Dr. Alda Tufro

Biography

Alda Tufro is a Professor Emeritus at Yale School of Medicine. Her research primarily focuses on pediatric nephrology, with significant contributions to understanding the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and semaphorins in renal development and the pathogenesis of glomerular disease. Dr. Tufro's early research demonstrated how hypoxia-induced VEGF promotes vasculogenesis and nephrogenesis. She identified sema3a as a negative regulator of vascularization and podocyte differentiation during kidney development. Her later work involved generating mouse models to study the implications of VEGF and sema3a in diabetic nephropathy. The studies revealed that excess podocyte VEGF leads to steroid-resistant nephrosis and advanced diabetic nephropathy. She is currently exploring the molecular characterization of nephrotic syndrome-causing genes and identifying novel biomarkers for diabetic nephropathy. Dr. Tufro's work has received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), contributing to critical advancements in renal research and treatment.

Research Interests