Vivek Bhalla

Vivek Bhalla, MD, FASN, FAHA, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Research Description: Dr. Bhalla directs a basic and translational science research program on kidney complications of diabetes, including kidney disease (DKD) and salt-sensitive hypertension using in vivo and in vitro approaches. Dr. Bhalla was trained as a physician-scientist in molecular and cellular biology at the University of California San Francisco, and studies mechanisms of DKD and mechanisms of ion channel regulation in the distal nephron. As a translational scientist, Dr. Bhalla is a principal investigator on an ongoing collaboration to discover clinical biomarkers of DKD. Dr. Bhalla has received NIH funding for these endeavors including an ongoing R01. He has been awarded an SDRC P&F award. He has previously been awarded an NIH-funded grant to study the role of the immune system in mouse models of DKD and a NIH- CTSA pilot grant to initiate a validation cohort for biomarkers of DKD. As a physician-scientist and a practicing nephrologist, Dr. Bhalla has published on DKD in the clinical research arena, has served on an NIH and AHA study sections regarding DKD basic and translational research projects. He was a site-PI on the BEACON Phase 3 clinical trial for progression of Stage 4 CKD in diabetic patients, participated in clinical research on DKD as a consulting investigator for the Palo Alto Medical Center Research Institute, and has invited speakerships as an expert in DKD. Dr. Bhalla is also the founder and director of the AHA-certified Stanford Hypertension Center, and due to the nexus of diabetes, hypertension, and kidney disease, he has a history of multiple collaborations across institutions.

Selected relevant publications (Stanford DRC Members in BOLD):

  1. Zanetti D, Bergman H, Burgess S, Assimes TL, Bhalla V, Ingelsson E. Urinary Albumin, Sodium, and Potassium and Cardiovascular Outcomes in the UK Biobank: Observational and Mendelian Randomization Analyses. Hypertension. 2020 Mar;75(3):714-722. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.119.14028. PMID: 32008434. 

  2. Anand S, Montez-Rath ME, Adasooriya D, Ratnatunga N, Kambham N, Wazil A, Wijetunge S, Badurdeen Z, Ratnayake C, Karunasena N, Schensul SL, Valhos P, Haider L, Bhalla V, Levin A, Wise PH, Chertow GM, Barry M, Fire AZ, Nanayakkara N. Prospective Biopsy-Based Study of CKD of Unknown Etiology in Sri Lanka. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2019 Feb 7;14(2):224-232. doi: 10.2215/CJN.07430618. PMID: 30659059; PMCID: PMC6390926. 

  3. Nizar JM, Shepard BD, Vo VT, Bhalla V. Renal tubule insulin receptor modestly promotes elevated blood pressure and markedly stimulates glucose reabsorption. JCI Insight. 2018 Aug 23;3(16):e95107. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.95107. PMID: 30135311; PMCID: PMC6141164.