Sara Lewis
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY·Medicine & Clinical Research
A kidney transplant is the preferred treatment for kidney failure, but many transplanted kidneys slowly lose function over time. A common cause is interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA).
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Biomedical Engineering
- Topics
kidney transplant
renal allograft
renal transplantation
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2027
What they work on
- Test whether a non-contrast multiparametric MRI protocol combining T1 relaxometry and IVIM diffusion imaging can detect and stage scarring (IFTA) in transplanted kidneys, compared against biopsies.
- Build and validate machine learning and statistical models that use MRI data to detect Banff measures of inflammation and fibrosis in separate groups of kidney transplant patients.
- Assess whether urinary RNA biomarkers of fibrosis add diagnostic value to MRI for detecting scarring in transplanted kidneys.
- Evaluate whether MRI and urine biomarker measurements predict kidney transplant outcomes by following the full patient group for up to 24 months.
More about the research
In this process, scar tissue builds up and the kidney's small tubes shrink, and it predicts worse outcomes for the transplanted kidney. Right now IFTA can only be measured with a biopsy, which is invasive, risky and may miss diseased areas. This project asks whether an MRI scan can measure scarring without a needle.
Why it matters
Kidney transplant recipients now rely on invasive biopsies to check for scarring that can lead to transplant failure. A short MRI scan without contrast dye, possibly combined with urine tests, could allow earlier detection, repeated monitoring over time, better treatment planning and prognosis, and testing of whether new drugs work.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Kevin M Bennett
Washington University in St Louis, MO·Biomedical Engineering
Validate individual magnetic resonance imaging features against histopathology scores for interstitial fibrosis, glomerulosclerosis, vascular sclerosis and tubular atrophy, using site-directed biopsies taken from imaged locations in discarded human kidneys.
Yin Xi
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, TX·Medicine & Clinical Research
Measure blood flow in clear cell renal cell carcinoma with arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI and test whether it matches tumor regions with molecular changes that drive new blood vessel growth, such as HIF and VEGF activity.
Jeffrey Schelling
Case Western Reserve University, OH·Medicine & Clinical Research
Determine whether FATP2, a fatty acid transporter in the kidney's proximal tubule, drives fat-induced cell death and progression of diabetic kidney disease, using mouse models.
The school
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: 45 labs on PI Pages, $1.0B a year on research, 62 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.