Michelle Winn, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Nephrology, died peacefully July 23, 2014 at home, surrounded by her family after a year-long battle with cancer.
"Michelle was an outstanding researcher, a tireless mentor and a warm and caring clinician," said Mary Klotman, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine. "We will especially remember her warm and engaging spirit, and her dedication to colleagues, trainees, and friends."
Dr. Winn was a graduate of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and subsequently did undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and medical school at East Carolina University. She came to Duke in 1992 for a residency in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, and she continued her training here as a nephrology fellow. She joined the Duke faculty in 1999, did her research in the Center for Human Genetics and was a founding faculty member of the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute.
During her nephrology fellowship, Winn began to identify and characterize families with familial forms of focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a form of kidney disease that is one of the more common causes of kidney failure requiring dialysis.
Importantly, Winn became the driving force behind these studies in FSGS, providing the vision and persistence required for her subsequent successes.
“Her breakthrough came with the publication of her research in Science describing a mutation in the TRPC6 gene causing familial FSGS,” said Thomas Coffman, MD, chief of the Division of Nephrology and mentor to Winn. “This was a major discovery that truly changed thinking in the field."
Before the publication, there had been several reports describing genetic variants causing inherited glomerular disease, but the altered genes all encoded structural proteins in the glomerular epithelial cell or podocyte. Winn’s finding that altered function of an ion channel could cause glomerular disease substantially shifted paradigms in the field. Since a channel can be targeted by small molecules, Winn’s discovery has also suggested a new therapeutic approach in proteinuric kidney disease, an area where new treatments are sorely needed. Several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are pursuing TRPC6 antagonists for common glomerular diseases, including diabetic nephropathy.
Winn’s discovery has been widely hailed in the field and she received several prestigious awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and the Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Nephrology. She has also been inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation. The American Society of Nephrology announced the Michelle P. Winn, MD, Endowed Lectureship, with support from a partnership including ASN, Duke University School of Medicine, the Department of Medicine’s Division of Nephrology, and several individuals.
Over the years, Winn ascertained more than 100 families with inherited FSGS and she recently took advantage of technologies for whole-exome sequencing to identify several new mutations with the capacity to cause FSGS. Her collaboration with David Goldstein, PhD, of the Duke Center for Human Genome Variation was featured in the Department of Medicine 2013 Annual Report.
Along with her superb scientific work, Winn was a major advocate for diversity and a role model and mentor for women and underrepresented minorities, said Laura Svetkey, MD, MHS, vice chair for faculty development and diversity and Winn’s colleague in Nephrology.
Winn served as chair of the Department of Medicine Minority Recruitment and Retention Committee, and she was a member of the Medical House Staff Selection Committee and the School of Medicine Admissions Executive Committee. In recognition of her efforts to promote diversity, Winn received the Duke University Blue Ribbon Diversity Award in 2004.
Nephrology fellows flocked to Winn’s laboratory, and she was known as an outstanding mentor for laboratory and clinical trainees.
“Most importantly, Michelle was a wonderful and beloved individual,” said Dr. Coffman.
Winn was raised in Jacksonville, NC, by a father who spent his career in the Marine Corps and a mother who was a nurse. They imparted in Michelle a strong ethical and moral foundation, with a sense of humility and tolerance. Her unassuming, down-to-earth personality, along with absolute dedication to her friends and colleagues, made her a widely admired member of the Duke faculty.
Winn loved people, music, dancing, and life. She is survived by her loving husband and soul mate Terry, who has been with her since they were in high school.
Winn will be missed by an extended, devoted family, and a large group of friends at Duke and in the nephrology community around the world.
A memorial service for Winn will take place on the Duke University campus in the near future. Details will be posted when available.Sad news: Michelle Winn, MD has died
Michelle Winn, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Nephrology, died peacefully July 23, 2014 at home, surrounded by her family after a year-long battle with cancer.
"Michelle was an outstanding researcher, a tireless mentor and a warm and caring clinician," said Mary Klotman, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine. "We will especially remember her warm and engaging spirit, and her dedication to colleagues, trainees, and friends."
Dr. Winn was a graduate of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and subsequently did undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and medical school at East Carolina University. She came to Duke in 1992 for a residency in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, and she continued her training here as a nephrology fellow. She joined the Duke faculty in 1999, did her research in the Center for Human Genetics and was a founding faculty member of the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute.
During her nephrology fellowship, Winn began to identify and characterize families with familial forms of focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a form of kidney disease that is one of the more common causes of kidney failure requiring dialysis.
Importantly, Winn became the driving force behind these studies in FSGS, providing the vision and persistence required for her subsequent successes.
“Her breakthrough came with the publication of her research in Science describing a mutation in the TRPC6 gene causing familial FSGS,” said Thomas Coffman, MD, chief of the Division of Nephrology and mentor to Winn. “This was a major discovery that truly changed thinking in the field."
Before the publication, there had been several reports describing genetic variants causing inherited glomerular disease, but the altered genes all encoded structural proteins in the glomerular epithelial cell or podocyte. Winn’s finding that altered function of an ion channel could cause glomerular disease substantially shifted paradigms in the field. Since a channel can be targeted by small molecules, Winn’s discovery has also suggested a new therapeutic approach in proteinuric kidney disease, an area where new treatments are sorely needed. Several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are pursuing TRPC6 antagonists for common glomerular diseases, including diabetic nephropathy.
Winn’s discovery has been widely hailed in the field and she received several prestigious awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and the Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Nephrology. She has also been inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation. The American Society of Nephrology announced the Michelle P. Winn, MD, Endowed Lectureship, with support from a partnership including ASN, Duke University School of Medicine, the Department of Medicine’s Division of Nephrology, and several individuals.
Over the years, Winn ascertained more than 100 families with inherited FSGS and she recently took advantage of technologies for whole-exome sequencing to identify several new mutations with the capacity to cause FSGS. Her collaboration with David Goldstein, PhD, of the Duke Center for Human Genome Variation was featured in the Department of Medicine 2013 Annual Report.
Along with her superb scientific work, Winn was a major advocate for diversity and a role model and mentor for women and underrepresented minorities, said Laura Svetkey, MD, MHS, vice chair for faculty development and diversity and Winn’s colleague in Nephrology.
Winn served as chair of the Department of Medicine Minority Recruitment and Retention Committee, and she was a member of the Medical House Staff Selection Committee and the School of Medicine Admissions Executive Committee. In recognition of her efforts to promote diversity, Winn received the Duke University Blue Ribbon Diversity Award in 2004.
Nephrology fellows flocked to Winn’s laboratory, and she was known as an outstanding mentor for laboratory and clinical trainees.
“Most importantly, Michelle was a wonderful and beloved individual,” said Dr. Coffman.
Winn was raised in Jacksonville, NC, by a father who spent his career in the Marine Corps and a mother who was a nurse. They imparted in Michelle a strong ethical and moral foundation, with a sense of humility and tolerance. Her unassuming, down-to-earth personality, along with absolute dedication to her friends and colleagues, made her a widely admired member of the Duke faculty.
Winn loved people, music, dancing, and life. She is survived by her loving husband and soul mate Terry, who has been with her since they were in high school.
Winn will be missed by an extended, devoted family, and a large group of friends at Duke and in the nephrology community around the world.
A memorial service for Winn will take place on the Duke University campus in the near future. Details will be posted when available.