Vivek Bhalla, MD

Clinical Focus

• Nephrology
• Nephrology (Kidney)

Honors and Awards

• Young Investigator Award, National Kidney Foundation (2008)
• Teaching Awardee, Halie T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators, UCSF (2007)
• Mentored Clinical Scientist Award, NIH/NIDDK (2005)
• Fellow, American Society of Nephrology (2003)
• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, NIH/NIDDK (2003)

Professional Education

• Board Certification: Nephrology, American Board of Internal Medicine (2003)
• UCSF-Graduate Medical Education (2005) CA
• Board Certification: Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine (2001)
• Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (2001) CA
• University of California San Diego (1998) CA
• Fellowship, Univ of California San Francisco Nephrology (2005)
• Residency, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Internal Medicine (2001)
• M.D., Univ of California San Diego Medicine (1998)
• B.S., Univ of California Berkeley Electrical Engineering (1994)

Postdoctoral Advisees

• Sindhu Chandran, Jyothi Vishnumangalam

Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations

• Medicine

Web Site Links

• Laboratory Website for Vivek Bhalla

Research Interests

Dr. Bhalla's research interests are in the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease and salt-sensitive hypertension. The laboratory is interested in elucidating molecular pathways which regulate mesangial cell hypertrophy and extracellular matrix production in diabetic glomeruli. The laboratory also focuses on molecular mechanisms of insulin and aldosterone induced sodium transport in the distal nephron.

Publications

• Lead poisoning from an Ayurvedic herbal medicine in a patient with chronic kidney disease. Prakash S,  Hernandez GT, Dujaili I, Bhalla V.  Nat Rev Nephrol.  2009; 5 (5): 297-300
• Melamine nephrotoxicity: an emerging epidemic in an era of globalization. Bhalla V,  Grimm PC, Chertow GM, Pao AC.  Kidney Int.  2009; 75 (8): 774-9
• Mechanisms of ENaC regulation and clinical implications. Bhalla V,  Hallows KR.  J Am Soc Nephrol.  2008; 19 (10): 1845-54
• NH2 terminus of serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 binds to phosphoinositides and is essential for isoform-specific physiological functions. Pao AC,  McCormick JA, Li H, Siu J, Govaerts C, Bhalla V, Soundararajan R, Pearce D.  Am J Physiol Renal Physiol.  2007; 292 (6): F1741-50
• AMP-activated kinase inhibits the epithelial Na+ channel through functional regulation of the ubiquitin ligase Nedd4-2. Bhalla V,  Oyster NM, Fitch AC, Wijngaarden MA, Neumann D, Schlattner U, Pearce D, Hallows KR.  J Biol Chem.  2006; 281 (36): 26159-69
• Disinhibitory pathways for control of sodium transport: regulation of ENaC by SGK1 and GILZ. Bhalla V,  Soundararajan R, Pao AC, Li H, Pearce D.  Am J Physiol Renal Physiol.  2006; 291 (4): F714-21
• Serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 regulates ubiquitin ligase neural precursor cell-expressed, developmentally down-regulated protein 4-2 by inducing interaction with 14-3-3. Bhalla V,  Daidié D, Li H, Pao AC, LaGrange LP, Wang J, Vandewalle A, Stockand JD, Staub O, Pearce D.  Mol Endocrinol.  2005; 19 (12): 3073-84
• SGK1: a rapid aldosterone-induced regulator of renal sodium reabsorption. McCormick JA,  Bhalla V, Pao AC, Pearce D.  Physiology (Bethesda).  2005; 20 134-9
• Recurrent and de novo diabetic nephropathy in renal allografts. Bhalla V,  Nast CC, Stollenwerk N, Tran S, Barba L, Kamil ES, Danovitch G, Adler SG.  Transplantation.  2003; 75 (1): 66-71