Edmund Chung

Dr. Edmund Chung is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, affiliated with the Children's Hospital at Westmead and the Faculty of Medicine and Health. He works as a staff specialist nephrologist at Royal North Shore Hospital and conducts postdoctoral research at the Centre for Kidney Research at The Children's Hospital at Westmead. His primary clinical and research focus is on autoimmune kidney diseases, particularly membranous nephropathy and chronic kidney disease.

Dr. Chung's educational background includes:

• Bachelor of Medicine (BMed)
• Doctor of Medicine (MD)
• Master of Medicine in Clinical Epidemiology (MMed (Clin Epi)) - completed in 2015
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - completed in 2025, supported by the NHMRC Postgraduate Research Scholarship
• Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP)

Dr. Chung's research focuses on glomerulonephritis, chronic kidney disease, and translational research, with particular emphasis on immunological mechanisms and novel therapies. His work bridges basic science and clinical practice, exploring cellular and molecular approaches to understand and treat autoimmune kidney diseases. His laboratory investigates autoreactive T-cells and B-cells in membranous nephropathy while developing innovative treatments like CAR T-cell therapies. Dr. Chung's research program is driven by patient perspectives, as evidenced by his qualitative studies on living with membranous nephropathy, ensuring his scientific inquiries address real clinical needs and patient experiences.

Dr. Chung's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on immunological mechanisms in kidney disease, particularly membranous nephropathy. His work spans basic science investigations using animal models, clinical studies of patient cohorts, and systematic reviews that inform international guidelines. A notable trend is his exploration of cellular therapies, especially CAR T-cell approaches, for treating autoimmune kidney diseases. His research also encompasses epidemiological studies of kidney diseases in Australian populations and the development of predictive models for disease recurrence after transplantation. The interdisciplinary nature of his work is evident in collaborations spanning nephrology, immunology, oncology, and transplantation medicine.

Dr. Chung has received several prestigious awards and honors:

• Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology/Japanese Society of Nephrology Joint Symposium Invited Talk (2024) for "Membranous nephropathy: clearer immunopathogenesis and therapeutic implications"
• NHMRC Postgraduate Research Scholarship (2022) for research on "Treatments to expand regulatory T cells +/- deplete autoantibody production in membranous nephropathy"
• American Journal of Kidney Diseases Editor's Choice Award (2022) for "Incidence and outcomes of COVID-19 in people with CKD: a systematic review and meta-analysis"

Dr. Chung serves as the Knowledge Translation and Dissemination Editor for the Cochrane Kidney and Transplant Group, where he creates educational content including webinars and podcasts with the International Society of Nephrology. He is actively involved in clinical trial networks through his position on the Australasian Kidney Trial Network Glomerulonephritis Working Group, supporting investigator-initiated trials in glomerulonephritis. Additionally, he contributes to the ClinGen Glomerulopathy Working Group as a Biocurator, working to understand the genetic basis of glomerulonephritis. His research is supported by collaborations across multiple institutions and his leadership in establishing the Australian glomerulonephritis cohort (PEACH) to facilitate patient-focused research in membranous nephropathy.

Dr. Chung leads research at the Centre for Kidney Research at The Children's Hospital at Westmead, where his team investigates autoreactive T-cells and B-cells in patients with membranous nephropathy. He has established the PEACH cohort (Patient Experience in Autoimmune Chronic Kidney Disease) to study membranous nephropathy, the most common form of nephrotic syndrome in adults. His laboratory work focuses on developing novel CAR T-cell therapies for autoimmune kidney diseases. Dr. Chung collaborates with immunologists, basic scientists, and clinicians across multiple institutions to advance understanding and treatment of glomerulonephritis.