The Souma lab in Duke Nephrology studies the basic mechanisms of kidney injuries and repair. We are particularly interested in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of acute kidney injury (AKI) to chronic kidney disease (CKD) transition. Our research primarily focuses on understanding cellular stress adaptive pathways against ferroptosis, an iron-dependent, lipid-peroxidation-driven regulated cell death. We have shown that ferroptosis promotes AKI to CKD transition and inhibiting ferroptosis improves kidney repair in animal models. Moreover, we discovered that female kidneys are more resistant to ferroptotic stress and ferroptosis than male kidneys. Our ultimate goal is to harness anti-ferroptosis pathways for therapeutic use to prevent kidney disease progression in patients. Toward this goal, we interrogate mechanisms of sex differences in ferroptosis resilience. The Souma lab utilizes cutting-edge mouse genetics, and cell biological and single-cell transcriptomics approaches.

We are looking for highly motivated scientists at all stages: from undergraduates, medical students, postdoctoral and clinical fellows, and research technicians to join our lab. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LabSouma

Publications and Grants

Lab Members

Koki Abe, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow (Uehara Memorial Foundation)

Emily Burke
Lab Research Analyst (Jointly with the Wolf  lab)

Ryo Ito, PhD
Senior Research Associate 

Hiroki Kitai, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Former Lab Members

Sarah Strausser
Research technician (Currently, Medical Student, Penn State)

Shintaro Ide, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow (American Heart Association)

Kana Ide, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow (Astellas Foundation for Research on Metabolic Disorders)

Anisha Watwe
Duke undergraduate student

Xuanyu Zhou
Duke undergraduate student

Savannah Herbek
Duke undergraduate student

Isaac Yang
Duke undergraduate student