The training program of the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center provides and integrated 3-4 year experience in clinical nephrology (1 year) and academic research (2-3 years). The program is designed to prepare postdoctoral fellows for careers in academic medicine. The clinical training, by utilizing 3 different hospitals with varied populations (University Hospital, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Denver Health Medical Center) exposes the trainees to a great range of patients with parenchymal renal disease, fluid and electrolyte disorders, acid-base disorders, hypertension, acute and chronic renal failure, acute renal replacement therapies, and chronic dialysis (peritoneal, hemodialysis both at home and in-center), and all medical aspects of transplantation. Thereafter the fellows choose to pursue their research training in the laboratory of any faculty member in the Division or in other Divisions with which we closely interact, such as rheumatology, immunology. The laboratories have modern, state of the art equipment and staff that provide the best possible research environment. The fellows can choose from a large number of laboratories or clinical investigation projects. Very broadly stated these include: a) laboratories studying the pathogenesis of acute renal failure; b) laboratories exploring the role of aquaporins in disorders of water balance; c) laboratories focused on signaling pathways in vascular smooth muscle cells, tumor cells, inner medullary collecting ducts cells; d) laboratories that study the pathogenesis of renal cyst formation; e) laboratories that study the immunology of graft rejection; and f) clinical studies in patients with diabetes, diabetic nephropathy, acute renal failure, polycystic kidney disease, and graft rejection. Fellows are encouraged to enter a program leading to a Ph.D. in human biology that further broadens the research options available to them. The fellowship program chooses 4 trainees each year, all of who commit to at least a 3-year fellowship and express interest in an academic career. Interviewees are chosen from applicants who have completed at least three years of postdoctoral training in internal medicine. This ensures that the individual is ready for his or her initial clinical training, which is then followed by their research training.
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