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Overview

USC Stem Cell scientists are advancing our understanding of how the body develops, maintains and repairs the kidney and urinary system. They are also developing new regenerative treatments for the millions of patients with kidney injury and disease, bladder injury and disease, and urinary incontinence.

Statistics

  • One in 10 adults in the U.S.—more than 20 million people—are suffering from some degree of chronic kidney disease. Common causes include diabetes and high blood pressure.
  • 13 million people in the U.S. experience urinary incontinence, frequently as a result of childbirth.

Researchers

Kidney and Urinary System News

2023 summit

USC joins LA-area stem cell institutes in forming a regenerative medicine consortium

USC is partnering with seven of Los Angeles’ leading regenerative medicine institutes to form the Los Angeles and surrounding area regenerative medicine consortium (LA-RMC), with the goal of fulfilling the promise of …

Two of the genes—Gsta4 in red and Cyp4a14 in green—that are more active in female mouse kidneys (blue) (Image by Jing Liu/McMahon Lab)

Why are male kidneys more vulnerable to disease than female kidneys? USC Stem Cell-led mouse study points to testosterone.

Female kidneys are known to be more resilient to disease and injury, but males need not despair. A new USC Stem Cell-led study published in Developmental Cell describes not only how sex …

From left, Fokion Glykofrydis, Nils Lindström, Leonardo Morsut, and Connor Fausto (Photo by Sergio Bianco)

USC Stem Cell’s journey towards 1,000 mini-kidneys begins with $1 million from KidneyX

To help patients in need of transplants, artificial kidneys would have to function like their natural counterparts, but they wouldn’t necessarily have to look like them. With a new $1 million prize …

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Kidney and Urinary System Videos

Dr. Nils Lindström's lab studies the molecular mechanisms that control how progenitors that exist during development differentiate into the broad range of cell types that underpin adult organ function. The lab integrates single-cell omic approaches with new microscopy and computational tools to understand how genetic changes cause abnormal differentiation in the kidney and model these genetic changes in the renal stem-cell derived organoid with the aim of identifying new treatments for kidney disease.
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