Fond Farewell to Drs. Hani Suleiman and Ewa Langner

Hani Suleiman to start lab at UT Southwestern Medical Center

WashU Nephrology bids a fond farewell to Hani Suleiman, MD, PhD, who is taking a position as Assistant Professor of Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Division of Nephrology, with a joint appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Dr. Suleiman’s research focuses on podocytopathies, a group of glomerular diseases that affect the kidney’s ability to filter the blood, and that often lead to kidney failure.

“My stay at WashU has been amazing. I started as a postdoctoral fellow with Drs. Andrew Shaw and Jeffrey Miner working on podocyte biology in the Department of Pathology & Immunology at WashU in 2007. I learned so much from both of them, and with their mentorship and advice I achieved my independence as a faculty member in 2014.”
Hani Suleiman

Suleiman received a Young Investigator Award from NephCure Kidney International organization in 2014 to study kidney podocytes using cutting-edge microscopy approaches. His group was the first to adapt the then new super-resolution microscopy techniques to the kidney field. The innovative techniques were developed while he was working in the laboratory of Dr. Shaw and continued when he came to our division in 2016. He also received a Neptune Foundation grant in 2016, an American Heart Association award in 2019, and his first NIH R01 grant in 2022.

“Best of luck to Hani as he takes off for a tenure-track position at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas,” says Jeffrey Miner, PhD, Eduardo and Judith Slatopolsky Endowed Professor of Medicine in Nephrology. “We are all so proud of his accomplishments! Our journey together in podocyte mechanobiology continues . . . stay tuned!”

Ewa Langner, whose research focuses on ciliopathies, recently celebrated three scientific publications.

Ewa Langner, PhD, a postdoc in the Moe Mahjoub’s laboratory at WashU Nephrology will join Suleiman in Texas as Instructor in the Division of Nephrology. Dr. Langner’s research focuses on ciliopathies, a group of genetic diseases that disrupt the kidney’s development and lead to polycystic and fibrotic renal disease. She received a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) to join the lab Mahjoub lab, which ultimately turned into a five-year stay.

“My five-year-long, amazing adventure at WashU in the Mahjoub’s Lab has come to an end. I am extremely grateful for how much I have learned and all the opportunities that have come my way. The biggest thank you goes to my great mentor, Dr. Moe Mahjoub, but also to the faculty of Nephrology Division and the Cilia and Centrosome Group at WashU.”
Ewa Langner

The Mahjoub Laboratory, headed by Moe Mahjoub, PhD, Associate Professor, Nephrology, focuses on defining the roles of centrosome-cilium complex during kidney development and homeostasis.

“It’s always sad to say goodbye to such an amazing trainee, but I’m super happy for Ewa’s move to UT Southwestern Medical Center with Hani to start their group,” says Dr. Mahjoub, whose lab focuses on defining the roles of centrosome-cilium complex during kidney development and homeostasis. “I’m super proud of her and everything she has achieved! Dr. Langner recently celebrated three publications, one of which (JCI Insight, Feb 2024, vol 9, issue 4) has an image credited to Langner featured on the cover. I’m really looking forward to seeing all of the incredible things Ewa does in the next phase of her science journey”.