Description

Our Division continually strives to find new ways to improve the health of our renal patients, and better methods by which we deliver such care. Fellows in our program are afforded every opportunity to develop their skills in basic biological research, clinical research, and critical appraisal. Some fellows complete 2 to 6 month research electives, while others pursue Masters or Doctoral graduate degrees in additional research years after clinical training. Our Trainees are expected to attend the Departmental and Faculty of Medicine seminars on Biostatistics and Critical Appraisal. With the support of a Faculty internationally recognized for research, many fellows have also published as first author in the leading journals devoted to medicine, nephrology, epidemiology and the basic biological sciences.

Research in Basic Science Laboratories

Dr. Joaquín (Quim) Madrenas, is a professor of Microbiology and Immunology, and Medicine at The University of Western Ontario, and a scientist based at the Robarts Research Institute. The Madrenas Laboratory works within the Centre for Human Immunology at the Robarts Research Institute and the Departments of Microbiology & Immunology, and Medicine of the University of Western Ontario. The laboratory provides a vibrant academic environment and great opportunities for cutting-edge biomedical research in the area of Human Infection and Immunity and its translation to clinical problems and public policy. Current areas of interest include a Systems Immunology approach to Staphylococcus aureus infections, the role of mitochondria in the regulation of T cell activation and immunity (e.g., autoimmune diseases, transplant rejection), and the identification and characterization of novel compounds with immune modulatory activities.
For details, see http://www.robarts.ca/madrenas/index.html

Dr. Anthony Jevnikar is Director of Transplantation Nephrology at London Health Sciences Centre and a scientist at the Robarts Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute. Fellows in Dr. Jevnikar’s lab study autoimmune diseases, including diabetes and lupus kidney disease, and the prevention of kidney transplant rejection.
http://www.lhrionhealth.ca/LHRI/research/transplant/index.html

The University of Western Ontario is also proud to offer a Fellowship in Transplantation Nephrology. For more information on our Transplantation Nephrology Program, please click on the below link:
http://www.lhsc.on.ca/programs/nephrology/

Research in the Kidney Clinical Research Unit

The London Kidney Clinical Research Unit (KCRU) is a 4000 square foot facility at the London Health Sciences Centre, Victoria Campus dedicated to clinical patient oriented research, population health, health services research, and health informatics. This unit fosters research by an integrated group of clinician investigators, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, information specialists, research coordinators, administrators and programmers. Dr. Amit Garg is the current Director. Unit members include: Ms. Jennifer Arnold, Dr. Peter Blake, Dr. William Clark, Ms. Meaghan Cuerden, Dr. Guido Filler, Ms. Kerri Gallo, Dr. Amit Garg, Mr. Dariusz Gozdzik, Ms. Theresa Hands, Dr. Andrew House, Mr. Arthur Iansavitchous, Dr. Arsh Jain, Dr. John Johnson, Ms. Lihua Li, Dr. Robert Lindsay, Ms. Jodi Marshall, Ms. Andrea Mazzorato, Dr. Louise Moist, Dr. Norman Muirhead, Ms. Lenora Perry, Dr. Faisal Rehman, Ms. Virginia Schumann, Dr. Ajay Sharma, Ms. Salimah Shariff, Dr. Jessica Sontrop, Dr. Rita Suri, Ms. Heather Thiessen-Philbrook, Dr. Mathew Weir, and Dr. Ann Young. There are over 50 active studies currently being coordinated through the unit (clinical trials, observational studies, research synthesis, population health studies, international registries, information retrieval, and analyses of large health care databases). Supported by this team many undergraduate students, medical students, internal medicine residents, research fellows and training clinician investigators have enjoyed considerable academic success: first author papers in leading medical journals, investigators in peer reviewed grants, research awards and scholarships, podium presentations at international meetings and work featuring in the popular media.

KCRU Trainee Success 2004-2010

Many trainees have earned graduate degrees (Masters, Doctoral) from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Western Ontario, and the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster University. Many have published using the large health care databases of Ontario held at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. Health informatics databases have been accessed through collaborations with the Health Information Research Unit at McMaster University.

Research Achievements

Photographs
Published research
Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grants (Searchable Database)
Kidney Foundation of Canada Biomedical Research Grants (Search Website)