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Jeff Sands

Jeff M. Sands, MD, FAPS

Emory University

Jeff M. Sands, MD, FAPS is the renal division director and the Juha P. Kokko Professor of Medicine and Physiology at Emory University in Atlanta. He is also an APS past president. Sands has been an APS member since 1986.

APS members are doing amazing things. We asked Jeff Sands, MD, FAPS—one of our esteemed member-researchers—to tell us about his research and its implications on our understanding of life and health. An avid sports fan, he also reveals the teams he roots for.

Describe your research.

I study the physiological mechanisms that allow the kidney to match water excretion to water intake. Normally people drink as much, or as little, water as they choose, and water consumption will vary during the day. The kidney adjusts urine production so that people do not get dehydrated or over-hydrated. I also study diseases that interfere with normal water handling, such as diabetes mellitus or diabetes insipidus. In these conditions, the kidney cannot control water excretion normally, putting the person at risk for dehydration or water overload. By understanding what has gone wrong, we seek to identify strategies to improve water handling in disease states.

Give it context.

Congenital nephrogenic diabetes insipidus is a rare genetic condition that primarily affects boys. Children with this condition can make up to 20 quarts of urine per day. This is a quart of urine 24/7/365. These children must drink 20 quarts of water per day to avoid dehydration. We have identified a novel therapy for this condition that significantly reduces urine output, and hence the need to drink so much water, in animal models of this condition. If we can translate this to patients, we can markedly improve these children’s quality of life and reduce their risk of dehydration.

If you could do anything else, what would it be?

I enjoy watching sports and rooting for my favorite teams, including the Boston Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins, the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Braves, Falcons and Hawks. I also enjoy being on the beach and reading fiction.