KatalinSusztak United StatesUniversity of Pennsylvania

Dr. Susztak has made fundamental discoveries, paving the way for the development of targeted therapies that could improve the lives of over 30 million Americans with kidney disease. She delineated the genetic underpinning of kidney function heritability, and pioneered human kidney tissue banking as well as genomics and epigenetics profiling at single cell resolution. Susztak has identified more than a dozen new risk genes for kidney disease and revealed the previously unsuspected role of proximal tubule cells in regulating kidney function. She was the first to demonstrate the causal role of APOL1 gene variants that are only found in individuals with African ancestry in kidney disease, thereby explaining the increased risk of renal disease in Black patients. Her work also demonstrated that APOL1 gene variants affect the risk and prognosis of sepsis and COVID-19 infection. Beyond her unique contributions to the genetics of kidney disease, Dr. Susztak defined the cellular pathways of APOL1 toxicity, including NLRP3 and STING, which has enabled the development of targeted therapeutics in a dramatic example of precision/personalized medicine which also addresses health disparities. She is also the founder of the PENN/CHOP Kidney Innovation Center and the Transformative Researches In Diabetic Nephropathy study, an innovative academic-industry partnership that is. developing and testing novel therapies to improve the lives of those with kidney disease.