Sudhir Kumar, PhD

Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

My long-term research goal is to elucidate the cells and signals regulating kidney and urinary tract development. Specifically, I am interested in stromal mesenchymal cells, renin-expressing cells, pericytes, and podocyte biology, and in their roles in kidney homeostasis and injury. I have extensive training in kidney developmental biology, mouse models for human diseases, molecular biology, molecular genetics, and veterinary medicine. I completed my PhD in mouse genetics from LMU Munich, Germany. I did my postdoctoral training in Dr. Weining Lu’s lab at the Renal Section, Boston University Medical Campus. Currently, I am involved in different interdisciplinary research projects, which include: (1) the Role of Slit-Robo signaling in kidney development and podocyte biology and injury, and (2) the role of transcription factor ZEB2 in kidney development and disease. In addition, I am actively mentoring and training Boston University graduate and undergraduate students.

Publications

  • Published 1/23/2026

    Kumar S, Fan X, Pattam H, Yan K, Liaw EJ, Ji J, Zaltz E, Song P, Jiang Y, Nishizaki Y, Higashi Y, Cai CL, Lu W. Transcription factor ZEB2 is essential for ureteral smooth muscle cell differentiation. PLoS Genet. 2026 Jan; 22(1):e1012028. PMID: 41576029.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/16/2025

    Urae S, Wang Z, Kumar S, Chen HA, Henderson JM, Beck LH, Borkan SC. Nucleophosmin Promotes Regulated Cell Death in Podocyte Injury. Kidney360. 2026 Jan 01; 7(1):35-48. PMID: 40956614.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 7/2/2025

    Shoushtari SI, Liaw E, Alluri S, Sheikh Z, Kumar S, Huynh C, Schmidt IM, Ness S, Chen X, Siegel NH, Waikar SS, Stein TD, Lu W, Subramanian ML. The Association Between SLIT2 in Human Vitreous Humor and Plasma and Neurocognitive Test Scores. bioRxiv. 2025 Jul 02. PMID: 40631316.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 2/25/2025

    Kumar S, Fan X, Pattam H, Yan K, Liaw EJ, Ji J, Zaltz E, Song P, Jiang Y, Nishizaki Y, Higashi Y, Cai CL, Lu W. ZEB2 signaling is essential for ureteral smooth muscle cell differentiation and maintenance. bioRxiv. 2025 Feb 25. PMID: 40060690.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/16/2025

    Hayashi N, Kumar S, Trivin-Avillach C, Fan X, Stoddard SV, Akai R, Fujimoto K, Iwawaki T, Yokoyama H, Furuichi K, Beck LH. Characterization of FAM114A1: a novel podocyte cytoskeleton-associated protein upregulated in glomerular injury. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2025 Feb 01; 328(2):F289-F299. PMID: 39819080.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 14 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Websites

Education

  • Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, PhD
  • Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), MVSc
  • Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), BVSc

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