Yelena Drexler, MD

Glomerular diseases, ADPKD, Hypertension

Dr. Drexler leads a clinical and translational research program dedicated to improving kidney and cardiovascular outcomes for patients with glomerular disease. A central focus of her work is the discovery of biomarkers that support precision-medicine approaches to risk stratification and early intervention. Her research identified plasma apolipoprotein M (apoM) as a candidate biomarker of lipid-induced kidney injury in patient with glomerular

disease, showing that apoM levels correlate with kidney function and the likelihood of complete remission. She currently holds an American Heart Association Rapid Impact Research Award to determine whether low apoM levels predict faster kidney function decline and higher cardiovascular risk in this patient population. Alongside this biomarker work, Dr. Drexler studies cardiovascular health disparities among multi-ethnic populations, examining how cardiovascular health status relates to kidney disease progression in diverse US Hispanic/Latino adults.

2024 Attending of the Year, Nephrology Fellowship Training Program, University of Miami

2023 Instructor of the Year, Nephrology Fellowship Training Program, University of Miami

2023 Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology (FASN)

2023 Travel Award, CureGN Analytic Workshop, University of Michigan

2021 NephCure Specialist in Glomerular Diseases, NephCure Kidney International

2021 Miami CTSI Mentored Translational Research Scholars Program Award (KL2)

2020 Young Investigator Award, Basic Science Forum for Emerging Kidney Scientists (ASN/APS)

2019 Miami CTSI Pilot Research Award

2019 American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Travel Award, Network of Minority Health Research Investigators (NMRI) Annual Workshop

2018 Travel Award, Conference on Clinical Research in Rare Diseases (CCRRD)

2015 Certified Hypertension Specialist (CHS), American Hypertension Specialist Certification Program (AHSCP)

2015 First Place Clinical Research Award, New York Society of Nephrology

Dr. Drexler is a board-certified nephrologist who serves as Associate Professor of Medicine in the Katz Family Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Dr. Drexler specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of glomerular diseases, polycystic kidney disease (PKD), and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome. Her clinical interests include IgA nephropathy, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), membranous nephropathy, lupus nephritis, and PKD. She provides care at the UHealth Diabetes Research Institute and is accepting new patients. Dr. Drexler also offers telehealth appointments.

Dr. Drexler earned her medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and her Master of Science in Clinical and Translational Investigation from the University of Miami. She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine and fellowship training in Nephrology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Drexler is board certified in Nephrology, has been recognized as a Certified Hypertension Specialist by the American Hypertension Specialist Certification Program and as a NephCure Specialist in glomerular disease by NephCure Kidney International, and is a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology (FASN).

In addition to providing patient care, Dr. Drexler serves as Director of Clinical Research for the Peggy and Harold Katz Family Drug Discovery Center, where she leads and collaborates on multiple clinical trials, observational cohort studies, and translational studies in glomerular disease. Her research, which spans glomerular disease therapeutics, biomarker discovery, and epidemiological studies of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic risk, is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and American Heart Association. She serves as the Miami site principal investigator for the NIH/NIDDK-funded Cure Glomerulonephropathy (CureGN) consortium, as well as principal investigator for

multiple industry-sponsored clinical trials in IgA nephropathy, FSGS, and lupus nephritis. Her work has been published in high-impact journals, including JASN, CJASN, JAMA Network Open, and Nature Reviews Nephrology. She also serves as Associate Program Director of the UM/JMH Nephrology Fellowship Training Program.

Dr. Drexler is committed to providing individualized, evidence-based care and improving kidney and cardiovascular outcomes for patients affected by glomerular diseases and cardiometabolic kidney disorders.