Jennifer R Charlton, M.D.

Dr. Jennifer Charlton received her Medical Degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida after completing her Bachelor’s in Science at the University of Florida. She completed her Pediatric residency at the University of South Carolina and her Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship at the University of Virginia. During her fellowship training at UVA, she obtained a Master’s in Clinical Research. Dr. Charlton was hired as a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics in 2010 and currently holds the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure.

The focus of Dr. Charlton’s research is on the effect of preterm birth on kidney health and disease. Using a team approach, she has contributed to the development of noninvasive methods to measure nephron numbers in living animals and in intact human kidneys. In collaboration with biomedical engineer, Dr. Kevin Bennett, they have used cationic ferritin-enhanced MRI to investigate the microstructure of the kidney demonstrating that features extracted from imaging were as good as, if not better than, features extracted from histology to discriminate kidney damage. Recently Dr. Charlton’s laboratory uncovered several novel pathways in a mouse model of preterm birth that may provide the link between preterm birth and kidney disease, including dysregulation of fat-soluble vitamin metabolism and alterations in angiogenesis. She is particularly proud to be a founding member, co-chair of the Research Committee, and rising Vice-President of the Neonatal Kidney Collaborative (NKC, www.babykidney.org). The NKC’s mission to improve the health of newborns with or at risk for kidney disease through multidisciplinary collaborative research, advocacy, and education directly aligns with Dr. Charlton’s research focus.