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Markus Bitzer, M.D.
NephCure Young Investigator Awardee
Dr. Bitzer is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and the Director of the Geriatric Kidney Disease Clinic at the University of Michigan. He earned his medical doctorate in 1995 from University of Erlangen- Nürnberg, Germany where he also did his residency in internal medicine and nephrology. His research focus is to discover new mechanisms and biomarkers for progressive organ fibrosis using the kidney as a model system. Dr. Bitzer is a 2008 recipient of a NephCure Young Investigator Grant.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
University of Michigan
Lay Summary of the Project:
MicroRNAs are small molecules that play an important role in gene expression, regulating the building of proteins to keep them in the right balance. Dr. Bitzer has found that the amounts of some of these microRNAs in the kidneys of patients with FSGS are different than in healthy people. Dr. Bitzer is investigating the function of microRNA-21 and other microRNAs in the kidney to determine how these molecules are expressed and how they might influence disease. Identifying these mechanisms may lead to the development of new therapies for FSGS using drugs that inhibit microRNAs.
