Nephrology has been underrepresented in clinical research, even as rapid progress in gene sequencing and analysis has led to precision medicine advances in other medical areas like oncology and cardiology. Ali Gharavi, M.D., Chief of the Division of Nephrology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, discusses how genomic and phenotypic research can help scientists better understand how genetic variations in patients with chronic kidney disease can lead to more precise diagnoses and therapies that help improve outcomes by individualizing care.