Projects

The Schuh Lab is dedicated to reducing the risk of kidney disease in infants who are born prematurely. One component of the research focuses on better understanding nephron number, how nephrons are formed in late gestation, and how this process is impacted by preterm birth. Additionally, we are interested in how nephrogenesis is affected by early neonatal experiences and exposures in the neonatal intensive care unit. This research explores the following themes:

  • Mechanisms of late-gestation kidney development using single-cell RNA sequencing and multiomic platforms
  • Cross-species comparative postnatal kidney development
  • In utero vs. postnatal preterm kidney development
  • The role of various neonatal exposures in preterm kidney development
  • Timing of neonatal kidney injury and kidney health outcomes

The lab also studies congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT), with projects that focus on the following themes:

  • The genetics of infants with severe CAKUT requiring fetal intervention
  • The genetics of infants with severe CAKUT and hepatoblastoma
  • The neurologic and neurocognitive outcomes of infants with severe chronic kidney disease and/or CAKUT