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AD Tubulointerstitial Nephritis vs AR Tubulointerstitial Nephritis
Winner: AD Tubulointerstitial Nephritis

7-0 split

AD Tubulo-interstitial Nephritis prevails in a rout over the pretender AR Tubulointerstitial Nephritis. The main difference between it and its cross-town rival was accuracy. This group of diseases exemplifies the huge strides made by modern genetic techniques in bringing precision to renal diagnostics and hopefully future therapeutics. Terms such as medullary cystic kidney disease and glomerulocystic kidney disease will make way for new powerhouses such as UMOD & MUC1 Nephropathy.

Epigenetics in Nephrology vs Vesicoureteral Reflux
Winner: Epigenetics in Nephrology

4-3 split

Epigenetics just edged Vesicoureteral Reflux in this first round thriller. The huge potential to be a game-changer in Medicine swung the tie in its favor. Their flexibility is their strength, modifying gene expression at the level of gene transcription and translation. They may be influenced by the cellular environment and potentially inheritable. This still may be a year too early for this team of blue chip freshman but they have made their mark on this years tourney, like the genetic footprint they represent.

APOL1 vs Familial FSGS
Winner: APOL1

6-1 split

Both teams are NephMadness juggernauts and neither would be out of place advancing to the next round however APOL1 had the momentum to see off the FSGS challenge. Enthusiasm for APOL1 amongst fans continues unabated despite its mechanism of renal injury remaining unclear. Strengths include the mystery factor, its unknown potential and a fairytale journey to the tourney. This has involved coming from nowhere to a high allele frequency in a few thousand years in West Africa, variant APOL1 conferring resistance to Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and explaining the excess risk of kidney disease in African Americans. It certainly catches the headlines.

GWAS in Nephrology vs Next-Generation Sequencing
Winner: Next-Generation Sequencing

4-3 split

Team GWAS has been beaten by its protégé in a convincing performance by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). NGS, including sophomore whole exome and freshman whole genome sequencing, is an exciting team that has left its mark on the entire Genetic Nephrology region. With technology advancing and costs of running the resource heavy team continuing to tumble, expect to see more minutes from rookie whole genome sequencing in coming seasons. NGS plans to revolutionize nephrology diagnostics and our understanding of the diseases we treat. Ambitious for a team making its NephMadness debut.

See the current standings! | For more on NephMadness 2015 | #NephMadness on Twitter