Investigators

Frank (Chip) Brosius:  Dr. Brosius joined the University of Arizona in 2017 from the University of Michigan where he was the Division Director for Nephrology. Dr. Brosius is one of the country’s leading experts in Diabetic Kidney disease and directed the University of Michigan’s O’Brien center (one of only seven such centers nationwide). Chip is currently an active member of the Arizona Kidney and Vascular center and involved in translational and clinical research (see below) in both vascular access and diabetic kidney disease. Dr. Brosius is funded through the NIH.

Akinlolu Ojo: Dr. Ojo is the Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Arizona and the Principal Investigator on the “All of Us” National Precision Medicine initiative ($45 million in grant funding). His main interests are in the epidemiology of chronic kidney disease, health disparities and organ donation. Dr. Ojo is funded through NIH and HRSA grants.

Titi Ilori: Dr. Ilori’s main interests are in the epidemiology and genetics of glomerular disease, especially in the context of APOL1 genotypes.

Bijin Thajudeen: Dr. Thajudeen’s main interests are in Acute Kidney Injury and Telemedicine. He is actively involved in the clinical research activities of the Division and is the site PI for a study on CRRT in the ICU.

Lavanya Kodali: Dr. Kodali’s research interest is in the pathobiology of transplant glomerulopathy, with a focus on the identification of predictive markers (clinical/biological and immunological) for progression of this condition.

Sireesha Koppula: Dr. Koppula’s research interests are in quality and outcomes and she is actively involved in these initiatives at the Divisional, Departmental and Banner Health levels.

Sangeetha Murugapandian: Dr. Murugapandian is dual board eligible in both nephrology and Geriatrics. She recently joined the faculty from the University of Louisville and is developing a research program in fraility in collaboration with Geriatric Medicine.

Gabriel El-Kass: Dr. El-Kass is an interventional nephrologist who is actively involved in a translational research project to identify predictors of vascular access success and failure.

Diego Celdran-Bonafonte: Dr. Celdran-Bonafonte is a veterinarian who is active in animal model development for uremia and vascular access dysfunction and leads the translational research laboratory within the Arizona Kidney and Vascular Center. Dr. Celdran-Bonafonte is funded through the NIH.

Lindsay Kohler: Dr. Kohler is an epidemiologist who is developing an interest in chronic kidney disease disparities. Her training is in lifestyle patterns and adherence to nutrition and physical activity guidelines for prevention of disease. Her current work includes developing new research methodology for renal nutrition. She also manages the clinical research team which coordinates industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated clinical trials.

Prabir Roy-Chaudhury: Dr. Roy-Chaudhury’s main research interest is in the vascular biology of dialysis vascular access and CKD/ESRD. He directs the Arizona Kidney and Vascular Center which is a translational, multi-disciplinary research program in this area that includes animal model work, clinical trials and outcomes research (see below). Dr. Roy-Chaudhury is funded through NIH, VA and National Science Foundation grants.

Rick Schnellman: Dr. Schnellman is the Dean of the College of Pharmacy (top 10 ranking nationally) and leads an internationally renowned program on drug development for acute kidney injury. Dr. Schnellman is funded through NIH and VA grants.

Heddwen Brooks: Dr. Brooks’ main research interests are in sex differences in hypertension and the role of vasopressin in renal cell proliferation. Dr. Brooks is funded through the NIH and the state of Arizona.