Our Team

Clinical Associate Professor;
Associate Program Director, Nephrology Fellowship

Professor;
Director, Apheresis Medical

Associate Professor, Research

Professor;
Nephrology Section Chief, Veteran's Affairs

Fellowship: MUSC – Nephrology
Residency: Hamilton Medical Center
Medical School: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine

Professor Emerita

Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant Professor

Professor

Distinguished University Professor

Dr. Semenikhina earned a Ph.D. in 2020 from the Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology in Ukraine, focusing on GPCR signaling in disease development. Joining Dr. Palygin's lab at MUSC in 2021, Rita has since led research on redox signaling in podocyte pathophysiology and its role in glomerular diseases, particularly in diabetes. Dr. Semenikhina has published 17 peer-reviewed papers and received multiple awards, including recognition for work on nitric oxide signaling in podocytes from the American Physiological Society, American Heart Association, and Women in Nephrology. She is focused on molecular mechanisms of renal filtration barrier dysfunction and aims to translate her findings into innovative therapeutic strategies for kidney diseases in the US.

Awards:

Poster Award from American Heart Association (2024 Hypertension Scientific Sessions)

Excellence in Research Award from AJP Renal (2023 International Podocyte Meeting)

Woman in Nephrology (WIN) Presentation Award (2022 WIN Leadership Conference)

Renal Section Research Recognition Award (2022 American Physiological Society)

Woman in Nephrology Leadership Conference Travel Award (2022)

Clinical Professor

Professor

Clinical Associate Professor

Professor

Assistant Professor

Residency: Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt

Associate Program Director 
Transplant Nephrology

Assistant Professor, Lancaster

Assistant Professor

Professor;
Director, Transplant Nephrology Fellowship

Assistant Professor