Yoshiharu Muto, MD, PhD

2023 Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar Grant

Institution: Washington University School of Medicine

Project Title: Role of Methionine Cycle in Remodeling of Epigenetic Landscape in Acute Kidney Injury and Failed Repair

How would you sum up your research in one sentence?

My research will address the role of methionine metabolism in remodeling of epigenetic landscape in kidney diseases.

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

I will generate a mouse kidney disease model with perturbation on methionine metabolism. I will address the mechanism connecting dysregulation of methionine cycle and alteration of epigenetic landscape in kidney diseases, identifying a novel therapeutic target. 

What inspired you to focus your research in this area?

My motivation for kidney research is rooted in my own experiences of the nephrology clinical practice in Japan, where I realized a generalized lack of molecular therapeutic approaches to halt the progression of kidney diseases, that drove me to pursue academic career. I am particularly interested in the connection of metabolic pathway and epigenetic alteration in kidney diseases, that inspired me to focus this research.

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

My career goal is to become a principal investigator in nephrology epigenetic research. My long-term goal is to discover mechanisms of altered epigenomic and transcriptomic landscape in kidney diseases, that allow development of novel therapeutic approach to modulate the epigenome and promote renal repair.

What has surprised you most about your career?

The goal I determined when I was working in a community hospital in Japan a decade ago is still driving me to pursue a research career (I did not expect such kind of thing happens to me, when I was young).

What are the major challenges facing nephrology research today?

Complicated tissue structure with so many cell types in the kidney has hampered this research area. Hoping emerging techniques will help us to address questions remaining elucidated in this nephrology research field.

Something you may not know about me is…

I love sake and sushi. And natto (believe it or not).

In my free time I like to…

I like to jog outside.

Follow on Twitter: @YoshiharuMuto