Aylin R. Rodan
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Aylin R. Rodan, MD, PhD, FASN

Languages spoken: English

Clinical Locations

Primary Location

Veterans Administration Medical Center

500 S Foothill Blvd
Salt Lake City , UT 84148
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Dr. Rodan received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Yale University. She then completed M.D./Ph.D. training in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of California San Francisco, followed by Internal Medicine residency at UCSF. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship and nephrology subspecialty training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she remained on faculty for five years prior to coming to the University of Utah. Dr. Rodan is a general nephrologist specializing in disorders of the kidney, electrolytes and high blood pressure. She oversees Nephrology Fellows in training in the outpatient and inpatient settings. She has served as Chief of the Division of Nephrology & Hypertension since 2024.

The kidney plays a central role in maintaining homeostasis of ions and water in the body. However, the diet of early humans (low sodium, high potassium) is the opposite of the modern diet (high sodium, low potassium). Dr. Rodan’s research is focused on how the kidney responds to the high sodium, low potasium diet in ways that are both adaptive and maladaptive. Underlying the kidneys' ability to regulate salt and water is the process of ion transport, the vectorial movement of ions across cell membranes. The Rodan laboratory uses the genetic model organism Drosophila melanogaster to study ion transport processes relevant to human physiology. Projects in the lab focus on: 1) ion and water sensing by WNK kinases, which are mutated in a human disorder characterized by high blood pressure and high potassium; and 2) understanding how flies respond to high salt diet, including genes and metabolic adaptations that increase or decrease the ability to cope with high salt. The goal of the laboratory is to understand the regulatory and ion transport mechanisms underlying the response to varying diets and to translate these insights into improved understanding of renal physiology in health and disease.

Specialties

Board Certification

American Board of Internal Medicine (Sub: Nephrology)
American Board of Internal Medicine

Dr. Rodan received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Yale University. She then completed M.D./Ph.D. training in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of California San Francisco, followed by Internal Medicine residency at UCSF. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship and nephrology subspecialty training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she remained on faculty for five years prior to coming to the University of Utah. Dr. Rodan is a general nephrologist specializing in disorders of the kidney, electrolytes and high blood pressure. She oversees Nephrology Fellows in training in the outpatient and inpatient settings. She has served as Chief of the Division of Nephrology & Hypertension since 2024.

The kidney plays a central role in maintaining homeostasis of ions and water in the body. However, the diet of early humans (low sodium, high potassium) is the opposite of the modern diet (high sodium, low potassium). Dr. Rodan’s research is focused on how the kidney responds to the high sodium, low potasium diet in ways that are both adaptive and maladaptive. Underlying the kidneys' ability to regulate salt and water is the process of ion transport, the vectorial movement of ions across cell membranes. The Rodan laboratory uses the genetic model organism Drosophila melanogaster to study ion transport processes relevant to human physiology. Projects in the lab focus on: 1) ion and water sensing by WNK kinases, which are mutated in a human disorder characterized by high blood pressure and high potassium; and 2) understanding how flies respond to high salt diet, including genes and metabolic adaptations that increase or decrease the ability to cope with high salt. The goal of the laboratory is to understand the regulatory and ion transport mechanisms underlying the response to varying diets and to translate these insights into improved understanding of renal physiology in health and disease.

Board Certification and Academic Information

Academic Departments Human Genetics -Adjunct Associate Professor
Internal Medicine -Professor
Academic Divisions Nephrology & Hypertension
Board Certification
American Board of Internal Medicine (Sub: Nephrology)
American Board of Internal Medicine

Education history

Undergraduate Biology - Yale University B.S.
Doctoral Training Genetics/Medical Scientist Training Program - University of California, San Francisco Ph.D.
Professional Medical Medicine/Medical Scientist Training Program - University of California, San Francisco M.D.
Residency Internal Medicine - University of California, San Francisco Resident
Postdoctoral Fellowship Genetics - University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Postdoctoral Fellow
Fellowship Nephrology - University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Fellow
Research Fellow NIH/NIDDK Nephrology T32 Training Program - University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Pinzón JH, Reed AR, Shalaby NA, Buszczak M, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh A (2017). Alcohol-Induced Behaviors Require a Subset of Drosophila JmjC-Domain Histone Demethylases in the Nervous System. Alcohol Clin Exp Res, 41(12), 2015-2024.
  2. Mahajan A, Rodan AR, Le TH, Gaulton KJ, Haessler J, Stilp AM, Kamatani Y, Zhu G, Sofer T, Puri S, Schellinger JN, Chu PL, Cechova S, van Zuydam N, SUMMIT Consortium., BioBank Japan Project., Arnlov J, Flessner MF, Giedraitis V, Heath AC, Kubo M, Larsson A, Lindgren CM, Madden PAF, Montgomery GW, Papanicolaou GJ, Reiner AP, Sundström J, Thornton TA, Lind L, Ingelsson E, Cai J, Martin NG, Kooperberg C, Matsuda K, Whitfield JB, Okada Y, Laurie CC, Morris AP, Franceschini N (2016). Trans-ethnic Fine Mapping Highlights Kidney-Function Genes Linked to Salt Sensitivity. Am J Hum Genet, 99(3), 636-646.
  3. Sun Q, Wu Y, Jonusaite S, Pleinis JM, Humphreys JM, He H, Schellinger JN, Akella R, Stenesen D, Krämer H, Goldsmith EJ, Rodan AR (2018). Intracellular Chloride and Scaffold Protein Mo25 Cooperatively Regulate Transepithelial Ion Transport through WNK Signaling in the Malpighian Tubule. J Am Soc Nephrol, 29(5), 1449-1461.
  4. Al-Rabadi LF, Caza T, Trivin-Avillach C, Rodan AR, Andeen N, Hayashi N, Williams B, Revelo MP, Clayton F, Abraham J, Lin E, Liou W, Zou CJ, Ramkumar N, Cummins T, Wilkey DW, Kawalit I, Herzog C, Storey A, Edmondson R, Sjoberg R, Yang T, Chien J, Merchant M, Arthur J, Klein J, Larsen C, Beck LH J (2021). Serine Protease HTRA1 as a Novel Target Antigen in Primary Membranous Nephropathy. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 32(7), 1666-1681.
  5. Rodan A (2017). Potassium: friend or foe?. Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany), 32(7), 1109-1121.
  6. Cheng Y, Endo K, Wu K, Rodan AR, Heberlein U, Davis R (2001). Drosophila fasciclinII is required for the formation of odor memories and for normal sensitivity to alcohol. Cell, 105(6), 757-68.
  7. Cheng CJ, Rodan AR, Huang C (2017). Emerging Targets of Diuretic Therapy. Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, 102(3), 420-435.
  8. Rodan AR, Simons JF, Trombetta ES, Helenius (1996). N-linked oligosaccharides are necessary and sufficient for association of glycosylated forms of bovine RNase with calnexin and calreticulin. The EMBO journal, 15(24), 6921-30.
  9. Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2010). The genetics of behavioral alcohol responses in Drosophila. International review of neurobiology, 91, 25-51.
  10. Wu Y, Schellinger JN, Huang CL, Rodan A (2014). Hypotonicity stimulates potassium flux through the WNK-SPAK/OSR1 kinase cascade and the Ncc69 sodium-potassium-2-chloride cotransporter in the Drosophila renal tubule. The Journal of biological chemistry, 289(38), 26131-26142.
  11. Rodan AR, Kiger JA Jr, Heberlein (2002). Functional dissection of neuroanatomical loci regulating ethanol sensitivity in Drosophila. The Journal of neuroscience, 22(21), 9490-501.
  12. Wolf FW, Rodan AR, Tsai LT, Heberlein (2002). High-resolution analysis of ethanol-induced locomotor stimulation in Drosophila. The Journal of neuroscience, 22(24), 11035-44.
  13. Peru Y Colón de Portugal RL, Acevedo SF, Rodan AR, Chang LY, Eaton BA, Rothenfluh (2012). Adult neuronal Arf6 controls ethanol-induced behavior with Arfaptin downstream of Rac1 and RhoGAP18B. The Journal of neuroscience, 32(49), 17706-13.
  14. Acevedo SF, Peru y Colón de Portugal RL, Gonzalez DA, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2015). S6 Kinase Reflects and Regulates Ethanol-Induced Sedation. The Journal of neuroscience, 35(46), 15396-402.
  15. Butts AR, Ojelade SA, Pronovost ED, Seguin A, Merrill CB, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2019). Altered Actin Filament Dynamics in the Drosophila Mushroom Bodies Lead to Fast Acquisition of Alcohol Consumption Preference. The Journal of neuroscience, 39(45), 8877-8884.
  16. Ojelade SA, Jia T, Rodan AR, Chenyang T, Kadrmas JL, Cattrell A, Ruggeri B, Charoen P, Lemaitre H, Banaschewski T, Büchel C, Bokde AL, Carvalho F, Conrod PJ, Flor H, Frouin V, Gallinat J, Garavan H, Gowland PA, Heinz A, Ittermann B, Lathrop M, Lubbe S, Martinot JL, Paus T, Smolka MN, Spanagel R, O'Reilly PF, Laitinen J, Veijola JM, Feng J, Desrivières S, Jarvelin MR, IMAGEN Consortium., Schumann G, Rothenfluh (2015). Rsu1 regulates ethanol consumption in Drosophila and humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(30), E4085-93.
  17. Lin K, Dorman JB, Rodan A, Kenyon (1997). daf-16: An HNF-3/forkhead family member that can function to double the life-span of Caenorhabditis elegans. Science (New York, N.Y.), 278(5341), 1319-22.
  18. Rodan AR, Huang C (2009). Distal potassium handling based on flow modulation of maxi-K channel activity. Current opinion in nephrology and hypertension, 18(4), 350-5.
  19. Rodan A (2019). Intracellular chloride: a regulator of transepithelial transport in the distal nephron. Current opinion in nephrology and hypertension, 28(4), 360-367.
  20. Rodan A (2019). The Drosophila Malpighian tubule as a model for mammalian tubule function. Current opinion in nephrology and hypertension, 28(5), 455-464.
  21. Gonzalez DA, Jia T, Pinzon JH, Acevedo SF, Ojelade SA, Xu B, Tay N, Desrivieres S, Hernandez JL, Banaschewski T, Buchel C, Bokde ALW, Conrod PJ, Flor H, Frouin V, Gallinat J, Garavan H, Gowland PA, Heinz A, Ittermann B, Lathrop M, Martinot JL, Paus T, Smolka MN, Rodan AR, Schumann G, Rothenfluh (2018). The Arf6 activator Efa6/PSD3 confers regional specificity and modulates ethanol consumption in Drosophila and humans. Molecular psychiatry, 23(3), 621-628.
  22. Corl AB, Rodan AR, Heberlein (2005). Insulin signaling in the nervous system regulates ethanol intoxication in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature neuroscience, 8(1), 18-9.
  23. Wu Y, Baum M, Huang CL, Rodan A (2015). Two inwardly rectifying potassium channels, Irk1 and Irk2, play redundant roles in Drosophila renal tubule function. American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology, 309(7), R747-56.
  24. Rodan AR, Baum M, Huang C (2012). The Drosophila NKCC Ncc69 is required for normal renal tubule function. American journal of physiology. Cell physiology, 303(8), C883-94.
  25. Jonusaite S, Beyenbach KW, Meyer H, Paululat A, Izumi Y, Furuse M, Rodan A (2020). The septate junction protein Mesh is required for epithelial morphogenesis, ion transport, and paracellular permeability in the Drosophila Malpighian tubule. American journal of physiology. Cell physiology, 318(3), C675-C694.
  26. Beyenbach KW, Schöne F, Breitsprecher LF, Tiburcy F, Furuse M, Izumi Y, Meyer H, Jonusaite S, Rodan AR, Paululat (2020). The septate junction protein Tetraspanin 2A is critical to the structure and function of Malpighian tubules in Drosophila melanogaster. American journal of physiology. Cell physiology, 318(6), C1107-C1122.
  27. Pleinis JM, Norrell L, Akella R, Humphreys JM, He H, Sun Q, Zhang F, Sosa-Pagan J, Morrison DE, Schellinger JN, Jackson LK, Goldsmith EJ, Rodan A (2021). WNKs are potassium-sensitive kinases. American journal of physiology. Cell physiology, 320(5), C703-C721.
  28. Rodan AR, Cheng CJ, Huang C (2011). Recent advances in distal tubular potassium handling. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 300(4), F821-7.
  29. Rodan A (2018). WNK-SPAK/OSR1 signaling: lessons learned from an insect renal epithelium. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 315(4), F903-F907.
  30. Lakshmipathi J, Wheatley W, Kumar A, Mercenne G, Rodan AR, Kohan D (2019). Identification of NFAT5 as a transcriptional regulator of the EDN1 gene in collecting duct. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 316(3), F481-F487.
  31. Chirinos JC, Neyra JA, Patel J, Rodan A (2014). Hemodialysis catheter insertion: is increased PO2 a sign of arterial cannulation? A case report. BMC nephrology, 15, 127.
  32. Peru Y Colón de Portugal RL, Ojelade SA, Penninti PS, Dove RJ, Nye MJ, Acevedo SF, Lopez A, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2014). Long-lasting, experience-dependent alcohol preference in Drosophila. Addiction biology, 19(3), 392-401.
  33. Mishra P, Yang SE, Montgomery AB, Reed AR, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2021). The fly liquid-food electroshock assay (FLEA) suggests opposite roles for neuropeptide F in avoidance of bitterness and shock. BMC biology, 19(1), 31.
  34. Ojelade SA, Acevedo SF, Kalahasti G, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2015). RhoGAP18B Isoforms Act on Distinct Rho-Family GTPases and Regulate Behavioral Responses to Alcohol via Cofilin. PloS one, 10(9), e0137465.
  35. Schellinger JN, Rodan A (2015). Use of the Ramsay Assay to Measure Fluid Secretion and Ion Flux Rates in the Drosophila melanogaster Malpighian Tubule. Journal of visualized experiments, (105),
  36. Shalaby NA, Pinzon JH, Narayanan AS, Jin EJ, Ritz MP, Dove RJ, Wolfenberg H, Rodan AR, Buszczak M, Rothenfluh (2018). JmjC domain proteins modulate circadian behaviors and sleep in Drosophila. Scientific reports, 8(1), 815.
  37. Stenesen D, Moehlman AT, Schellinger JN, Rodan AR, Krämer (2019). The glial sodium-potassium-2-chloride cotransporter is required for synaptic transmission in the Drosophila visual system. Scientific reports, 9(1), 2475.
  38. Talsness DM, Owings KG, Coelho E, Mercenne G, Pleinis JM, Partha R, Hope KA, Zuberi AR, Clark NL, Lutz CM, Rodan AR, Chow C (2020). A Drosophila screen identifies NKCC1 as a modifier of NGLY1 deficiency. eLife, 9,
  39. Hyndman KA, Isaeva E, Palygin O, Mendoza LD, Rodan AR, Staruschenko A, Pollock J (2021). Role of collecting duct principal cell NOS1ß in sodium and potassium homeostasis. Physiological reports, 9(20), e15080.
  40. Jonusaite S, Rodan A (2021). Molecular basis for epithelial morphogenesis and ion transport in the Malpighian tubule. Current opinion in insect science, 47, 7-11.
  41. Merrill CB, Pabon MA, Montgomery AB, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2022). Optimized assay for transposase-accessible chromatin by sequencing (ATAC-seq) library preparation from adult Drosophila melanogaster neurons. Scientific reports, 12(1), 6043.
  42. Schellinger JN, Sun Q, Pleinis JM, An SW, Hu J, Mercenne G, Titos I, Huang CL, Rothenfluh A, Rodan A (2022). Chloride oscillation in pacemaker neurons regulates circadian rhythms through a chloride-sensing WNK kinase signaling cascade. Current biology, 32(6), 1429-1438.e6.
  43. Balderas E, Eberhardt DR, Lee S, Pleinis JM, Sommakia S, Balynas AM, Yin X, Parker MC, Maguire CT, Cho S, Szulik MW, Bakhtina A, Bia RD, Friederich MW, Locke TM, Van Hove JLK, Drakos SG, Sancak Y, Tristani-Firouzi M, Franklin S, Rodan AR, Chaudhuri (2022). Mitochondrial calcium uniporter stabilization preserves energetic homeostasis during Complex I impairment. Nature communications, 13(1), 2769.
  44. Merrill CB, Montgomery AB, Pabon MA, Shabalin AA, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2022). Harnessing changes in open chromatin determined by ATAC-seq to generate insulin-responsive reporter constructs. BMC genomics, 23(1), 399.
  45. Boyd-Shiwarski CR, Shiwarski DJ, Griffiths SE, Beacham RT, Norrell L, Morrison DE, Wang J, Mann J, Tennant W, Anderson EN, Franks J, Calderon M, Connolly KA, Cheema MU, Weaver CJ, Nkashama LJ, Weckerly CC, Querry KE, Pandey UB, Donnelly CJ, Sun D, Rodan AR, Subramanya A (2022). WNK kinases sense molecular crowding and rescue cell volume via phase separation. Cell, 185, 4488-4506.e20.
  46. Ilori TO, Liu J, Rodan AR, Verma A, Mills KT, He J, Winkler CA, Dupuis J, Anderson CAM, Waikar S (2022). Apolipoprotein L1 Genotypes and the Association of Urinary Potassium Excretion with CKD Progression. Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 17(10), 1477-1486.
  47. Yarikipati P, Jonusaite S, Pleinis JM, Dominicci Cotto C, Sanchez-Hernandez D, Morrison DE, Goyal S, Schellinger J, Pénalva C, Curtiss J, Rodan AR, Jenny (2023). Unanticipated domain requirements for Drosophila Wnk kinase in vivo. PLoS genetics, 19(10), e1010975.
  48. Humphreys JM, Teixeira LR, Akella R, He H, Kannangara AR, Sekulski K, Pleinis J, Liwocha J, Jiou J, Servage KA, Orth K, Joachimiak L, Rizo J, Cobb MH, Brautigam CA, Rodan AR, Goldsmith E (2023). Hydrostatic Pressure Sensing by WNK kinases. Molecular biology of the cell, 34(11), ar109.
  49. Rodan A (2024). WNKs and Sodium Transporter Function in Solute Exchange with Implications for Blood Pressure Regulation as Elucidated through Drosophila. Kidney360,
  50. Mahmoudzadeh NH, Heidarian Y, Tourigny JP, Fitt AJ, Beebe K, Li H, Luhur A, Buddika K, Mungcal L, Kundu A, Policastro RA, Brinkley GJ, Zentner GE, Nemkov T, Pepin R, Chawla G, Sudarshan S, Rodan AR, D'Alessandro A, Tennessen J (2024). Renal L-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase activity promotes hypoxia tolerance and mitochondrial metabolism in Drosophila melanogaster. Molecular metabolism, 102013.
  51. Boyd-Shiwarski CR, Rodan A (2024). Solitary Kidney Seeks Potassium Alkali to Lower the Pressure. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology,
  52. Nicholson RJ, Ramkumar N, Rodan A (2024). Megalin as a Metabolic Modulator in the Kidney and Beyond. Function (Oxford, England), 5(5),
  53. Agarwal A, Beddhu S, Boucher R, Rao V, Ramkumar N, Rodan AR, Fang J, Wynne BM, Drakos SG, Hanff T, Cheung AK, Fang J (2024). Evaluation of renal sodium handling in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: A pilot study. Physiological reports, 12(9), e16033.
  54. Merrill CB, Titos I, Pabon MA, Montgomery AB, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2024). Iterative assay for transposase-accessible chromatin by sequencing to isolate functionally relevant neuronal subtypes. Science advances, 10(13), eadi4393.
  55. Chvilicek MM, Seguin A, Lathen DR, Titos I, Cummins-Beebee PN, Pabon MA, Mi¿¿evi¿ M, Nickel E, Merrill CB, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2024). Large analysis of genetic manipulations reveals an inverse correlation between initial alcohol resistance and rapid tolerance phenotypes. Genes, brain, and behavior, 23(1), e12884.
  56. Chvilicek MM, Titos I, Merrill CB, Cummins-Beebee PN, Chen JD, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2025). Alcohol induces long-lasting sleep deficits in Drosophila via subsets of cholinergic neurons. Current biology, 35(5), 1033-1046.e3.
  57. Chvilicek MM, Seguin A, Lathen DR, Titos I, Cummins-Beebe PN, Pabon MA, Miscevic M, Nickel EA, Merrill CB, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2023). Large genetic analysis of alcohol resistance and tolerance reveals an inverse correlation and suggests 'true' tolerance mutants. bioRxiv,
  58. Ibrahim A, Rodan AR, Westenfelder C, Al-Rabadi (2024). Gitelman syndrome patient managed with amiloride during pregnancy and lactation. BMC nephrology, 25(1), 403.
  59. Boyd-Shiwarski CR, Beacham RT, Lashway JA, Querry KE, Griffiths SE, Shiwarski DJ, Knoell SA, Nguyen NH, Nkashama LJ, Valladares MN, Bandaru A, Marciszyn AL, Franks J, Sullivan M, Watkins SC, Rodan AR, Huang CL, Stocker SD, Kashlan OB, Subramanya A (2025). Kidney-specific WNK1 amplifies kidney tubule responsiveness to potassium via WNK body condensates. The Journal of clinical investigation, 135(15),
  60. Philyaw TJ, Titos I, Cummins-Beebee PN, Rodan AR, Rothenfluh (2025). Bitter Sensing Protects Drosophila from Developing Experience-Dependent Cocaine Consumption Preference. The Journal of neuroscience, 45(27),

Review

  1. Goldsmith EJ, Rodan A (2022). Intracellular Ion Control of WNK Signaling. Annual review of physiology,
  2. Rodan A (2022). Regulation of Distal Nephron Transport by Intracellular Chloride and Potassium. Nephron, 1-9.
  3. Rodan A (2024). Circadian rhythm regulation by pacemaker neuron chloride oscillation in flies. Physiology (Bethesda, Md.),

Book Chapter

  1. Rodan AR and Jenny (2016). WNK kinases in development and disease. 123, 1-47.

Commentary

  1. Rodan GA, Rodan A (2005). The family of osteoblast transcription factors is growing. BoneKEy osteovision, 2, 12-15.

Case Report

  1. Neyra JA, Rocha NA, Bhargava R, Vaidya OU, Hendricks AR, Rodan A (2015). Rhabdomyolysis-induced acute kidney injury in a cancer patient exposed to denosumab and abiraterone: a case report. BMC nephrology, 16, 118.

Editorial

  1. Rodan AR, Huang CL (2010). An emerging role for SPAK in NCC, NKCC, and blood pressure regulation. J Am Soc Nephrol, 21(11), 1812-4.
  2. Rodan A, Dow (2021). Editorial overview: Molecular physiology of ion transport. Current opinion in insect science, 47, vii-ix.
  3. Rodan A (2021). Still Learning from Our Patients: Hypokalemia in Patients with Lupus Nephritis. Kidney360, 2(10), 1546-1548.