Jonathan Himmelfarb, MD

Hospital inpatients who develop an acute kidney injury (AKI) generally fare poorly after being discharged, and have few options for effective treatment.

A UW Medicine-led study published recently in American Journal of Kidney Diseases suggests that new tests might improve this narrative.

In the study, “about 30% of the patients that came into the hospital developed AKI, which means in a matter of hours or days, their kidneys might be failing because of reaction to drugs or contracting sepsis,” said lead author Dr. Pavan Bhatraju, an assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine… Continue reading.

A backpack-size kidney-dialysis device, conceived and being developed at the University of Washington Center for Dialysis Innovation (CDI), is one of six winners of a $650,000 prize in an international competition to create components and systems for artificial kidneys.

The awards were announced today by KidneyX, a public-private partnership of the American Society of Nephrology and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Through a series of cash competitions, KidneyX seeks to speed drug and device development to counter the steep global growth of kidney disease, now estimated to afflict 850 million people… Continue reading.

Researchers have developed a new tool to assess patients’ opinions and experience concerning home dialysis care. The tool is described in an upcoming issue of CJASN.

Home dialysis, which includes both peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis, allows patients to receive their dialysis treatments at home, gives patients independence and flexibility with their treatment schedules, and is associated with similar or better outcomes and lower costs compared with conventional in-center hemodialysis. Home dialysis modalities are the fastest growing types of dialysis treatments in the United States, and this trend is likely to continue as recent policies provide incentives to dialysis providers and kidney specialists to promote home dialysis… Continue reading.

Heart tissues returned to UW researchers after a month at the International Space Station

Engineered heart muscle tissues, contained inside a chip smaller than a cellphone, took a “splashdown” near Long Beach, California, on April 6 after its launch to the International Space Station (ISS) in a SpaceX CRS-20 rocket a month prior.

Mechanical engineering professor Nathan Sniadecki and graduate student Ty Higashi led the research study that is investigating the damaging effects of microgravity on the human heart. They soon expect to develop medications for space travelers to stay healthy outside the Earth’s atmosphere… Continue reading.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the induction of Jonathan Himmelfarb, MD, Professor of Medicine, Joseph W. Eschbach, MD Endowed Chair for Kidney Research, Director, Kidney Research Institute, Co-director, Center for Dialysis Innovation, University of Washington, to its College of Fellows.

Election to the AIMBE College of Fellows is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to a medical and biological engineer. The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers. College membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering and medicine research, practice, or education” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education.”

Dr. Himmelfarb was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for “technological and clinical contributions positively impacting the lives and longevity of patients with end stage kidney failure.”