Basic Science Research

• Genetic factors in systemic water balance and clinical disorders of water and electrolyte balance (Cohen Lab)
• Role of COP9 signalosome in kidney disease and hypertension (Cornelius Lab)
• Interactions between diet, genes, and aldosterone in causing and treating high blood pressure (Ellison Lab)
• Causes and treatment of diuretic resistance and kidney tubule remodeling (Ellison Lab)
• Role of proximal tubule megalin in rhabdomyolysis-induced acute kidney injury (Hutchens Lab)
• Pathologic mechanisms of acute cardiorenal syndromes (Hutchens Lab)
• Molecular regulation of sodium and potassium homeostasis (McCormick Lab)

Clinical Research

Glomerulonephritis and Renal Pathology

• Clinical trials in IgA and monoclonal paraproteinemia glomerulonephritis (Rupali Avasare)
• Glomerulonephritis clinical outcomes (Rupali Avasare)
• Clinical-pathologic disease correlations in diabetic nephropathy and autoimmune disease (Rupali Avasare)
• Mechanisms of lipoic acid-associated membranous nephropathy (Rupali Avasare)
• Renal pathology and clinical correlations (Nicole Andeen)

Transplant Medicine

• Clinical outcomes in transplantation with HCV+ donors and HCV- recipients (Shehzad Rehman)
• Clinical outcomes in post-transplant renal TMA (Shehzad Rehman, Jay Pandav)
• Mycophenolate pharmacokinetics in patients with total colectomies (Shehzad Rehman, Jay Pandav)
• Infection risk with transplant induction immunosuppression in elderly recipients (Shehzad Rehman)

CKD/ESRD

• Quality improvement in dialysis outcomes (Pavan Chopra)
• Depression associated with chronic dialysis (Pavan Chopra)
• Development of multidisciplinary electronic care plans for chronic kidney disease (Pavan Chopra)
• Off-target effects of anti-proteinuric therapy (Cohen Lab)
• Streamlining care for thrombosed vascular access (Raghav Wusirika)

Hypertension

• Kidney disease and hypertension in older adults (Jessica Weiss)
• Development of clinical decision support tools in hypertension (Rob Rope)
• Circadian rhythm and hypertension physiology (Rob Rope)

Other

• Genetic Treatment of Cystinuria (Raghav Wusirika)
• Pricing and availability of pharmaceuticals (Cohen Lab)
• Million Veteran Program and All of Us Research Programs on genotype-phenotype investigations (Cohen Lab)

Ellison Lab

Distinct cell types along thick ascending limb express pathways for monovalent and divalent cation transport

Hasan Demirci, Jessica P. Bahena-Lopez, Alina Smorodchenko, Xiao-Tong Su, Jonathan W. Nelson, Chao-Ling Yang, Joshua N. Curry, Xin-Peng Duan, Wen-Hui Wang, Yuliya Sharkovska, Ruisheng Liu, Duygu Elif Yilmax, Catarina Quintanova, Katie Emberley, Ben Emery, Nina Himmerkus, Makus Bleich, David H. Ellison, Sebastian Bachmann

SGLT2 inhibitors, hemodynamics, and kidney protection

Ellison, D.H.

Distal convoluted tubule Cl ^- concentration is modulated via K ⁺ channels and transporters

Xiao-Tong Su, Nathan J Klett, Avika Sharma, Charles N Allen, Wen-Hui Wang, Chao-Ling Yang, David H Ellison

Renal COP9 Signalosome Deficiency Alters CUL3-KLHL3-WNK Signaling Pathway

Ryan J. Cornelius, Jinge Si, Catherina A. Cuevas, Jonathan W. Nelson, Brittany D.K. Gratreak, Ruggero Pardi, Chao-Ling Yang and David H. Ellison

Potassium (K+) intake modulates NCC activity via the K+ channel, Kir4.1

Ming-Xiao Wang, Catherina Cuevas Gallardo, Xiao-Tong Su, Peng Wu, ZhongXiuzi Gao, Dao-Hong Lin, James A. McCormick, Chao-Ling Yang, Wen-Hui Wang, and David H. Ellison

More from the Ellison Lab...

Stuck in Traffic—Myosin Motors Ease Gridlock in the Loop

Joshua N. Curry, James A. McCormick

Molecular Mechanisms of Renal Magnesium Reabsorption

David H Ellison, Yujiro Maeoka, James A McCormick

Roles of WNK4 and SPAK in K+-mediated dephosphorylation of the NaCl cotransporter

Anindit Mukherjee, Chao-Ling Yang, James A McCormick, Kevin Martz, Avika Sharma, David H Ellison

NaCl cotransporter activity and Mg ²⁺ handling by the distal convoluted tubule

Yujiro Maeoka, James A McCormick

Mg ²⁺ Restriction Downregulates NCC Through NEDD4-2 and Prevents Its Activation by Hypokalemia

Mohammed Z Ferdaus, Anindit Mukherjee, Jonathan W Nelson, Philip J Blatt, Lauren N Miller, Andrew S Terker, Olivier Staub, Dao-Hong Lin, James A McCormick

Cullin-Ring Ubiquitin Ligases in Kidney Health and Disease

Ryan J Cornelius, Mohammed Z Ferdaus, Jonathan W Nelson, James A McCormick

More from the McCormick Lab...

Clinical Publications

Emerging applications of nanotechnology in the treatment of acute kidney injury

Lingxue Zeng, Jonghan Kim, Hak Soo Choi, and Michael P. Hutchens

When the Heart Hurts the Kidneys: From Flow to Translational Future

Kevin G. Burfeind, Daiki Aomura, Jessica F. Hebert, and Michael P. Hutchens

Dosimetry-Guided [¹³¹I]MIBG Therapy in a Hemodialysis-Dependent Paraganglioma Patient

Celeste I. Winters, Burcak Yilmaz, Anna M. Mench, Catherine A.L. Meyer, Evan Dodson, Raghav Wusirika, Nadine Mallak and Erik S. Mittra

Cardiac LIM Protein, Kidney Fibrosis, and Vascular Change after Acute Cardiorenal Syndrome

Yoshio Funahashi, Jessica F. Hebert, Adam Munhall, Daiki Aomura, Kevin G. Burfeind, Elizabeth D. Nguyen, Tahnee Groat, Megan Nickerson, Mahaba B. Eiwaz, Jonathan W. Nelson, Nicole K. Andeen, Motoko Yanagita, Susan B. Gurley, Michael P. Hutchens

Transplant Referral and Long-Term Kidney Allograft Survival for Black Patients: Single-Center Study 

Alexandra Bolognese, Madelaine HAck, Christine Kolwitz, Oren Shaked, Christopher Connelly, David Woodland, C Kristian Enestvedt, David Scott, Ali Olyaei, Erin Maynard

Questions and Caveats in Antigen-Defined Membranous Nephropathy  

Nicole K. Andeen, Vanderlene L. Kung, Rupali S. Avasare, Sean Barbour, Megan Griffith, Mei Lin Z. Bissonnette, Candice Roufosse

Drug-Induced Membranous Nephropathy: Piecing Together Clues to Understand Disease Mechanisms

Rupali S. Avasare, Nicole K. Andeen, Laith F. Al-Rabadi, Kevin Burfeind, Laurence Beck

Bartonella Endocarditis-Associated Glomerulonephritis: A Mimicker of Autoimmunity and Vasculitis

Nicole K. Andeen, Vanderlene L. Kung, Jane K. Nguyen, Rupali S. Avasare, Georges N. Nakhoul, Nabin K. Shrestha, Jina T. Makadia, Tricia Jesperson, Cynthia C. Nast, Grace (Hae Yoon) Choung, Leal Herlitz

NELL1 membranous nephropathy: clinical associations provide mechanistic clues

Nicole K. Andeen, Vanderlene L. Kung, Rupali S. Avasare

Using ChatGPT-4 to Analyze 24-Hour Urine Results and Generate Custom Dietary Recommendations for Nephrolithiasis

Satomi Kiriakedis, Brian Duty, Tyler Chase, Raghav Wusirika, Ian Metzler



Potassium-Switch Signaling Pathway Dictates Acute Blood Pressure Response to Dietary Potassium 

Paul A. Welling, Robert Little, Lama Al-Qusairi, Eric Delpire, David Ellison, Robert Fenton, P. Richard Grimm



Characteristics and Outcomes of NELL1 Membranous Nephropathy in Lipoic Acid Users and Nonuser 

Rupali S. Avasare, Samantha Clark, Rebecca I. Spain, Raghav Wusirika, Robert Rope, Susan Gurley, Madison Stanaway, Miroslav Sekulic, Dominick Santoriello, Andrew S. Bomback, Pietro Canetta, Sitalakshmi J. Iyer

Empagliflozin in Heart Failure: Regional Nephron Sodium Handling Effects

Veena S Rao, Juan B Ivey-Miranda, Zachary L Cox, Julieta Moreno-Villagomez, Christopher Maulion, Lavanya Bellumkonda, John Chang, M Paul Field, Daniel R Wiederin, Javed Butler, Sean P Collins, Jeffrey M Turner, F Perry Wilson, Silvio E Inzucchi, Christopher S Wilcox, David H Ellison, Jeffrey M Testani

Legal Performance-enhancing Drugs Alter Course and Treatment of Rhabdomyolysis-induced Acute Kidney Injury

Jessica F Hebert, Mahaba B Eiwaz, Megan N Nickerson, Adam C Munhall, Akash A Pai, Tahnee Groat, Nicole K Andeen, Michael P Hutchens

Cullin 3 and Blood Pressure Regulation: Insights From Familial Hyperkalemic Hypertension

Yujiro Maeoka, Ryan J Cornelius, James A McCormick

Editorial: 30th anniversary of the molecular cloning and identification of the Na-Cl cotransporter, NCC

Paola de los Heros, ¹ David H. Ellison, Gerardo Gamba

Targeted Transcriptional Analysis of IgA Vasculitis, IgA Nephropathy, and IgA-Dominant Infection-Related Glomerulonephritis Reveals Both Distinct and Overlapping Immune Signatures

Vanderlene L Kung, Rupali Avasare, Marcia A Friedman, Stephanie Mengden Koon, Tanaya L Neff, Sara Protzek, Christopher Corless, Victoria Krajbich, Naly Setthavongsack, Rebecca Ditmore, Randall Woltjer, Nicole K Andeen

Novel Antigens and Clinical Updates in Membranous Nephropathy

Rupali Avasare, Nicole Andeen, Laurence Beck

Non-Full House Membranous Lupus Nephritis Represents a Clinically Distinct Subset

Julia Ye, Nicole Croom, Megan L Troxell, Neeraja Kambham, Jonathan E Zuckerman, Nicole Andeen, Maria Dall'Era, Raymond Hsu, Vighnesh Walavalkar, Zoltan G Laszik, Anatoly Urisman

Modifying Dietary Sodium and Potassium Intake: An End to the 'Salt Wars'?

Robert Little, David H Ellison

Management of Lupus Nephritis: New Treatments and Updated Guidelines

Rupali Avasare, Yelena Drexler, Dawn J. Caster, Alla Mitrofanova, J. Ashley Jefferson

Sustained Response to Eculizumab in a Patient With COVID-19–Associated Acute Thrombotic Microangiopathy of the Allograft Kidney: A Case Report

Shehzad Rehman, Angelo de Mattos, Megan Stack, Douglas Norman, Sarah Zapata, Pei Li Wang, Abdul Hai Mansoor, Vanderlene Kung, Nicole K. Andeen

Home-Based Dialysis: A Primer for the Internist

Robert Rope, Eric Ryan, Eric D Weinhandl, Graham E Abra

Increased rates of supplement-associated oxalate nephropathy during COVID-19 pandemic

Peter Fong, Raghav Wusirika, Jose Rueda, Kalani L. Raphael, Shehzad Rehman, Megan Stack, Angelo de Mattos, Renu Gupta, Kendall Michels, Firas G. Khoury, Vanderlene Kung, Nicole K. Andeen

De novo thrombotic microangiopathy in two kidney transplant recipients from the same deceased donor: A case series

Daniel Roberts, Ingrid Siegman, Nicole Andeen, David Woodland, Thomas Deloughery, Jose Rueda, Ali Olyaei, Shehzad Rehman, Doug Norman, Joe Lockridge

Acute kidney injury in a patient with Monoclonal Gammopathy

Janie Luong, Nicole Andeen, Robert Rope, Rebecca Silbermann, Mazdak Khalighi, Rupali Avasare.

Nephrotoxicity of Select Rheumatologic Drugs 

Tyler Woodell, Rupali S. Avasare

The Clone Wars: Diagnosing and Treating Dysproteinemic Kidney Disease in the Modern Era

Rupali S Avasare, Nicole K Andeen, Andrea Havasi, Jonathan J Hogan

New onset diabetes after kidney transplantation in Asian Americans – Is there an increased risk?

Joseph B. Lockridge, Joseph B.Pryor, Megan N.Stack, Shehzad S.Rehman, Douglas J.Norman, Angelo M.DeMattos, Ali J.Olyaei

DNA J homolog subfamily B member 9 and other advances in fibrillary glomerulonephritis

Nicole K Andeen, Rupali S Avasare

Depression Screening Tools for Patients with Kidney Failure: A Systematic Review

Karli Kondo , Jennifer R Antick , Chelsea K Ayers, Devan Kansagara, Pavan Chopra

Abundant CD8+ Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes and beta-2-microglobulin Are Associated With Better Outcome and Response to interleukin-2 Therapy in Advanced Stage Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Dale Davis, Maria S Tretiakova, Chris Kizzar, Randy Woltjer, Victoria Krajbich, Scott S Tykodi, Christian Lanciault, Nicole K Andeen

Enemy Action in the Distal Convoluted Tubule

David H. Ellison and Shih-Hua Lin

Global Health Training Opportunities in North American Nephrology Fellowships

Robert Rope, Jeffrey Perl, Shuchi Anand, International Society of Nephrology North American and Caribbean Regional Board

Mechanistic Insights Into Loop Diuretic Responsiveness in Heart Failure

David H Ellison

Collapsing Glomerulopathy in Older Adults

Benjamin Kukull, Rupali S Avasare, Kelly D Smith, Donald C Houghton, Megan L Troxell, Nicole K Andeen

When to Stop Eculizumab in Complement-Mediated Thrombotic Microangiopathies

Sven R Olson, Eric Lu, Emilio Sulpizio, Joseph J Shatzel, Jose F Rueda, Thomas G DeLoughery

Industry Payments to Physician Specialists Who Prescribe Repository Corticotropin

Daniel M. Hartung, PharmD, MPH; Kirbee Johnston, MPH; David M. Cohen, MD; Thuan Nguyen, MD, PhD; Atul Deodhar, MD; Dennis N. Bourdette, MD

Our department welcomes earnest students and researchers of all backgrounds in our mission to elucidate the mechanisms of disease in the human kidney. Openings in our lab are in a constant state of flux and depend on mentorship availability, commitment levels, and the nature of the projects we are focusing on. Please contact us for the most up-to-date information.

Student Volunteers

Undergraduate or recent grads are welcome to reach out about gaining laboratory experience as volunteers at any time to assist us in certain projects.

• A background in biology and laboratory experience is preferred, but not required. 
• Availability requirements depend on the nature of each individual project, but at least a 3 month commitment is preferred.
• Ability to align with mentor schedules and be punctual is critical to success.
• Research techniques to be mastered will likely include immunofluorescence of kidney tissue and Western blotting.

More at OHSU

If our lab cannot accept folks at this time, thankfully OHSU has many other opportunities to explore:

• Open research volunteer opportunities for everyone (student, non-student, adults, and minors) at OHSU. 
• Research experience for local high school students through through the Partnership for Scientific Inquiry.