2025 PRESENTER PROFILES
Shared Genetic Etiologies between Type 2 Diabetes and Related Complications and Comorbidities
Monday, June 23, at 8:00 a.m. CT
Room W190 A • McCormick Place Convention Center
Genetic and Molecular Pathways of Chronic Kidney Disease
Katalin Susztak, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine and Genetics,
University Of Pennsylvania
What is your presentation about?
My presentation focuses on how shared genetic factors contribute to type 2 diabetes and its complications, particularly diabetic kidney disease (diabetic nephropathy). Using large-scale genetic and genomic data, we identify genes that not only increase the risk for diabetes but also for kidney damage. Our work shows that many of these genes affect the function and metabolism of proximal tubule cells in the kidney, offering new insights into disease mechanisms. This helps explain why some individuals with diabetes develop kidney disease while others do not.
How do you hope your presentation will impact diabetes research or care?
By uncovering the genetic drivers and cellular mechanisms of diabetic nephropathy, we aim to improve early detection and guide the development of targeted therapies. Our goal is to enable more personalized approaches to diabetes care, especially for patients at high risk of kidney complications.
How did you become involved with this area of diabetes research or care?
As a physician-scientist caring for patients with diabetes and kidney disease, I became interested in understanding why kidney complications occur in some patients but not others. This led me to study the genetic and molecular mechanisms that drive diabetic nephropathy, with a focus on how gene variants alter proximal tubule cell function and metabolism.
