Farsad Afshinnia

Farsad Afshinnia, MD MS, is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. He specializes in nephrology, providing inpatient/outpatient care and ICU nephrology services. He holds membership in the Caswell Diabetes Institute, aligning with his metabolic research focus.

Education:

• MS in Clinical Research, University of Minnesota (2010)
• MD, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (1995)

Research Focus: Dr. Afshinnia investigates lipidomic and metabolomic biomarkers in diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). His work identifies early predictors of renal/cardiovascular risk, including altered lipid synthesis, mitochondrial β-oxidation defects, and therapeutic targets like Voclosporin. Research aims to slow DKD/CKD progression using metabolomic profiling.

Publication Trends: Recent works (2023-2025) emphasize lipidomic signatures in diabetes complications, pediatric CKD outcomes, and therapeutic interventions. Primary themes include cardiorenal risk prediction, lipid remodeling in autoimmune nephritis, and tubular dysfunction biomarkers.

Awards:

• K08 Award for biomarker discovery
• R03 Award for metabolomic research

Mentoring: Actively available to mentor but no formal advisees listed. Research supported by NIH grants (K08/R03).

Affiliations: Collaborates with the Caswell Diabetes Institute, focusing on metabolic aspects of diabetes-related organ damage.