Renal Immunology & Pathology (inc. Glomerular Diseases)

BIOGRAPHY

ACADEMIC POSITIONS:
• Professor of Medicine, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
• Chief, Renal Section, Boston Medical Center

MEMBERSHIPS:
• American Society of Nephrology
• International Society of Nephrology
• American Association for Advancement of Science
• American Society for Clinical Investigation
• American Heart Association
• American Association of Physicians
• NIH Study Sections & Special Emphasis Panels

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
The focus of the lab is on the immune basis of glomerular diseases with particular regard to the humoral mechanisms of glomerular cell injury. Current work will elucidate the mechanisms by which antibodies alter the function and morphology of glomerular visceral epithelial cells (podocytes), including the role of podocyte-specific antibodies, and the effects of complement-mediated injury on podocyte structure, composition of the filtration slit diaphragm and its attachment to the cytoskeleton, and on cell-matrix adhesion. Having identified Notch4 protein in rodent glomeruli, we are engaged in studies to elucidate the role of Notch4 in mature podocytes through the use of Notch4 knockout mice and in vitro podocyte expression systems. Efforts are also underway to isolate and identify the membranous nephropathy autoantigen/s on the podocyte plasma membrane of human kidneys using cell fractionation, biochemical purification, immunochemistry, and mass spectroscopy. Animal models are used to elucidate the mechanisms of post-inflammatory fibrogenesis of the kidney and test the therapeutic efficacy and anti-fibrotic agents.