About

I have been committed to building a strong translational research program to address novel challenges and questions related to blood and renal pathophysiology in rodents and humans. My work provided strong pre-clinical evidence that endothelin system significantly contributes to sickle cell renal pathophysiology. My collaborative efforts with Dr. Lebensburger identified predictors of the onset of long-term kidney insufficiency and uncovered clear sex differences in the rate of sickle cell nephropathy progression in patients and murine model of sickle cell disease. My current research focuses on functional significance of iron homeostasis in chronic kidney disease (CKD), in particular, the mechanisms of renal iron handling in progressive sickle cell nephropathy. Currently, my lab has three on-going research projects: 1) elucidating molecular mechanisms of endothelin system-mediated renal iron handling in murine models of iron overload; 2) mechanisms of renal dysfunction in sickle cell trait, 3) identifying risk factors for early progression to CKD in sickle cell pediatric patients.