MURAKAMI LAB
UNLOCKING THE MECHANISMS OF AUTOIMMUNE KIDNEY DISEASES AND KIDNEY TRANSPLANT TOLERANCE
WELCOME TO THE MURAKAMI LAB
Naoka Murakami, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Washington University in St. Louis
WashU Profile
Principal Investigator
Naoka obtained MD and PhD in Biochemistry from University of Tokyo, Japan. She completed medical residency in Toranomon Hospital in Japan and in Mount Sinai Beth Israel, NY, then finished nephrology fellowship in BWH/MGH combined program in 2019. Her research focuses on the roles of co-stimulatory molecules (e.g. PD-1, CTLA-4) in autoimmune kidney diseases and transplant tolerance. Her clinical focus is to care for patients with cancer and kidney diseases, in an evolving field of “Transplant Onconephrology”.
The Murakami Lab is home to a group of young scientists engaged in scientific innovation spanning the spectrum from basic science to clinical research. The Murakami Lab’s research focuses on understanding the mechanism of autoimmune kidney diseases and kidney transplant rejection. The immune system in our body is trained to distinguish self (own tissues and cells) and non-self (bacteria or viral pathogens), and to eliminate non-self to protect ourselves from illness. In autoimmune conditions, however, the boundary becomes fuzzy and the immune system attacks self-organs. The kidney is one of the most susceptible organs for autoimmune disease, but no specific treatments are available due to lack of fundamental understanding of the disease mechanisms. Our overall goal is to unlock the mechanism of keeping the boundary clear, by studying animal models and patient samples, and to apply this self-protection mechanism to treat autoimmune kidney diseases and transplant rejection.
MURAKAMI LAB 