Frank C. Brosius III, M.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Division Chief of Nephrology
Protecting Kidney Cells from Diabetic Disease
Diabetes is an equal opportunity disease. Left untreated, it will destroy virtually every organ in the human body. In the kidney, specialized blood vessels called glomeruli are especially vulnerable to damage from high blood glucose levels. If too many of these filtering units are damaged, the result is diabetic kidney disease, also called diabetic nephropathy.
Without treatment, many patients with diabetic nephropathy develop progressive chronic kidney disease as the kidneys slowly lose their ability to filter toxic waste products and excess water from the bloodstream. Ultimately this often results in end-stage kidney disease in which patients need kidney dialysis or an organ transplant to stay alive.
Frank Brosius is trying to determine exactly how elevated blood glucose and other diabetes-associated abnormalities damage kidney cells. Using laboratory mice and molecular information from patients with diabetic nephropathy, he is trying to understand on a molecular and systematic level how diabetes harms the kidneys. He is also searching for early warning signs of the disease and better ways to treat it. The major goal is to develop and test prevention and treatment strategies that could be quickly utilized in clinical trials on patients with, or at risk of, diabetic kidney disease.
Brosius also hopes his research will lead to new diagnostic urine or blood tests capable of detecting early biochemical markers of the disease. These tests could help physicians prevent serious kidney damage by diagnosing nephropathy at an earlier stage when it can be more effectively treated.
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Taubman Emerging Scholars Program
Request for applications
Applications are being accepted for the Taubman Institute Emerging Scholars Program.
The applicant must be a junior member of the faculty at the University of Michigan; generally, that means holding an assistant professor title. The applicant must have either an M.D. or an M.D./Ph.D. It is required that candidates both conduct basic research and treat patients.
Applicants should submit a two-to-three page research proposal, as well as a current CV. Priority will be given to proposals involving translational research. Please submit material to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . The deadline is May 7, 2012.
Young Friends host festive NYC fundraiser
Reception introduced scholar candidate Dr. Parag Patil
About 125 supporters of cutting-edge medical research mixed socializing and science May 9 at a cocktail party in Manhattan hosted by the Young Friends of the Taubman Institute's New York City chapter.
The event introduced Dr. Parag Patil, a University of Michigan physician-researcher and a prospective Young Friends Emerging Scholar. Here's a clip from Dr. Patil's appearance on the TV program "The Doctors," where he demonstrates how deep-brain stimulation has helped a patient with Parkinson's disease.
Emerging Scholars are early-career clinician-scientists who show great promise in research aimed at new cures or treatments; through the Taubman Institute, donors support them with three-year grants while their labs earn the credentials to win broader funding support.
The Young Friends event, which raised a significant contribution toward the Emerging Scholars program, was held at the ABC Carpet & Home showrooms at 888 Broadway, Attendees enjoyed cocktails, appetizers, a silent auction and a presentation by Dr. Patil. The silent auction included jewelry, fashion items, a Botox consultation and treatment, Morgan Hotel Group rooms and the opportunity to bid on a meeting and photo with former President William Jefferson Clinton.
Taubman Research
Dr. Max Wicha: Some treatments actually increase cancer stem cells
Avastin and Sutent have been found to increase the growth of breast cancer stem cells in mice, according to Taubman Scholar Dr. Max Wicha, director of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.
