Gastroenterology & Hepatology

BIOGRAPHY

Nicholas F. LaRusso, M.D.

Academic positions:
- Charles H. Weinman Endowed Professor of Medicine
- Chair of the Department of Medicine (DOM) at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine (MCCM)
- Distinguished Investigator of the Mayo Foundation

All industry positions (in last five years):
2005- present Board of Directors, Vital Health Software, Inc.

Research interests:
Dr LaRusso's laboratory applies the fundamental concepts and broad technologies of cell/molecular biology to understand hepatic epithelial cell function and dysfunction. Their focus is principally on cholangiocytes (epithelial cells that line intrahepatic bile ducts) because of their biologic and clinical importance. Currently, his lab has two major parallel programs focused on cholangiocyte pathobiology each supported by an RO1 grant from NIH:

- Investigations of cholangiocyte water and solute transport.
- Studies into the interactions of cholangiocytes with cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum), an emerging pathogen important in the development of AIDS cholangiopathy.

Dr LaRusso's long-term goal is to provide a theoretical framework for development of novel therapeutic strategies for the cholangiopathies, a group of cholestatic genetic and acquired hepatobiliary diseases in which the cholangiocyte is the principle target of diverse destructive processes.

Any other information:
A member of the American Association of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians, he is the former editor of GASTROENTEROLOGY and past president of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Among other honors, he is a recipient of a MERIT Award and the Principle Investigator on two R01s from the NIH; he also received Distinguished Achievement Awards from both the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and the AASLD, and the Distinguished Mentor Award of the AGA. He is currently Vice President of the AGA, and will ascend to the Presidency in 2007.