Research by Iain Drummond, Ph.D., Brings Science Closer to Kidney Replacement Tissue
Each of the body’s approximately one million nephrons, the functional units of the kidney, contains a glomerulus, or a cluster of blood vessels where filtration takes place. The membranes of the glomeruli are lined with specialized cells called podocytes, which have tiny, foot-like projections (podo means “having a foot” in Latin) that protrude into the…
Continue ReadingAttracting Students from Around the Globe
Course offers extensive laboratory training The MDI Biological Laboratory’s Applications of Organoid Technology course, held in May for the second consecutive year, is the only course in the world offering extensive laboratory training in making organoids. “Our course is called ‘Applications of Organoid Technology’ for a reason,” said course director Hugo de Jonge, Ph.D., a…
Continue ReadingReport from the 2016 American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week: Using Stem Cells and Organoids to Build a New Kidney
Nephrologists have always been interested in basic biology. At the MDI Biological Laboratory, scientists have been making major scientific contributions to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of renal tubules and their implications for salt and water balance — and hence their effect on disease — for nearly a century. In recent years, the focus…
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