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Lori O’Brien, PhD, assistant professor in the department of Cell Biology and Physiology, and member of the UNC Kidney Center, discusses her research on kidney development and nephron function as it relates to kidney disease.


Statistics suggest one in nine Americans will face some level of kidney disease in their life. Lori O’Brien, PhD, and her lab utilize elegant technologies and genetic approaches to address fundamental questions about the development of the kidney and kidney disease.

The Finding Genius podcast summarizes her episode as a discussion of her research into kidney processes, describing the following:

  • How kidney development progresses in utero and what are the two main types of progenitor cells,
  • What are the stages of kidney disease and how effective are dialysis and kidney transplantation, and
  • What are challenges to kidney organoid development such as how to rid the organoid of filtrate.

Listen to O’Brien’s episode of Finding Genius here.