UKRO is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit charity founded in 2002 by entertainment lawyer Kenneth Kleinberg with the help of Dr. Vito M. Campese, then Professor and Chief of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Our mission is fundraising to support medical research and education related to the causes, treatment, and eradication of all forms of kidney disease.
Since 2002, UKRO has raised significant dollars to fund cutting-edge research at the earliest stage of development, in addition to educational symposia and fellowships. Our special project grants have been awarded to nationally recognized experts from interdisciplinary labs at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, City of Hope, and UCLA.
We believe that collaboration among scientists working in a variety of fields is the key to understanding chronic kidney disease, discovering improved therapies, and finding a much-needed cure. To that end, in September 2012, UKRO entered into an agreement with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California to establish what we envision as a premier center nationally for kidney research—the USC/UKRO Kidney Research Center (KRC). We have made an initial $3.5 million pledge to support the establishment of the KRC, which officially opened in 2015. UKRO’s gift will be matched by equivalent contributions from the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Led by Kenneth Hallows, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.S.N., the research team at the KRC is exploring kidney regeneration and stem cell therapies, acute kidney injury, hypertension, polycystic kidney disease, acid regulation, kidney cancer, and more.