David Long

David Long is Professor of Paediatric Nephrology at University College London's Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (GOSICH). He serves as Head of the Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, co-leads the UCL Centre of Kidney and Bladder Health, and acts as Deputy Theme Lead of the Gene, Cell and Stem Theme at the Great Ormond Street Biomedical Research Centre. With over 80 publications cited more than 6,000 times and an H-index of 42, his research focuses on understanding kidney disease mechanisms to develop novel therapies for patients.

David Long earned his Doctor of Philosophy from University College London in 2003 and his Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Southampton in 1999. His initial research experience was gained in the Nephro-Urology Unit at GOSICH under Professor Adrian Woolf as an MRC-funded PhD student.

Professor Long's research mission centers on understanding mechanisms underlying kidney disease in children and adults to translate findings for patient benefit. His laboratory combines experimental models of kidney disease using zebrafish, transgenic mice, and patient samples with innovative technologies including three-dimensional imaging, mathematical modeling, gene editing, stem cell technology, and novel therapeutic approaches. His work is particularly important given the UK has 70,000 patients with end-stage kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplantation, with an annual cost of the UK ESKD programme conservatively estimated at £1 billion.

Analysis of Professor Long's recent publications reveals a strong focus on kidney lymphatic vessels, polycystic kidney disease, and glomerular pathology. His work increasingly utilizes advanced technologies like single-cell transcriptomics, three-dimensional imaging, and microfluidic organ-on-chip platforms. A significant theme is the investigation of lymphatic vessel function in kidney health and disease, particularly in polycystic kidney disease and transplant rejection. His research also explores novel therapeutic approaches including vincristine for podocyte damage and cardiotrophin-1 for glomerular disease, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of his work bridging basic science with clinical applications.

• Wellcome Trust Investigator Award (2020-2025)
• Medical Research Council New Investigator Award (2012)
• Kidney Research UK Senior Non-Clinical Fellowship (2008-2014)
• UCL Bogue Research Fellowship
• MRC-funded PhD

Professor Long has supervised seventeen PhD students (ten as primary supervisor) and managed eleven postdoctoral fellows, three research assistants, and a Wellcome Trust MD/PhD clinical fellow. His research group has expanded to over fifteen members, making him one of the few non-clinical scientists leading a renal group in the UK. His funding includes grants from the MRC, Kidney Research UK, Diabetes UK, Kids Kidney Research, and the GOSICH Children's Charity. He has also been a member of the Kidney Research UK Research Grants Committee (2014-22) and currently serves as an academic editor for PLoS One and on the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology editorial board.

Professor Long leads the Kidney Development and Disease Group (KDD) at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, a team of clinicians and scientists with the ultimate aim to develop new therapies for patients with kidney disease. He also co-established and co-leads the UCL Centre of Kidney and Bladder Health. His laboratory has grown to over fifteen members, focusing on innovative approaches to understand and treat kidney diseases, with current work supported by a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award examining how lymphatic vessels grow, work, and communicate with other cells in growing or diseased organs.