NEWSLETTER ::: NO. 20 ::: JULY 2020 DEAR It's my pleasure to present the NCCR Kidney.CH's 20th newsletter! In this issue, we take a look at trends in "alkaline therapy" and what they mean (and don't mean) for kidney health. One of our newest Junior Grant recipients, Anna Rinaldi, tells us about her research on kidney repair, and we look back on some of the exciting developments of the NCCR's 10th year. Happy reading! Juliet Manning EDITORIAL Juliet Manning   NEW SCIENTIFIC OFFICER Hello! For those of you I haven’t met yet, my name is Juliet, I’m the new scientific officer at the NCCR Kidney.CH. I was lucky enough to join the NCCR Kidney.CH in February 2020, just in time to meet some of our team members at the University of Zurich before Covid-19 hit and changed the world as we know it. » read more LEAD ALKALINE THERAPY - TRUTH OR MYTH? Alkaline therapy has been touted online as a cure-all, and recent studies suggest that it can slow the progression of chronic kidney disease. But what do we really know about alkaline therapy, and how does it relate to renal disease? » read more PORTRAIT Anna Rinaldi   CARVING A NICHE IN KIDNEY REPAIR Anna Rinaldi is one of the newest Junior Grant recipients at the NCCR Kidney.CH, having recently joined the lab of Pietro Cippà, an affiliate of the NCCR at the University of Lugano. » read more NCCR MEMBER CO-DEVELOPS EXCITING NEW IMAGING TECHNOLOGY Researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH), the NCCR Kidney.CH and the Biomaterials Science Center of the University of Basel have developed a new X-ray contrast agent that allows for unpresented precision in vascular imaging. » read more UZH ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY JUMPS TO 11TH PLACE WORLDWIDE The Home Institution of the NCCR Kidney.CH, the University of Zurich, has risen steadily in the QS World University Rankings under the category “Anatomy and Physiology” since the category was introduced in 2017. » read more NCCR KIDNEY.CH MINISYMPOSIUM IN INTERLAKEN A mini symposium was held at the 2019 Swiss Society of Nephrology Annual meeting to showcase the work of the NCCR. Two NCCR PIs each gave a presentation on the theme of “Kidney imaging in the 21st century: Between science and art”. » read more JUNIOR GRANT AWARDEES 2020 Stellor Khodo (University of Zurich), Anna Rinaldi (Ospedale Regionale di Lugano), and Ganesh Pathare (University of Zurich) have joined the NCCR Kidney.CH as the latest recipients of the popular Junior Grant. » read more EVENTS VIRTUAL NCCR KIDNEY.CH RETREAT September 24-25 online NCCR Kidney.CH Institute of Anatomy University of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 8057 Zurich | Switzerland www.nccr-kidney.ch katharina.thomas@uzh.ch Kidney - Control of Homeostasis is a Swiss research initiative, headquartered at University of Zurich, which brings together leading specialists in experimental and clinical nephrology and physiology from the universities of Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, and Zurich, and corresponding university hospitals.