ASN's Mission

To create a world without kidney diseases, the ASN Alliance for Kidney Health elevates care by educating and informing, driving breakthroughs and innovation, and advocating for policies that create transformative changes in kidney medicine throughout the world.

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About ASN

ASN / About /

Benjamin D. Humphreys, MD, PhD, FASN, Secretary

Dr. Benjamin Humphreys received his AB from Harvard college and his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Case Western Reserve University as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program. He trained in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and in nephrology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Humphreys is Chief of the Division of Nephrology and the Joseph Friedman Professor of Renal Diseases in Medicine. He has received continuous funding from the NIH for 24 years and his laboratory has special expertise in genetic mouse models of kidney disease and stem cell biology. He has published over 120 peer-reviewed original research articles in such journals as Cell Stem Cell, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Cell Metabolism, Nature Communications and PNAS, and holds five patents. In 2021, he joined the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, a unit of the NIH. An internationally recognized investigator in kidney fibrosis, organoids and regenerative medicine, current efforts in his laboratory focus on single cell multi-omics as an approach to understand and sub-phenotype human kidney disease.

Current Position/Titles:

Joseph Friedman Professor of Medicine and Chief, Division of Nephrology, Washington University School of Medicine

Degrees/Training:

A.B.., Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, 1991

Ph.D., Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 1998

M.D., Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 2000

Internal Medicine Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Nephrology Fellowship: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA

Research/Post-Doc Training: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA

ASN Service:

Abstract Selection Committee Member, multiple years; Program Committee Kidney Week Member, 2013, 2017; Chairman, Program Committee Kidney Week, 2018; Founding Member, Onco-Nephrology Interest Group, 2011 – 2014; Member, Acute Kidney Injury Advisory Group, 2011 – 2016; Co-Chair, Advances in Research Conference, 2015, 2020; Member, ASN Leadership Nominating Committee, 2015; Member, ASN Task Force on the Future of Nephrology, 2022 – 2023; Member, Transforming Kidney Health Research Task Force, 2024 – present.

Leadership positions:

Councilor, Secretary-Treasurer and President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, 2018 – 2025; Associate Editor, Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2025 – 2027; Associate Editor, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 2018 – 2022; NIDDK Board of Scientific Counselors, 2020 – 2025 (Chair, 2024 – 2025); NIDDK PBKD Study Section, 2015 – 2019.

Honors:

American Society for Clinical Investigation, inducted 2013; Barry Brenner Endowed Lectureship, 2016; American Clinical and Climatological Association, inducted 2024.

Board Certification:

Nephrology

Research Interests:

The Humphreys Lab investigates the mechanisms of kidney injury, repair, and fibrosis using cutting-edge approaches in cell lineage tracing, genomics, and single-cell multiomics. We have has identified key cell types involved in tissue regeneration and fibrosis, including Gli1⁺ progenitors that contribute to fibrosis and vascular calcification across organs. We showed that hedgehog pathway inhibition can prevent renal fibrosis and uncovered a maladaptive proximal tubule cell state that may drive the transition from acute injury to chronic kidney disease. Mentorship is at the core of the Humphreys Lab and multiple former trainees now direct their own research groups.

Personal Statement:

I am honored to be considered for the position of Executive Councilor of the American Society of Nephrology. Over the past two decades, I have served ASN in numerous leadership roles—shaping scientific programs, advancing research priorities, and supporting professional development across our community. I am deeply committed to fostering innovation, broad engagement, and collaboration within the Society, and to strengthening our impact on patient care, policy, and education. If elected, I will bring thoughtful leadership and a clear vision to help guide ASN’s strategic direction and ensure its continued excellence and relevance in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.