Mark Knepper, M.D., Ph.D.

The Epithelial Systems Biology Laboratory, headed by Mark Knepper, uses systems biology-based approaches to study how the kidney regulates water excretion. This involves use of large-scale data acquisition techniques, such as protein mass spectrometry and ‘next-generation’ DNA sequencing technologies to discover molecular mechanisms involved in renal water transport. Much of the focus is on regulation of molecular water channels (aquaporins) by the hormone vasopressin in renal collecting duct epithelial cells. The Epithelial Systems Biology Laboratory is a small close-knit group of scientists devoted to development and exploitation of cutting-edge experimental and computational tools for these studies.

Mark Knepper received a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, and a M.D. from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), and has an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Aarhus in Denmark. He has been a NIH scientist since 1978 and is currently head of the Epithelial Systems Biology Laboratory at the NHLBI. Dr. Knepper has received the H.W. Smith Award (the highest award of the American Society of Nephrology), the R.W. Berliner Award at Yale University, the C.W. Gottschalk Award of the American Physiological Society, the Hugh Davson Lectureship of the American Physiological Society, and the D.W. Seldin Lectureship of the American Heart Association (Council on the Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease). He has published over 400 peer-reviewed papers on renal physiology, hypertension, nephrology, and systems biology. His editorial positions have spanned the American Journal of Physiology, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Dr. Knepper is a member of the American Heart Association, American Physiological Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society of Nephrology, and Biomedical Engineering Society.