Devarajan Lab

Apoptosis is a major mechanism leading to tubule cell death in early acute kidney injuries. We are investigating the DAXX / ASK1 / JNK signal transduction mechanism as a unique cell death pathway following early injury; this may provide a target for innovative therapies. The specific aim of this project is to identify the contributions of this pathway to structural and functional kidney damage, using a variety of in vitro and in vivo manipulations.

Funding Source: NIH / NIDDK

Collaborator: Alex Kuan, MD, PhD, Division of Developmental Biology

This project aims to identify novel noninvasive biomarkers of lupus nephritis. Such biomarkers could facilitate the clinical evaluation of innovative therapeutic approaches, and could reveal the mechanics of the disease’s pathology. The specific aim of this project is to identify and validate biomarker patterns in lupus nephritis using proteomic profiling techniques.

Funding Source: Department of Defense

Collaborators: Hermine Brunner, MD, MSc, Division of Rheumatology

We intend to identify and validate distinct transcriptomic profiles in laser-captured glomeruli from humans and animal models of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. This research could help reveal novel disease mechanisms, therapeutic targets and biomarkers for clinical use.

Funding Source: NIH / NIDDK

Collaborators: S. Steven Potter, PhD, Division of Developmental Biology

Through this project we intend to validate NGAL, cystatin C and IL-18 as predictive biomarkers of acute kidney injury and its adverse outcomes after cardiac surgery. This is a multicenter observational study.

Funding Source: NIH / NHLBI

Collaborators: Catherine Dent Krawczeski, MD, the Heart Institute; Chirag Parikh, MD, PhD, FACP, Yale University

This project aims to define the long-term outcomes of acute renal injury after cardiac surgery and to identify the role of early biomarkers in predicting the outcomes. This is a multicenter observational study.

Funding Source: NIH / NIDDK

Collaborators: Catherine Dent Krawczeski, MD, the Heart Institute; Chirag Parikh, MD, PhD, FACP, Yale University

The Pediatric Nephrology Center of Excellence at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is one of only three in the nation supported by the National Institutes of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases. The Center of Excellence serves as a national resource for conducting ground-breaking research into pediatric kidney disease.