Gilbert Moeckel, MD, PhD, FASN

Gilbert Moeckel, MD, PhD, is a pathologist who specializes in diagnosing kidney diseases. He became fascinated with the complexity of the kidney during his graduate studies after medical school. "I was attracted to medicine because of the scientific challenges," Dr. Moeckel says.

While examining a biopsy from a patient, Dr. Moeckel explains, it's important for a pathologist to think comprehensively and consider different conditions associated with the organ. "Many diseases are involved in the kidney or start from a kidney defect," he says.

When he provides a specific diagnosis a physician, Dr. Moeckel, like other pathologists, works with that patient's doctor to recommend the best course of treatment. In order to arrive at an accurate diagnosis, a pathologist "needs to have a lot of experience and a solid understanding and visual awareness of diseases."

At Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Moeckel is professor of pathology and director of the renal, or kidney, pathology and electron microscopy laboratory. His research focuses on better understanding the progression of chronic kidney disease.