TEL. 03-3353-8111
〒162-8666 8-1, Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Our practice policy is to think by putting the patient at the center. Kidney disease is not a short-term treatment and we will be with patients who are suffered from diseases for a long period of time. Our motto is to treat patients not only by looking at the disease, but also by respecting their lives.
The Fourth Department of Internal Medicine was established in January 1973, when Dr. Nobuhiro Sugino, the first chief professor of the department, arrived at Tokyo Women's Medical University as a professor of the Department of Internal Medicine and started his career in the field of nephrology.
In April 1979, the Comprehensive Kidney Disease Center was established and the Department of Nephrology was launched as a medical department.
In July 1983 (Showa 58), the Fourth Department of Internal Medicine was opened and Professor Nobuhiro Sugino was appointed as the first Chief Professor.
In April 1992 (Heisei 4), Professor Hiroshi Nihei was appointed as the second Chief Professor.
In April 2005, Dr. Kosaku Nitta was appointed as the third Chief Professor, and the department was renamed the Division of Nephrology in 2018.
In April 2022, Dr. Junichi Hoshino was appointed as the fourth Chief Professor. Currently, the department consists of a total of approximately 90 medical staff members. We are proud to say that we are one of the few medical departments in Japan and abroad with such a large number of nephrologists. The number of registered members of the medical alumni association is more than 300, and our department is cooperating with us as an affiliated hospitals and the core hospitals in the region, providing training for residents and accepting patients. The medical alumni association works closely with the medical school alumni association, holding a general meeting once a year to exchange information.
Our basic philosophy is to promote patient-centered medical care. Therefore, the goal is to acquire the basic and most important attitudes, willingness and skills as a clinical physician. The content of training for late-career residents (medical technicians) follows the curriculum of the new internal medicine specialist system and aims to gain clinical experience not only in nephrology but also in general internal medicine, and to become a specialist (internal medicine, dialysis, nephrology) and obtain a degree. All of our affiliated hospitals are general hospitals that provide advanced medical care, and our supervisors are former students and alumni of the department. After returning to the department, students are expected to further their clinical practice in nephrology at university hospitals and to start research (basic and clinical) to complete their dissertation. For those who wish to focus on research, they can go on to graduate school, or do research at TWIns or the National Institute of Kidney Disease, or study in Japan or abroad. Taking advantage of the characteristics of the Comprehensive Kidney Disease Center, advanced training includes blood purification, transitional care from pediatrics, urology, and kidney transplantation.
Since its founding, our Department has emphasized clinical practice, and our goal is to conduct research on questions that arise from clinical practice and return them to clinical practice. We believe that obtaining a degree research is the starting point for a doctor, and our late-career residents also devote themselves to research. We also conduct clinical research based on our abundant clinical data and pathological specimens, as well as basic research on experimental animal models, genetic research, and regenerative medicine in order to further deepen our understanding of pathological conditions.
- Representative clinical studies
① Nephritis and nephrotic syndrome: Rituximab treatment studies for nephritis and nephrotic syndrome, studies on treatment and prognosis of IgA nephropathy, studies on treatment and prognosis of secondary glomerulonephritis including lupus nephritis and vasculitis
② Chronic kidney disease research: Studies on treatment of anemia and vascular calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease
③ Multiple cystic kidney disease (ADPKD): Research on genetic analysis, tolvaptan treatment, liver cysts and QOL, etc.
④ Dialysis-related: Members of the Fourth Department of Internal Medicine and the Department of Hemodialysis are involved in the study of clinical cases and pathophysiology of dialysis therapy.
Junichi Hoshino
Kazunori Karasawa
Masayo Sato
Yuko Nakaya
Kohei Unagami
Yoei Miyabe
Hiroshi Kataoka
Yuki Kawaguchi
Shizuka Kobayashi
Yusuke Ushio
Our Department accepts graduate students. Researchable topics include: ① Clinical research on chronic kidney disease, ② Research on complications of dialysis patients, especially cardiovascular complications, ③ Research on molecules involved in tubular and interstitial disorders, ④ Research on mechanisms of onset and progression of nephritis, and ⑤ Research on the search for new causative genes of hereditary renal diseases. We collaborate with TWIns, the Department of Basic Sciences, RIKEN, and laboratories at other universities to provide a research environment that is tailored to our research themes.
Research Achievements Database
〒162-8666
8-1, Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
TEL +81-3-3353-8111