Indra R. Gupta

Nephrology

I love working with children and their families because on a daily basis I learn lessons about how to live life fully from the children and families that I have the pleasure of looking after.

Hospital information

Academic appointments

Associate Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Human Genetics, and Experimental Medicine

Education

University

B.Sc. Med., University of Alberta

Medical Degree

University of Alberta

Residency

Pediatrics, McMaster University

Fellowship(s)

Pediatric Nephrology, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto

Fun fact about me

I enjoy camping with my family.

Research

Research interests

My research program is focused on understanding how congenital kidney and urinary tract defects occur in children.  I am passionate about this pursuit because in my work as a pediatric nephrologist,  I see the incredible challenges that children face as they undergo dialysis and renal transplantation.  In one project, we are identifying genes that lead to a congenital urinary tract defect known as vesico-ureteric reflux that puts children at risk for recurrent urine infections.  In a second project, we are studying the role of the tight junction proteins, or claudins, during kidney development.  The third project examines  a kidney disorder known as nephrotic syndrome, in which there is excessive loss of protein in the urine.   At the bench, we are using cell lines and animal models to understand these defects, and at the bedside, we are translating our findings by studying affected children.

Keywords

Congenital kidney and urinary tract development, nephrotic syndrome, vesico-ureteric reflux, animal models, translational research

Selected publications

Gbadegesin RA, Brophy PD, Adeyemo A, Hall G, Gupta IR, Hains D, Bartkowiak B, Rabinovich CE, Chandrasekharappa S, Homstad A, Westreich K, Wu G, Liu Y, Holanda D, Clarke J, Lavin P, Selim A, Miller S, Wiener JS, Ross SS, Foreman J, Rotimi C, Winn MP, TNXB mutations can cause vesicoureteral reflux. J Am Soc Nephrol. 24(8):1313-22,  2013 Jul.

El Andalousi J, Murawski IJ, Capolicchio JP, El-Sherbiny M, Jednak R, Gupta IR, A single-center cohort of Canadian children with VUR reveals renal phenotypes important for genetic studies. Pediatr Nephrol. 28(9):1813-9, 2013 Sep.

Bowen SE, Watt CL, Murawski IJ, Gupta IR, Abraham SN, Interplay between vesicoureteric reflux and kidney infection in the development of reflux nephropathy in mice, Dis Model Mech. 6(4):934-41, 2013 Jul.

Gupta IR, Baldwin C, Auguste D, Ha KC, El Andalousi J, Fahiminiya S, Bitzan M, Bernard C, Akbari MR, Narod SA, Rosenblatt DS, Majewski J, Takano T, ARHGDIA: a novel gene implicated in nephrotic syndrome, J Med Genet. 50(5):330-8, 2013 May.

Haddad N, El Andalousi J, Khairallah H, Yu M, Ryan AK, Gupta IR, The tight junction protein claudin-3 shows conserved expression in the nephric duct and ureteric bud and promotes tubulogenesis in vitro,  Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 301(5):F1057-65, 2011 Nov.