Jochen Reiser

Jochen Reiser
BornJune 23, 1971 (1971-06-23) (age 53)
Pforzheim, Germany
NationalityAmerican/German
Alma materRuprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
Known forPodocytes, Glomerular diseases, Chronic kidney disease (CKD), Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR).
Awards
  • Young Investigator Award (German Society of Nephrology, 2005);
  • Scholar Award for Amino Acid Research (Ajinomoto, 2007);
  • Provost’s Award for Scholarly Activity (University of Miami, 2012);
  • Franz Volhard Award (German Society of Nephrology, 2016);
  • Research Faculty Award (Rush University Medical Center, 2017)
Scientific career
FieldsNephrology
InstitutionsUniversity of Texas Medical Branch
WebsiteOffice of the President - UTMB Health

Jochen Reiser (born June 23, 1971, in Pforzheim, Germany) is a physician-scientist and a healthcare leader. He is the President of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and CEO of the UTMB Health System,[1] which includes the oldest medical school and nursing school in Texas. As chief executive officer, he oversees the enterprise which includes multiple campuses, five health science colleges, the Galveston National Laboratory (BSL-4) and the Correctional Health Care Services for most of Texas.

Prior to joining the University of Texas Medical Branch, he served as the Ralph C Brown Professor and the Chairman of Medicine at Rush University Medical Center.[2] Reiser's research has provided important mechanistic insights into the molecular pathogenesis of kidney diseases.

Reiser discovered the role of suPAR (soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor) as a global, circulating risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD)[3] and for acute kidney injury (AKI).[4]

suPAR is investigated as potential causative agent contributing to many kidney diseases including focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). These studies have broad clinical significance and lay the foundation for creation of novel diagnostics and pharmaco-therapeutics with potential benefit for a large patient population. His studies on suPAR molecule were featured in Science in 2018.[5] Reiser has been an advocate of science and innovation for two decades and was named as an inventor on multiple patents. He is co-founder of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Walden Biosciences,[6] an ARCH Venture Partners joint-venture biopharmaceutical portfolio company dedicated to develop first-in-class therapeutics for kidney diseases.

  1. ^ "Jochen Reiser appointed by UT Regents as next president of The University of Texas Medical Branch". utmb.edu.
  2. ^ "Rush University – Internal Medicine – Faculty Directory". rush.edu.
  3. ^ Hayek, Salim S.; Sever, Sanja; Ko, Yi-An; Trachtman, Howard; Awad, Mosaab; Wadhwani, Shikha; Altintas, Mehmet M.; Wei, Changli; Hotton, Anna L.; French, Audrey L.; Sperling, Laurence S.; Lerakis, Stamatios; Quyyumi, Arshed A.; Reiser, Jochen (2015). "Soluble Urokinase Receptor and Chronic Kidney Disease". New England Journal of Medicine. 373 (20). nejm.org: 1916–1925. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1506362. PMC 4701036. PMID 26539835.
  4. ^ Hayek, Salim S.; Leaf, David E.; Samman Tahhan, Ayman; Raad, Mohamad; Sharma, Shreyak; Waikar, Sushrut S.; Sever, Sanja; Camacho, Alex; Wang, Xuexiang; Dande, Ranadheer R.; Ibrahim, Nasrien E.; Baron, Rebecca M.; Altintas, Mehmet M.; Wei, Changli; Sheikh-Hamad, David; Pan, Jenny S.-C.; Holliday, Michael W.; Januzzi, James L.; Weisbord, Steven D.; Quyyumi, Arshed A.; Reiser, Jochen (2020). "Soluble Urokinase Receptor and Acute Kidney Injury". New England Journal of Medicine. 382 (5). nejm.org: 416–426. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1911481. PMC 7065830. PMID 31995687.
  5. ^ "What's your risk of kidney disease, heart attack, or diabetes? A single molecule can tell". sciencemag.org.
  6. ^ "Walden Biosciences".