Arlene Chapman

Dr. Arlene Chapman is a distinguished Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Section of Nephrology at the University of Chicago. She serves as Associate Director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Director of the Clinical Research Center, where she has established a whole room calorimetry core for metabolism research. Her leadership extends to clinical research infrastructure development and multidisciplinary care coordination across the institution.

Dr. Chapman's research spans three decades of pioneering work in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), with particular focus on hereditary kidney diseases, hypertension, and kidney function during pregnancy. She has made seminal contributions to the development of magnetic resonance imaging techniques for total kidney volume assessment—a key biomarker in ADPKD progression. Her work has directly influenced clinical trials for novel therapies including vasopressin V2 receptor antagonists and rigorous blood pressure control strategies that led to FDA-approved treatments.

The publication landscape reveals a consistent trajectory of impactful research, with recent work focusing on obesity's role in ADPKD progression, racial disparities in transplantation outcomes, pain assessment instruments, and metabolic alterations in early disease. Her collaborative approach is evident in numerous multi-center studies and guideline development efforts, particularly the KDIGO 2025 clinical practice guidelines for ADPKD management.

Her scientific achievements were recognized with the 2020 Lillian Jean Kaplan International Prize from the International Society of Nephrology, honoring her pioneering efforts in ADPKD research, biomarker development, and leadership in interventional clinical trials. This prestigious award underscores her global impact on the field.

As an educator, Dr. Chapman actively mentors medical students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty, contributing to the development of the next generation of nephrologists and researchers. Her grant portfolio includes significant NIH funding for studies on melatonin and blood pressure in African Americans, symposia for molecular insights in PKD, and clinical centers for the HALT-PKD trials. The Clinical Research Center she directs provides critical infrastructure supporting numerous investigators across medical disciplines.