Hartwell Fellowship for Iman Sarami, MD

Approximately 1 in 65,000 children develop end-stage renal disease (ESRD) each year who will eventually require dialysis and renal transplantation. Congenital anomalies and the abnormal development of the kidney and urinary collecting system are the leading cause of ESRD in children. The goal of my research is to create kidney tissue from stem cells in a laboratory setting. This will provide a unique tool to discover new mechanisms of kidney development in children and abnormal tissue formation. This project has potential to develop new therapies for children with kidney disease to improve their quality of life and life expectancy.