We’re funding kidney research today for a healthier tomorrow.

Close

The UKRO Story

Our nonprofit was founded because of one simple question.

How can so little be known about kidney disease—a problem that affects 1 in 7 adults in the U.S.?

After entertainment lawyer Ken Kleinberg’s kidneys failed, he and his physician, Dr. Vito M. Campese, then Chief of Nephrology and Hypertension at USC, founded University Kidney Research Organization (UKRO) to fund life-saving kidney research.

To boost innovative solutions, UKRO partnered with the University of Southern California to establish the newly renamed Vito M. Campese, M.D./UKRO Kidney Research Center (KRC) on USC’s Health Sciences Campus in Los Angeles.

Our mission is to transform patients’ lives by funding groundbreaking research at the KRC. Our support centers primarily on the development of a fully transplantable synthetic kidney, made from stem cells, that will improve treatment of kidney disease and replace dialysis.

A Stem Cell Revolution at USC

Synthetic kidney project team leader Dr. Zhongwei Li has recently been recognized with a prestigious NIH Directors’ New Innovator award.

His team was the first in the world to generate high quality kidney-forming cells quickly. They have since developed mini kidneys that self-organize in the lab and are already being used to test treatments for genetic disorders, including polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Read more.

Watch our video to learn about the synthetic kidney and UKRO.

Save the Date for Our Fall Fundraiser!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 25th and prepare for spooky cuteness at our First Annual Halloween Dog Parade and Costume Contest! Dress up your pups and come on down to Clover Park in Santa Monica for prizes, food trucks, family fun, giveaways, local vendors, music and more.

It’s the perfect way to kick off Halloween and support life-saving kidney disease research at the same time!

Registration opens in early September, so stay tuned.