Emory University School of Medicine
For more than half a century, the Division of Renal Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine has stood at the forefront of clinical care, scientific discovery, and translational research in kidney physiology and pathophysiology. Its evolution parallels the development of nephrology as a discipline and reflects Emory’s enduring commitment to mechanistic science, clinical excellence, and mentorship.
Origins and Scientific Foundations
As nephrology emerged as a defined specialty in the 1960s and 1970s, Emory established itself as a center where rigorous physiology informed patient care. Early faculty recognized that understanding kidney disease required deep investigation of tubular transport, electrolyte balance, and hormonal regulation at the level of the nephron.
A defining characteristic of the division has been its longstanding expertise in renal microperfusion techniques, allowing precise study of isolated nephron segments under controlled conditions. For decades, these technically demanding approaches enabled investigators to dissect sodium, chloride, urea, and water transport mechanisms, establishing Emory as a leader in mechanistic renal physiology.
Scientific Leadership and National Impact
The division’s national prominence has been shaped by a series of physician-scientists whose work defined major areas of modern nephrology.
Juha P. Kokko, MD, PhD – President, American Society of Nephrology (ASN)
Dr. Kokko served as ASN President from 1984-1985, at which time he influenced national research priorities and training standards. He moved from UT-Southwestern to Emory in 1986, where he served as Chair of Medicine until 1999. Dr. Kokko was a strong advocate academic medicine and led the Department of Medicine’s growth as a major research institution. He is an internationally recognized pioneer in renal physiology. His work on tubule transport, countercurrent multiplication, and the urine-concentrating mechanism clarified how medullary solute gradients are generated and maintained. By integrating experimental physiology with clinical nephrology, he helped establish conceptual frameworks that guide our understanding of water balance and renal function.
William E. Mitch, MD – President, American Society of Nephrology (ASN)
Dr. Mitch served as ASN President from 2003-2004, reflecting his national prominence in research, policy, and patient care. He came to Emory in 1987, where he served as division director until 2002. His pioneering research transformed our understanding of the metabolic complications of chronic kidney disease. Dr. Mitch’s seminal investigations into protein catabolism revealed how CKD activates the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway and disrupts insulin signaling, leading to muscle wasting and malnutrition. By linking molecular mechanisms to systemic consequences of kidney disease, his work reshaped clinical approaches to cachexia and metabolic dysfunction in CKD.
Jeff M. Sands, MD – President, American Physiological Society (APS)
Dr. Sands came to Emory in 1988 and served as division director from 2002-2024. His research redefined the role of urea in renal physiology. He was instrumental in the molecular identification and cloning of urea transporters and characterizing their isoforms and regulation in the kidney. His work established urea transport as a central component of the urine-concentrating mechanism and clarified its role in disorders of water balance. Extending these discoveries into translational science, his investigations contributed to the development of a first-in-class therapeutic strategy targeting urea and water transport pathways for nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. As APS President from 2018-2019 and recipient of the ASN Homer W. Smith Award in 2022, he exemplified the integration of fundamental physiology with clinical innovation.
Susan M. Wall, MD –Institutional Leadership
Dr. Wall came to Emory in 2002 and has played a central role in advancing our understanding of distal nephron physiology. Her research elucidated the function of pendrin, a chloride–bicarbonate exchanger expressed in intercalated cells and defined its contribution to salt, potassium and acid–base balance as well as blood pressure regulation. Through molecular and physiological studies, she clarified how pendrin regulates bicarbonate secretion and NaCl absorption, reshaping our concepts of metabolic alkalosis, as well as electrolyte and blood pressure disorders. Her work strengthened Emory’s tradition of linking cellular transport mechanisms to renal physiology. She has received multiple honors in recognition of her scientific impact, including the Gottschalk Distinguished Lecturer of the American Physiological Society, the Donald Seldin Lecturer, the American Heart Association and the Barry M. Brenner Endowed Lecturer of the American Society of Nephrology. Beyond her research achievements, she has provided essential continuity and leadership within the division, supporting faculty development, fellowship training, and sustained program growth. She is principal investigator of an NIDDK-funded training program (ATLANTIS) that provides stipends and career development opportunities for pre- and postdoctoral scholars doing kidney, urology and hematology research.
Douglas C. Eaton, PhD – President, American Physiological Society (APS)
Dr. Eaton came to Emory in 1986 as vice-chair of the Department of Physiology. He then served as Chair of Physiology where he fostered many collaborations between Physiology and Renal faculty. After stepping down as Chair, he joined the Renal Division where he continued to forge productive collaborations. He has made seminal contributions to epithelial biology and sodium transport, particularly through elucidating regulation of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). His work defined hormonal and intracellular control mechanisms governing sodium reabsorption, with major implications for hypertension and volume homeostasis. By bridging molecular transport physiology with cardiovascular regulation, he strengthened Emory’s role in integrative physiology. He has also worked extensively with the Wall Laboratory in defining the interaction of pendrin and ENaC. As APS President from 2005-2006, he represented physiological sciences broadly, while advancing the division’s reputation in fundamental renal biology.
Clinical and Educational Excellence
Education has remained central to the division’s mission. Since the 1960s, Emory’s Nephrology Fellowship Program has trained more than 180 fellows, many of whom have become leaders in academic medicine and clinical practice worldwide. The division’s clinical services span Grady Memorial Hospital, Emory University Hospital, Emory Midtown, and the Atlanta VA Medical Center, ensuring exposure to diverse patient populations and complex kidney diseases. A formal renal ultrasonography training and certification program further reflects the division’s commitment to procedural expertise and diagnostic excellence.
Research Breadth and Translational Impact
Over five decades, the division has contributed across multiple domains, including ion and water transport physiology, hypertension and renal–vascular interactions, cellular growth and protein metabolism in CKD, and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Emory investigators played key roles in longitudinal cohort studies validating total kidney volume as a biomarker and in clinical trials that advanced disease-modifying therapies. Across basic, translational, and clinical research, the division has maintained a consistent emphasis on mechanistic rigor and clinical impact.