Honors College Fellow Presents Poster at Major Nephrology Conference

Photo by Connie Miller

Abby Terlouw works staining cells at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Abby Terlouw, an Honors College Fellow and biomedical engineering major from Bentonville, was one of four Harvard Summer Research Program students selected to present a poster at the American Society of Nephrology Conference in Chicago this past November. She joined other top students from summer programs at Emory, Yale, Vanderbilt, the Mayo Clinic and other prestigious universities. The largest nephrology conference in America, attendance was over 13,000 this year.

"Regardless of what I end up going into, conferences are a huge part of science and to understanding where a field is going," Terlouw said. "I'm new to nephrology, but it's a good way to meet everyone and network."

Terlouw's poster was based on her summer studying kidney cells in the highly selective Harvard Summer Research Program in Kidney Medicine, a program supported by a grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Disorders. This program spans the nephrology divisions of four Harvard-affiliated hospitals and is run by Dr. Joseph Bonventre at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Abby worked at Massachusetts General Hospital to chart the way the protein aquaporin-2 moves water through the kidney. This research is important for people suffering from diabetes insipidus, an irregularity that can be hereditary, incited by lithium in bipolar medications or even caused by a knock to the head. It stops the kidney from concentrating urine, so people with this condition must drink up to twelve liters of water a day to keep from getting dangerously dehydrated.

Abby hopes her research with Dr. Dennis Brown, a leading figure in the field of nephrology, will help find which drugs have the best effect on mobilizing aquaporin 2.

In addition to presenting her poster, the conference gave Terlouw an opportunity to check in with Dr. Brown and other colleagues from the summer, to attend state-of-the-art lectures on topics such as Hepatitis C and kidney transplants and to listen to eight-minute "oral abstracts."

This experience helped her develop a deeper appreciation for the field: "Nephrology is a science that a lot of people don't know is available. Before this program it wouldn't have been on my radar as an option, but it's definitely a consideration now." 

Terlouw plans to attend medical school after she graduates from the University of Arkansas, and is applying to top programs in Chicago, Boston, Michigan and Arkansas.