Rannar Airik, PhD

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Developmental Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Scholar, Richard King Mellon Institute for Pediatric Research, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

Education

Graduate School:
2008 PhD, Molecular Biology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

Post Doctoral Training:
2014 Human Molecular Genetics, Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
2013 Human Molecular Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
2008 Molecular Biology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

Research Interests

Through his research, Rannar Airik, PhD, is focused on opening avenues to target chronic kidney disease by improving our understanding of how impaired DNA damage response contributes to renal degeneration and fibrosis. His prior work characterized the molecular function of several genes that, if mutated, cause nephronophthisis, a genetic form of childhood chronic kidney disease. His work found that discovered genes encode components of DNA damage-response-signaling pathways and play important roles in DNA repair and cell cycle regulation. Using transgenic mice and renal injury models, he now investigates the molecular mechanisms of nephronophthisis and how DNA damage affects renal homeostasis and regeneration capacity. 

View Dr. Airik's full list of publications from PubMed.

View Dr. Airik’s lab website.