We are pleased to announce that Paul A. Welling, MD has accepted the Joseph and Esther Handler Chair, Professor of Medicine position in the Division of Nephrology effective August 15, 2019.
Dr. Welling comes to us from the University of Maryland School of Medicine where he served as Director of the Maryland Center for Kidney Discovery and Professor of Physiology. He received his medical degree from the University of Kansas and is an authority on the molecular bases of potassium and sodium balance, electrolyte disorders and hypertension.
Dr. Welling’s laboratory is recognized for elucidating how ion transport molecules in the kidney control salt balance and how these molecules go awry in disorders of electrolyte homeostasis and blood-pressure. In recent years, he has focused on developing a molecular understanding of the relationship between sodium and potassium diet, inherited susceptibilities of hypertension and kidney disease. His group uses a multidisciplinary approach, combining modern methods of molecular genetics, genomics, cellular biology and biochemistry with state-of-the-art physiological and pathophysiological phenotyping techniques to translate genetic discoveries to mechanistic understandings of electrolyte transport physiology, hypertension and kidney disease. His work in these areas has resulted in publications in outstanding journals, including the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Cell.
Dr. Welling has a wealth of experience training graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in his own laboratory, and was the founding Graduate Program Director of the Physiology Track in Molecular Medicine. He has excelled as an investigator and mentor and he will be a great asset to the division, the department and all of Johns Hopkins Medicine.
I also would like to take this opportunity to recognize Dr. Joseph Handler’s many contributions to nephrology and building a division rich in research, and Joan Glade de Pontet's dedication in carrying out his legacy and her philanthropic efforts in support of the division.
-Chirag Parikh, director of the Division of Nephrology
