A Student’s Passion for Kidneys Leads to Fruit Fly Discoveries

“We’re feeding bacteria to fruit flies to see if the bacteria gets incorporated into kidney stones to see whether the process speeds up with the addition of bacteria,” Danny Turin answered when asked to sum up his research in layman’s terms.

Originally from Eagan, Minn., Turin, a rising junior at the University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR), has been doing research alongside skilled researchers at Mayo Clinic since his first year at UMR. Turin’s current focus includes the use of fruit flies. 

“We use the fruit flies as a translational model, which means we are using an organism to look at a specific gene function to then compare similarities with human genetics,” Turin explained. “If the fruit flies that we feed the bacteria to carrying a specific gene that contributes to large kidney stones, we can apply that finding with people who have kidney stones and see if they carry the same gene. What we’re finding is that those who have a mutation in this gene are more likely to form kidney stones much faster.” Because of UMR’s innovative culture and focus on collaboration, this is just one example of many unique opportunities Turin has had during his time at UMR.

Turin first heard about UMR when an admissions representative visited his high school. The University piqued his interest because of its smaller class sizes and easy-access support like the JustASK centers. Turin knew these two elements would help him to be successful and stay focused. Another big draw to UMR included its proximity to and partnership with Mayo Clinic, an opportunity Turin made sure to take advantage of early on in his college careers. 

The summer after his freshman year, Turin participated in the Nephrology and Urology Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (nuSURF) program at Mayo Clinic with Dr. Michael F. Romero, PhD; Professor, Physiology & Biomedical Engineering and Nephrology, as his supervisor. 

“It was immediately obvious that Danny was unique, very bright, very inquisitive and undeterred by challenges,” Romero said, describing Turin. “Although he’s had a full course load, he has been a major driving and thought force in our Drosophila kidney stone project since 2017.”

Participation in this program provided Turin with the opportunity to travel to various institutions around the country to present his research. Last summer, he both attended and presented at Harvard College. He also spent a week at the Maine Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratories where he taught a fellows’ course titled “Origins of Renal Physiology-Nephrology” as a course assistant with Dr. Romero. “The Nephrology MD-Fellows from around the US could not believe he was not even a PhD student but rather an undergraduate,” Romero said. Turin returned this past August to teach the course again. 

In March 2019, Turin attended the Research on Calculus Kinetics Society meeting to present further on his research. He has also submitted an abstract to the American Society of Nephrology with the hopes to present in Washington D.C. at their Kidney Week meeting in November.

“We’re starting to make discoveries with bacteria and how stones are forming,” Turin says, “and that is leading to acquiring significant data. It’s really exciting to be part of this discovery.” Turin is able to work on the manuscript during the school year and receive research credit.

Turin was drawn to health care and medicine after initially seeing his mom work at a clinic in the Twin Cities that helps refugees. During his first year at UMR, Turin learned more about the various pathways within health care when he shadowed a nephrologist at Mayo Clinic. He learned more about the demand for nephrologists while in Maine through speaking with various nephrologists who admitted the need for more doctors in the field. 

After graduating from UMR, Turin hopes to attend medical school and eventually get an MD and do work in nephrology or urology.