• Multidisciplinary Team from Pitt/UPMC Secure NIH U Grant to Create PCT-KUH: Pittsburgh Center for Training in Kidney, Urology, and Hematology. This multidisciplinary and multi-institutional project is designed to train the next generation of researchers. The PCT-KUH Networking Core will focus on building a vibrant and dynamic trainee community in kidney, benign urology, and benign hematology-based (KUH) research in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Engaging and exciting trainees early in their careers regarding KUH-focused research areas is critical to address the declining numbers of individuals entering the biomedical research workforce. Leading aspects of the project from the Division of Pediatric Nephrology are Jacqueline Ho, MD, MS, and Sunder Sims-Lucas, PhD. Other PIs include Manisha Jhamb, MD, MPH, and Thomas Kleyman, MD, from the Pitt Renal-Electrolyte Division. Read more about this exciting new project from the University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine.

   

• Michael Moritz, MD, division clinical director coauthored a study published in November in JAMA Internal Medicine on “Correction Rates and Clinical Outcomes in Hospitalized Adults with Severe Hyponatremia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” The study looked into how quickly sodium levels should be corrected in adults hospitalized with severe hyponatremia. Analyzing data from over 11,800 patients across 16 studies, the study found that correcting sodium levels more rapidly (8-10 mEq/L per day) was tied to lower in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates compared to slower correction methods. Interestingly, they didn't find a higher risk of osmotic demyelination syndrome (OSD) with faster treatment, suggesting that being overly cautious with slow correction could actually be more harmful to patients.

• Sunder Sims-Lucas, PhD, and Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine colleague Eric Goetzman, PhD, were awarded a new NIH R01 grant in September 2024. Their project titled “Dicarboxylic Acid Therapy for Prevention of Kidney Injury,” identifies dicarboxylic medium chain fatty acids that protects the kidney against acute kidney injury and has significant therapeutic potential to treat the ever-growing number of acute kidney injury patients. Link to grant abstract on NIH RePORT website.
  
  
• Dana Y. Fuhrman, DO, MS, and division fellow Tara Beck, DO, were coauthors of a recent paper published in JAMA Network Open on “Kidney Health Monitoring in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Graduates: A Modified Delphi Consensus Statement.”

• Does Vitamin D Affect Blood Pressure Levels in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease? What associations exist between vitamin D and blood pressure in children with chronic kidney disease? A paper recently published in Pediatric Nephrology using data from the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD)study explored the subject. The first author of the paper was Juhi Kumar, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Nephrology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Kumar is the medical director of the Pediatric Kidney Transplant program at UPMC Children’s.

• Review Article Published on AKI, Fluid Overload, and the Use of CRRT in Pediatric/Neonatal ECMO Patients. UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Division of Pediatric Nephrology fellow Tara Beck, DO, and Dana Y. Fuhrman, DO, MS, associate professor of Pediatrics and Critical Care Medicine, were co-authors of a new multicenter review article published in Intensive Care Medicine – Paediatric and Neonatal on “Acute Kidney Injury, Fluid Imbalance, and Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy in Children and Neonates Treated with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation."

• UPMC Children’s Pediatric Nephrologist, Aidan Porter, MD, Awarded NIH K08 Grant to Study Unfolded Protein Response in Acute Kidney Injury. Aidan Porter, MD, from the Division of Pediatric Nephrology at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, has been awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) K08 grant to support his basic science research on molecular and cellular mechanisms of acute kidney injury (AKI).

• New Fat Source Shows Promise in Fighting Obesity. A recent study led by Eric S. Goetzman, PhD, professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has revealed new insights about the use of dietary dicarboxylic acids in relation to metabolic disorders like obesity. The study, “Dietary dicarboxylic acids provide a non-storable alternative fat source that protects mice against obesity” was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and focuses on dodecanedioic acid (DC12), a 12-carbon dicarboxylic acid, as a unique fat source that could help prevent obesity. Accompanying the study isa commentary on its findings and potential clinical implications. Collaborating on the study with Dr. Goetzman was the Sims-Lucas Laboratory in the Division of Pediatric Nephrology at UPMC Children’s, led by Sunder Sims-Lucas, PhD.

• New Study from Sims-Lucas Laboratory Finds Protective Metabolic Response in Acute Kidney Injury from Succinylation of Park7. The Sims-Lucas Laboratory in the Division of Pediatric Nephrology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh published new findings on the protective metabolic responses in acute kidney injury (AKI). The multidisciplinary team, including colleagues from the Goetzman Laboratory in the Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine at UPMC Children’s and collaborators at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in California found an important role for lysine succinylation with the Park7 protein in modulating cellular responses to ischemic damage in the kidneys.

• Study on Major Adverse Kidney Events in Pediatric Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy. UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Division of Pediatric Nephrology researcher Dana Y. Fuhrman, DO, MS, associate professor of Pediatrics and Critical Care Medicine, was the lead author on a recent study from the multicenter international collaborative, the Worldwide Exploration of Renal Replacement Outcomes Collaborative in Kidney Disease (WE-ROCK) registry. Dr. Fuhrman also is the director of the CKRT Program at UPMC Children’s and program director of the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship.

• Multidisciplinary Investigation from UPMC Children’s Examines Role of CCL5 and CCR5 in Aldosterone-Induced Hypertension and Vascular Dysfunction. A recent study conducted by a multidisciplinary team from UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh was featured as the cover article in the April edition of the journal Hypertension. The study, called “Role of the CCL5 and Its Receptor, CCR5, in the Genesis of Aldosterone-Induced Hypertension, Vascular Dysfunction, and End-Organ Damage,” focuses on the influence of the chemokine ligand CCL5 and its receptor CCR5 on hypertension and vascular damage induced by aldosterone. The study was led by first author Rafael M. Costa, PhD, and senior author Thiago Bruder-Nascimento, PhD, principal investigator of the Bruder Lab for Vascular Biology and Metabolic Diseases at UPMC Children’s.

• New Review Article Discusses Best Practices for Use of Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy in Conjunction with ECMO in Pediatric Patients. Contributing to the review article from the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Division of Pediatric Nephrology were fellow Tara Beck, DO, and Dana Y. Fuhrman, DO, MS. Dr. Beck is a PGY-5 fellow and Dr. Fuhrman is an associate professor of Pediatrics, as well as the program director of the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship, and director of the Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy Program in the Division.

• Maternal diabetes in can result in a predisposition to high-salt (HS) dietary-induced vascular dysfunction and inflammation in adulthood, according to a new study out of our Center for Pediatrics Research in Obesity and Metabolism (CPROM), in collaboration from the Divisions of Nephrology and Endocrinology, as well as the Vascular Medicine Institute with the University of Pittsburgh. In this study, titled, “In utero exposure to maternal diabetes exacerbates dietary sodium intake-induced endothelial dysfunction by activating cyclooxygenase 2-derived prostanoids,” and published in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, our researchers designed a novel mouse model of prenatal exposure to maternal type 1 diabetes, for the first time observing that prenatal exposure results in HS dietary-induced vascular dysfunction.

• Division of Pediatric Nephrology Fellow Recognized for Top Pediatric Abstract at AKI & CRRT Annual Meeting
  • The Division of Pediatric Nephrology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh congratulates Lillian Mauroner, DO, for her abstract titled “An Exploration of the Association of Sex and Pubertal Status with AKI and AKD in Critically Ill Children,” which was recognized as the Top Pediatric Abstract at the AKI & CRRT 2024 annual meeting.

   

• Pediatric Nephrology Faculty Spotlight: Juhi Kumar, MD, Medical Director, Pediatric Kidney Transplant
  • Juhi Kumar, MD, MPH, joined the Division of Pediatric Nephrology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in August 2022, taking over the role of Medical Director of the Pediatric Kidney Transplant program.

   

• UPMC Children’s Pediatric Nephrology/NICU Fellow Tara Beck Awarded MWRI-Clinical Trainee Research Award
  • Congratulations to pediatric nephrology/neonatology PGY-5 fellow Tara Beck, DO, for receiving a Magee-Womens Research Institute Clinical Trainee Research Award in December 2023. The highly competitive award is designed to support clinically-oriented research being conducted by trainees within the broader UPMC system.

What to Consider When Referring a Patient for Kidney Transplant

• Children with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) have high morbidity and a shorter life expectancy as compared to other children. A kidney transplant offers undeniable improvements in growth, development and quality of life. As per the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) 2023 report, the number of pediatric candidates added to the kidney transplant waiting list in 2023 reached its highest point at 1,177. There are currently almost 3,000 pediatric patients awaiting a kidney transplant in the United States. At the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, we strive to transplant children as quickly and safely as possible. Despite the medical complexity of the children we care for, our outcomes are excellent with 100% allograft and patient survival at 90-day, 1- and 3-year post-transplant. More than 50% of our patients in the past year received living donor kidneys and we are in the top tier SRTR ranking for deceased donors getting a transplant faster.

The Division of Pediatric Nephrology was well-represented at clinical conferences this past year with faculty and trainees attending and presenting at a number of events.

• UPMC Children’s Pediatric Nephrology Division at ASN 2024
• UPMC Children's at PAS 2024
• UPMC Children’s Pediatric Nephrology Program Presenting at National Kidney Foundation SCM 2024 Meetings
• UPMC Children's at AAP National Conference and Exhibition 2024