Ester Oh
Instructor
- Renal Medicine (SOM)
Email Address:ester.oh@cuanschutz.edu
Background
Ester Oh, PhD, received her PhD from Pennsylvania State University. In observing the lack of literature on women in the field of nephrology, she was inspired to work toward improving women’s health through her research and career.
Research + Funding
In 2022, Dr. Oh began her Ludeman Center-funded research project titled, “MicroRNAs and Metabolites as Therapeutic Targets for Cardiovascular Disease in Women with Chronic Kidney Disease.” The goal of her work is to evaluate if biological molecules in the blood, namely microRNAs and metabolites, are involved in the blood vessel function in pre- and post-menopausal women with chronic kidney disease as compared to healthy pre- and post-menopausal women. The study has the potential to yield important results that will help plan future studies testing the effect of medications and other interventions to target these molecules, improve blood vessel function and reduce the risk of heart disease in women with chronic kidney disease.
Dr. Oh’s work was supported by the Ludeman Center who provided abundant opportunities for her and other early-career scientists.
Transforming Women’s Health
Chronic kidney disease affects 15% of people in the U.S. and 13% of people worldwide. Patients with chronic kidney disease are at a particularly high risk of cardiovascular disease. Although both male and female patients have high cardiovascular risk, studies focus on men and limited studies examined women. Thus, Dr. Oh’s current work is dedicated to examining the effect of dietary interventions on vascular function and its underlying sex-specific mechanisms in populations at high cardiovascular risk, including chronic kidney disease, to help improve the health of women across the lifespan.
