UWSOP Department of Pharmaceutics student, Roshni Sabhaya, has been awarded a Mary Gates Research Scholarship to investigate the effects of certain toxins on Chronic Kidney Diseases of Unknown Etiology (CKDu) using the kidney chip system developed at UWSOP.
Sabhaya is working with SOP Department of Pharmaceutics Research Scientist Jade Yang to develop protocols that will allow the lab to assess at the sub-cellular level what is happening to human kidney cells when they are exposed to an environmental toxin linked with the development of CKDu. “I am interested in [understanding] the role of cell cycle arrest in the progression of kidney injury to CKDu,” Roshni said.
“Success in this project will greatly impact multiple programs in the lab, including the recently awarded NASA grant project with UWSOP Assistant Professor Cathy Yeung,’05, and Department of Nephrology Associate Professor Benjamin Freedman,” added UWSOP Associate Professor Ed Kelly, also part of the kidney chip research team and Roshni’s mentor.
“With this scholarship, I hope to further develop my research interests through additional projects that study the effects of different drugs and toxins,” said Roshni. “I am also looking forward to making new connections within the Mary Gates scholar community.”