Dr. Isidro B. Salusky

Dr. Salusky is a Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and Chief, Division Pediatric Nephrology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California. As a clinical-translational research scientist, he has focused his research efforts on the abnormalities of bone and mineral metabolism that are associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children. Over the years, he has aimed to advance our understanding of the mechanisms of disordered mineral metabolism in patients with CKD, including the role of parathyroid hormone, vitamin D, and more recently fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). Through continuous NIH funding, his research group has described the features of bone diseases across the stages of CKD, and after renal transplantation. In addition, they have demonstrated that the recommended doses of aluminum-containing binders were associated plasma and tissue aluminum accumulation. Furthermore, they have defined the effects of therapy with active vitamin D sterols and phosphate binders on the skeletal lesion of secondary hyperparathyroidism and demonstrated control of the skeletal lesions of secondary hyperparathyroidism, but persistence of a mineralization defect. His group has also provided significant groundwork for elucidating the relationship between abnormalities of bone and mineral metabolism and vascular calcifications in children and young adults treated with dialysis.

His current efforts are focused on studying the role of FGF23 in the pathogenesis of CKD-Mineral and Bone Disorder, with the aim of understanding the relationship between bone and FGF23 across the spectrum of CKD. Dr. Salusky also runs a clinic devoted only to abnormalities of bone and mineral metabolism beyond chronic kidney disease in children.

Dr. Salusky is also extremely involved  and committed to the training of the next generation of physician-scientists and specifically in pediatric nephrology, he is the Principal Investigator of the NIH/NIDDK T32DK104687 that support training of post-doctoral MDs and/or PhDs in different aspects related to the consequences of chronic kidney disease on the growing child.