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Updated: Mar 19, 2026

Guided Differentiation of Mature Kidney Podocytes from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Under Chemically Defined Conditions
Published on: July 2, 2020
2015 Homer W. Smith Award: The Podocyte from Periphery to Center Stage
1Clinical Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria dontscho.kerjaschki@meduniwien.ac.at.
Abstract:
This overview summarizes selected major developments over the last 40 years in understanding podocyte biology and its involvement in glomerular disease subjectively from my perspective. Serendipity has played a major role in my contributions to investigative nephrology that range from basic mechanisms of immune deposit formation in experimental membranous nephropathy to the role of a microRNA in FSGS. This review emphasizes the importance of continuous reality checks of experimental results obtained in vitro or with genetically modified animals with human disease.
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