Positive Impact on Patients:

Michael Braun, M.D., assistant professor, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM); Division of Pediatric Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School; and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS)

Patients with some kidney diseases may benefit from basic research on a group of blood proteins known as the complement system.

Michael Braun, M.D.

“The desire to have a positive impact on the lives of my patients has been the driving force behind my research work,” Braun said.

“Kidney diseases such as lupus nephritis are often due to abnormal immunologic responses, which include activation of the complement system,” he said. “Complement proteins can injure the kidney directly, as well as alter the reactivity of the immune system in general.”

Using mouse models of human kidney diseases, Braun’s research group is investigating how inhibition of the anaphylatoxins – a specific family of complement proteins – alters the development and progression of renal damage. By studying the basic biology of anaphylatoxins in mice, they hope to define critical cellular and molecular pathways that will translate into novel therapeutic approaches for humans with complement dependent kidney diseases. Braun’s interest in complement began during his clinical fellowship in pediatric nephrology, when he trained with two preeminent complement biologists: Clark West, M.D., one of the founding fathers of the specialty of pediatric nephrology, who initially described the association of complement activation and kidney disease, and Alvin Davis, M.D., a leader in the field of C1 inhibitor deficiency.

“During my fellowship I cared for a number of children with very unusual forms of complement dependent kidney diseases and became fascinated by the complexity of the pathophysiology and our limited ability to successfully treat these children,” Braun said.

“I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to join the faculty at the UT Health Science Center at Houston, where I can care for children with renal disease and work with the world-renowned complement biology group at the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine headed by Dr. Irma Gigli and Dr. Rick Wetsel.”