News & Events

In the Division

Thu Le Receives 2023 SMD Mentoring Award

January 4, 2023

Thu H Le, MD, chief of Nephrology, professor of medicine and John K. Kuiper Distinguished Professor, has received the 2023 School of Medicine & Dentistry's Faculty Academic Mentoring Award. Le’s mentoring of faculty has created a supportive environment for many career developments along with fully supporting mentees and skillfully guiding them towards helpful resources in order to further their career goals. One trainee states, “She holds me accountable for my goals and challenges me without wavering in her support. Le is highly skilled in mentoring faculty as well as being knowledgeable about promotional systems as faculty progress in their career”.

Kids & Kidney: Nephrology, PUSH Physical Theatre Educate & Entertain

March 22, 2023

Nephrology division chief Thu Le, MD and associate professor Fahad Saeed, MBBS, know that the challenge of teaching kids about health is engaging them and keeping their attention. Le and Saeed teamed up with a well-known, local arts group to develop a compelling show for students aged 10-15 with interesting characters that made learning about kidney health fun!

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Jing (Jason) Wu Earns Leadership Role with American Society of Nephrology

July 12, 2022

Jing (Jason) Wu, PhD., Assistant Professor of Medicine, has been elected to serve as one of two chairs to help run the Basic Research Forum for Emerging Kidney Scientists, a partnership between American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and American Physiological Society (APS), starting July 1 this year. This is a satellite meeting during the annual ASN Kidney Week, which starts on October 31st. The meeting features basic renal science and early stage investigators (ESI). Please congratulate Dr. Wu on this wonderful achievement!

Thu Le Named Vice-Chair of AHA Council on the Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease

March 15, 2022

Thu Le, M.D., division chief of Nephrology, has been elected to serve as vice-chair for the American Heart Association’s Council on the Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease (KCVD). Her term will begin in July 2022, and will continue for two years. After that term ends, she will assume the role of chair for two years.

Le previously served as an advocacy ambassador for the council from 2010 to 2013. Leadership of the council nominated her for the vice-chair position based on her accomplishments and background in both research and clinical care. In this new role, Le will work with the chair to steer the council, enact new initiatives, and work toward fulfilling the council’s mission of promoting excellence in research, communication, advocacy, and education in the field of kidney disease.

“I am thrilled and honored to be chosen for this leadership position at the national level,” said Le. “In this capacity, I hope to be able to increase awareness of the important role of the kidney in cardiovascular health and disease, funding support for research in kidney-related cardiovascular disease, and the council’s membership and active participation and engagement of its members to improve the lives of patients suffering from kidney disease and its related cardiovascular consequences.”

Rebeca Monk Named Highland Hospital Chief of Medicine

December 10, 2021

Rebeca Denise Monk, M.D., FACP, professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, has been appointed as the new Chief of Medicine for Highland Hospital. Dr. Monk succeeds Robert McCann, who has been with our health system for almost 30 years. "Dr. Monk will be an excellent addition to the already strong team at Highland Hospital," says Ruth O'Regan, chair of Medicine. "Her decades of experience as a leader, both at URMC and throughout our health care community, will add to the kind and compassionate care patients and their families have come to expect from Highland."

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Dr. Thu Le Receives Award from ASN

July 27, 2020

Thu H. Le, M.D., F.A.H.A., professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Nephrology, has been given the American Society of Nephrology Midcareer Mentor Award. This award recognizes individuals who have made contributions to the kidney community through the mentorship and development of other clinicians or researchers. This award recognizes those who have inspired others to pursue nephrology and become leaders in the transformation of healthcare through innovations in research, education, and practice.

Dr. Le is John J. Kuiper Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Nephrology at the University of Rochester. As a clinical investigator, she is dedicated to patient care as well as research. She served on the study sections for the American Heart Association and the National Kidney Foundation, and was a regular member of the NIH Genetics of Health and Disease Study Section from 2012-2018.

Dr. Le has mentored dozens of students and trainees, and has guided numerous early career faculty in order to help them achieve success. Her passion for mentorship and dedication to promoting the careers of others have garnered numerous awards for teaching and training excellence, and helped many physician scientists launch successful careers.

Coordinating Coronavirus Research: Creating Options for Our Sickest COVID-19 Patients

July 14, 2020

When the first COVID-19 cases hit the University of Rochester Medical Center’s ICU back in March of 2020, there were no proven treatments available, but experimental therapies were cropping up around the world. Quickly, a team of URMC clinicians and researchers mobilized to bring the most promising clinical trials - that address the broadest swath of patients’ needs - to URMC. Since then, URMC has joined three clinical trials that provide extra treatment options for some of the sickest COVID-19 patients.

COVID-19 causes a wide range of outcomes: some infected people never show a single symptom, while many battle the disease for weeks in the ICU. The difference between those outcomes seems to lie in a careful balance of the immune response. In the beginning of the disease, the immune system helps fight off the virus. But for those who land in the hospital, this early, helpful immune response gives way to uncontrolled over-activation of the immune system, causing system-wide inflammation and severe complications. 

The three COVID-19 inpatient clinical trials currently running at URMC attack the disease at both ends of this balance. 

“Our goal has always been to promote effective therapies through clinical trials,” said Martin Zand, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine in Nephrology, senior associate dean for Clinical Research and co-director of the Clinical & Translational Science Institute. “Our team is working hard to make sure that the trials we bring to URMC have the greatest chance of benefiting our own patients, and significantly advancing the science of COVID-19 to benefit patients around the world.”

Study by Thu Le Highlights Diet-Gene Interactions in Kidney Disease

November 10, 2019

Research by Thu H. Le, M.D., F.A.H.A., professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Nephrology, suggests that the benefits of a dietary compound on kidney health may depend on an individual's genetics. Published in JASN (Journal of the American Society of Nephrology), the study may be helpful for tailoring interventions to prevent or treat kidney disease. A summary of the study appears in the research news aggregate service, Newswise.