Dr. Naomi Pode Shakked

ur lab investigates human kidney development in health and disease, working to advance precision medicine for pediatric kidney disorders. Utilizing a range of human-based model systems, including primary kidney tissues, patient-derived cells, and stem cell-derived kidney organoids, we work to decipher the molecular mechanisms governing human nephrogenesis and to identify how their disruption leads to congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) and inherited kidney diseases.

By generating patient-specific disease models and using advanced technologies, we aim to uncover therapeutic targets and develop etiology-based interventions to prevent progression to end-stage kidney disease, with a particular focus on at-risk populations such as preterm infants, children with inherited kidney disorders, and patients susceptible to acute kidney injury.

Dr. Naomi Pode Shakked is a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics at the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University and the Sagol Center for Regenerative Medicine, and a Senior Physician in Pediatric Nephrology at Dana-Dwek Children's Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, where her laboratory is based.

Dr. Pode Shakked completed her MD and PhD at Tel Aviv University. Her doctoral research on cancer stem cells in Wilms’ tumor paved the way for a targeted therapeutic approach that advanced to Phase II clinical trials at the NCI/NIH. Following a pediatric residency at Sheba Medical Center, she pursued a clinical fellowship in Pediatric Nephrology and postdoctoral research in the Division of Developmental Biology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

During her postdoctoral work, Dr. Pode Shakked uncovered the mechanism of impaired proximal tubule development in a fatal genetic kidney disease using iPSC-derived kidney organoids, a discovery published in Nature Communications. Dr. Pode Shakked has received numerous prestigious awards and grants, including support from the NIH, the Israel Science Foundation, the Israel Cancer Association, and the Sagol Center for Regenerative Medicine among others.