louis; Richard Wainford, PhD, Boston University 

Speakers: 

“Exploring metabolome-proteome interactions in kidney disease—from target discovery to functional validation” 
Markus Rinschen, MD, Aarhus University, Denmark 

“Contribution of fat-brain-blood pressure axis to obesity-hypertension in a behavioral stress model” 
Analia Loria, PhD, University of Kentucky 

“Novel insights into the role of renal sensory nerves in kidney physiology and pathophysiology” 
John Osborn PhD, University of Minnesota 

“How do flies cope with a high salt diet? Urea is the key!” 
Aylin Rodan, PhD, University of Utah 

“Female rats with history of acute kidney injury develop endothelial dysfunction and renal insufficiency in pregnancy”
Desmond Moronge, RPh, Augusta University, Georgia 

“The role of anesthesia in the pathogenesis of AKI: the impact of renal sympathetic nerve activity”
Stephanie Franzen, PhD, Uppsala University, Sweden 

Session 11: Dietary control of renal function and hypertension, salt and beyond 
Chairs: Robert Hoover, MD, Tulane University, New Orleans; Hannah Costello, PhD, University of Florida 

Speakers: 

“Zinc deficiency: new insights in hypertension” 
Clintoria Williams, PhD, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio 

“Chemo-sensing by the nephron to control salt reabsorption: effects of fructose, fat and high salt on TAL NaCl reabsorption and blood pressure control” 
Pablo Ortiz, PhD, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit 

“Amplifying responsiveness to dietary potassium imbalance via KS-WNK1” 
Arohan Subramanya, MD, University of Pittsburgh 

“Protective effects of propionate and inulin in salt-sensitive hypertension and renal end organ damage”
Justine Abais-Battad, PhD, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University 

“A novel model of renal autoregulation demonstrates dynamic modulatory interactions between TGF and myogenic mechanisms”
Owen Richfield, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 

“The 5-HT1F receptor agonist lasmiditan recovers mitochondrial homeostasis and renal function after acute kidney injury”
Kevin Hurtado, University of Arizona 

“Renal lipid accumulation is associated with kidney injury and hyperglycemia in an obese model of ovarian hormone deficiency” 
Francesca Di Sole, PhD, Des Moines University, Iowa 

Funding for this conference was made possible, in part, by 1 R13 DK132924-01 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.   

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: The Control of Renal Function in Health and Disease conference will be held June 26–30 in Charlottesville, Virginia. To schedule an interview with the researchers, conference organizers or presenters, contact APS Media Relations or call 301.634.7314. Find more highlights in our Newsroom.  

Physiology is a broad area of scientific inquiry that focuses on how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. The American Physiological Society connects a global, multidisciplinary community of more than 10,000 biomedical scientists and educators as part of its mission to advance scientific discovery, understand life and improve health. The Society drives collaboration and spotlights scientific discoveries through its 16 scholarly journals and programming that support researchers and educators in their work.