Professor Alan Davidson
Professor Alan Davidson (Kai Tahu, Kati Mamoe, Waitaha) is the Head of the Department of Molecular Medicine & Pathology at the University of Auckland.
Alan's programme of research is focused on understanding the cellular and genetic causes of acute and chronic kidney disease and the development of new drug treatments. Some of this work involves using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which can form any cell type in the body. His group are using iPSCs to generate ‘mini kidneys’ (organoids) as well as using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to create rodent models of kidney disease. They also are interested in gene variants that are highly enriched in people with Māori or Pacific descent that affect kidney function and disease risk.
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-5732-1193