Le Xiao, PhD

2022 Jared J. Grantham Research Fellowship Award

Institution: Boston Children's Hospital

Project Title: Elucidating the mechanism of TMED9 and MUC1-fs-meditated Mucin 1 kidney disease (MKD)

How would you sum up your research in one sentence?

Understanding the molecular basis of TMED9 and MUC1-fs leads to MKD, providing potential drugs to help MKD patients.

Provide a brief overview of the research you will conduct with help from the grant.

I will use structural biology, biochemistry, and cell biology to elucidate the function of TMED9 and its interaction with MUC1-fs in MKD.

What impact do you hope your research will have on patients?

With the insights I will obtain from these studies, I want to contribute to the development of drugs to treat MKD by targeting TMED9 and to alleviate the pain of MKD patients.

What are your career goals at the end of the grant period? Five years out? Ten years out?

My long-term career plan is to find an independent research position in academia. I will apply for more grants for further support of my research and my transition to independence at the end of the grant period.

What inspired you to focus your research in this area?

The findings that we got and the remaining questions we want to answer, the hope to cure the patients.

In one sentence, please describe the importance of having grant funding available through KidneyCure.

With grant funding, it will support my research in the laboratory and offer me a chance to meet with other kidney disease researchers in the field.

In my free time I like to…

Hike and read.