Sundaram Hariharan, M.D., Chief of Nephrology / Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Education: University of Bombay, India, M.B., B.S. University of Bombay, M.D.
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We are investigating the role of BK virus in the pathophysiology of kidney disease. Present in almost everyone, BK virus poses a unique challenge in kidney transplant patients where the infection is associated with graft loss. BK associated nephritis represents a unique opportunity to study how pharmacologic immunosuppression, viral biology, and the trauma associated with transplantation leads to viral replication. Understanding how these parameters contribute to the development of graft rejection will reveal key pathways of immune tolerance and tissue repair that must be maintained in all transplant patients. Clinical studies are underway to understand how the protective immunity to BK virus arises and to identify specific mutations within the virus that may contribute to the development of renal disease.
Photograph: Simon Prosser, Ph.D., Research Scientist