Program Overview

Curriculum Outline

Pre-Program Coursework

After selection into the program and prior to starting, each Pre-Renal trainee will complete pre-program webinars to maximize their experience once the summer begins. These pre-program webinars will consist of: (i) an online course in the Responsible Conduct of Research; (ii) biosafety courses (BSL 2-4, as needed); and (iii) an animal welfare/handling course.

Program Coursework

During the summer, trainees will participate in two didactic courses running concurrently: Tuesday, 12-1p, “Techniques for Kidney Research” and Thursday, 12-1p, “Applying Principles of Life Sciences to Renal Physiology and Practice”. See the syllabi for each didactic course broken down below. 

Techniques for Kidney Research

Week Title Tentative Speaker
1 Introduction Vivek Bhalla, MD
2 Single Cell RNA sequencing for High Throughput studies of the Nephron Purvesh Khatri, MD
3 Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) Jonathan Maltzman, MD, PhD
4 Statistical Methods for Design of Clinical Trials Tara Chang, MD, MS
5 Applying Whole Genome Sequencing to Renal Disease Euan Ashley, MRCP, PhD
6 Mass Cytometry Jonathan Maltzman, MD, PhD
7 Applications of Organoids for Kidney Research Calvin Kuo, MD, PhD
8 Transgenic Mice as Tools for Nephrology and Urology Vivek Bhalla, MD & James Brooks, MD
9 Electrophysiology for the study Ion Channels Merritt Maduke, PhD
10 Development of Medical Devices for Translational Research Joseph Liao, MD

Applying Principles of Life Sciences to Renal Physiology and Practice

Week Title Tentative Speaker
1 Clearance / GFR / Dialysis Tammy Sirich, MD
2 Hypertension & Sodium and Water Balance Vivek Bhalla, MD & Pedram Fatehi, MD, MPH
3 Acute Kidney Injury Glenn Chertow, MD, MPH
4 Glomerular Disease Shuchi Anand, MD, MS
5 Chronic Kidney Disease Tara Chang, MD, MS
6 Kidney Stones Alan Pao, MD
7 Acid Base Disorders Pedram Fatehi, MD, MPH
8 Kidney Transplantation Jane Tan, MD, PhD
9 Bioethics of Dialysis and Transplantation Manjula Tamura, MD, MPH
10 Pursuing Medical/Graduate School Gabriel Garcia, MD

Professional Development

The Stanford Pre-Renal Initiative aims to prepare trainees for careers as independent investigators in Nephrology, Urology, Hematology and related disciplines.  As such, we provide trainees with necessary tools and workshops to be successful in their careers. Professional Development workshops may include topics like:

  • Formatting the CV for Success 
  • Asking for Letters of Recommendation 
  • How to Write a Personal Statement 
  • Identity Building 
  • How to Write a Scientific Abstract 

More Training Opportunities

  • Core Curriculum Lectures
  • Research Conference
  • Journal Club
  • Renal Grand Rounds