Tom Nijenhuis, MD, PhD, is a fellow in Nephrology interested in fundamental research into renal (patho)physiology, currently focused on the role of the novel slit diaphragm-associated channel TRPC6 in glomerular disease. After obtaining his medical degree at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in 2001 he combined his residency in internal medicine with a 3-year PhD project at the department of Physiology. He acquired his PhD degree in 2006 on a thesis describing the pathophysiology and pharmacological modulation of epithelial Ca2+ and Mg2+ channels involved in renal tubular cation reabsorption. Currently, he is combining his fellowship in Nephrology with a research project involving both the department of Physiology and the Nephrology Research Laboratory, aimed to identify the role of TRPC6 in the pathophysiology of proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis, for which he obtained a personal Kolff Career Stimulation Grant from the Dutch Kidney Foundation in 2007.