Christie P. Thomas, MBBS
Professor
Department of Internal Medicine
Abboud Cardiovascular Research Center
Research
We have had a long standing and externally funded research program in fundamental biology that has had two broad areas of interest: the first is in the broad area of epithelial sodium transport in the distal nephron and the second is the area of sFlt1 biogenesis and regulation in the trophoblast and its function in the vasculature and in the kidney. We have a growing clinical interest in genetic kidney diseases and working with the Department of Pediatrics and the Genetic Counseling service, we have established a multidisciplinary Renal Genetics Clinic, a first for this region. In collaboration with the Iowa Institute of Human Genetics and Dr. Richard Smith, we have also helped developed the first comprehensive renal genetic panel using targeted genomic enrichment and massively parallel sequencing, called KidneySeq™. Our published works have reported on the usefulness of unbiased renal genetic screening for a variety of kidney diseases and have also demonstrated the role of a dedicated Renal Genetics Clinic in serving as a resource for the nephrology community.
Recent Publications
Impact of changing renal function, while waiting for a heart transplant, on post-transplant mortality and development of end stage kidney disease. Kumar A, Bonnell LN, Thomas CP. Transpl Int. 2021 Apr 21. doi: 10.1111/tri.13889. Online ahead of print.
Integrating APOL1 Kidney-risk Variant Testing in Live Kidney Donor Evaluation: An Expert Panel Opinion. Doshi MD, Gordon EJ, Freedman BI, Glover C, Locke JE, Thomas CP. Transplantation. 2021 Jan 27. doi: 10.1097/TP.0000000000003641. Online ahead of print.
Donor-derived human herpesvirus 8 and development of Kaposi sarcoma among 6 recipients of organs from donors with high-risk sexual and substance use behavior. Dollard SC, Annambhotla P, Wong P, Meneses K, Amin MM, La Hoz RM, Lease ED, Budev M, Arrossi AV, Basavaraju SV, Thomas CP. Am J Transplant. 2021 Feb;21(2):681-688. doi: 10.1111/ajt.16181. Epub 2020 Aug 4.
Initial experience from a renal genetics clinic demonstrates a distinct role in patient management. Thomas CP, Freese ME, Ounda A, Jetton JG, Holida M, Noureddine L, Smith RJ. Genet Med. 2020 Jun;22(6):1025-1035. doi: 10.1038/s41436-020-0772-y. Epub 2020 Mar 17.
Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate at Transplant Listing and Other Predictors of Post-Heart Transplant Mortality and the Development of ESRD. Kumar A, Howard A, Thomas CP. Transplantation. 2020 Nov;104(11):2444-2452. doi: 10.1097/TP.0000000000003159.
Targeted broad-based genetic testing by next-generation sequencing informs diagnosis and facilitates management in patients with kidney diseases. Mansilla MA, Sompallae RR, Nishimura CJ, Kwitek AE, Kimble MJ, Freese ME, Campbell CA, Smith RJ, Thomas CP. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2021 Jan 25;36(2):295-305. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfz173.
VEGF-A selectively inhibits FLT1 ectodomain shedding independent of receptor activation and receptor endocytosis. Raikwar NS, Shibuya M, Thomas CP. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2018 Aug 1;315(2):C214-C224. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00247.2017. Epub 2018 May 2.