Kidney Regenerative Medicine

In an interview for Nephrology Times, SCRM director, Prof. Benjamin Dekel, discusses the potential of using urine-derived kidney organoids for disease modeling and regenerative medicine. 

"When you understand the intrinsic regenerative and repair programs, you can understand the how to generate new cells in the kidneys in patients." 

Prof. Dekel highlights the importance of establishing protocols for growing these mini kidneys, which can be used to learn about a patient's disease, whether it's acquired or inherited. 

These organoids can also serve as grafts for kidney regeneration.  He emphasizes, "Being a nephrologist and well as a researcher, I want my patients to enjoy the promise of regenerative medicine.", stressing the importance of integrating physicians in cutting edge research to invent new ways to help patients. 

Benjamin Dekel, MD, PhD, director of the SCRM, is head of the Pediatric Stem Cell Research Institute and director of pediatric nephrology at the Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital, Sheba Medical Center, in Israel.

A pioneer in the field of human renal stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, he shared insights on kidney regenerative medicine with Nephrology Times.