Name: Seyedmohammad Ebrahim Tahaei, PhD

Institution: University of Maryland, Baltimore

Grant: Ben J. Lipps Research Fellowship Award (2019)

Project Title: Illuminating the mechanisms that control Salt balance in the face of NCC inhibition
 

How would you sum up your research in one sentence?

• My research focuses on the role of OXGR1 in salt transport and diuretic efficacy.
   

Provide a brief overview of the research you will conduct with help from the grant.

• Treatment of hypertension is challenging, partly because of its complicated etiology. Thus, hypertensive patients receive different categories of medications, that sometimes include a form of diuretics. In a portion of patients, diuretics lose its efficacy over time. Our preliminary data suggests that this phenomenon might stem from the activation of a compensatory salt reabsorption pathway in the distal nephron that is mediated by a secretory paracrine factor, a-KG, and its cognate receptor, OXGR1. However, the direct link between OXGR1 activation and salt reabsorption in the context of diuretic treatment has not been established. During my fellowship, I will study the role of OXGR1 activation on the development of thiazide resistance. 
   

What impact do you hope your research will have on patients?

• I hope that my research leads to the development of better pharmaceutical therapies for hypertension.
   

What are your short and long-term career goals?

• In two years, I plan to submit a K99 grant to start my independent academic career. In ten years, I will have my own lab and in addition to doing research, I will train the next generation of scientists.
   

What inspired you to focus your research in this area?

• Studying physiology and transport across epithelial barriers are rewarding and challenging. At the same time, helping patients is something that I would love to spend my life doing. Thus, studying kidney diseases was and still is a good choice as a fulfilling career because it combines both my passion and intellect! 
   

What advice would you give to others to encourage them to apply for this grant funding?

• Applying for a training fellowship is an excellent exercise for improving one’s grantsmanship especially as reviewers for the ASN fellowships are experts in the kidney field, one’s name will be recognized in the nephrology field, which is important for your future scientific career.
   

Something you may not know about me is…

• I am a trained virologist. During my Ph.D. I became more and more interested in physiology and finally did my Ph.D. in Pharmacology.
   

In my free time I like to…

• Hike. I have been backpacking in U.S national parks since I came to U.S. and I am looking forward to expanding this hiking adventures to Europe and New Zealand!