Jordan Kreidberg ’75: Advancing Kidney Research

A physician-scientist and a leader in kidney research in Boston, Kreidberg says his passion for biology and research specifically came from an experience in his sophomore year at Rivers. Then-science teacher Steve Smith’s advanced biology class, which was almost entirely lab-based, was “one of the sparks that really got me interested in scientific research,” says Kreidberg.

Kreidberg went on to spend high school summers conducting research in labs at Harvard and MIT, later attending college at MIT and conducting research in immunology. He then pursued a combined M.D./Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he studied molecular biology and genetics and became interested in developmental biology. He returned to the Boston area to continue that work, first with a residency in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, and later as a postdoc at the Whitehead Institute, where he studied the biology of the kidney. That subject became the focus of his own lab, which he launched at Boston Children’s Hospital in 1994. For many years now, Kreidberg has also taught genetics and developmental biology at Harvard Medical School. 

Now co-director of the Kreidberg-Schumacher Lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Kreidberg and his team of researchers investigate how kidney cells develop, contributing to research that combats kidney disease. 

“Kidney disease doesn’t have the publicity that cancer or heart disease has, but people who suffer from this are very sick,” says Kreidberg. He explains that, while there are treatments, such as dialysis and kidney transplants, these greatly affect the quality of life of the patient and the patient’s family. “It can be a very devastating condition,” he says.

“We hope our research will help us understand more about how kidneys are damaged, with the ultimate goal to prevent that damage, or to prevent patients from needing dialysis or transplants,” he continues. 

In May 2025, Kreidberg accepted his award while attending his 50th Rivers Reunion, where he acknowledged the continued importance of Rivers in his life. Beyond his career in medicine, he credits Rivers with igniting his love of fine arts and photography, recalling a darkroom class at Rivers, participating in the photography club, and contributing photographs to The Nonesuch and The Current. “Many of the interests important to me today developed here,” he says.

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