Justine Pinskey, Graduate Student (Allen Laboratory), Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School

The kidney is an amazing organ that helps filter your blood and remove waste and toxins. Our lab studies an important signaling pathway that helps kidneys develop properly. This image is a cross-section of a mouse kidney, highlighting its vast network of interconnected tubes in green. Because of the organization of the kidney, some of the tubes are sliced lengthwise, making them look like strings, while others are sliced crosswise, making them look like rings. Importantly, when cell signaling is disrupted, the development and organization of kidney structures can be affected, leading to malformed or even missing kidneys. Part of our research aims to better understand kidney development so that we can treat or prevent these kinds of defects.

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