WashU Nephrology bids a heartfelt farewell to postdoctoral research fellow Kohei Omachi, PhD, who is returning to Japan after almost five years of research in the Jeff Miner Laboratory. He will be taking a position at the RIKEN Institute in Kobei.
Dr. Omachi has been a prolific researcher of the inherited disease Alport syndrome during his time in the Miner Lab, as well as during his PhD thesis research. He recently received a Cecil Alport Award for his research presented at the 2021 Online International Workshop on Alport Syndrome, where his work titled “A new COL4A4-G394S missense variant in a patient with TBMN/mild ARAS affects a3a4a5(IV) heterotrimer formation” was chosen as Best Genetics Poster. He also presented his work at one of the online Alport workshops hosted by Alport UK in 2020 and in person at the first Extracellular Matrix Pharmacology Congress in Copenhagen in 2022.
“I have had an exciting five years in the Miner lab. I was very lucky to have wonderful mentors, lab members, collaborators, and environment. My experience at WashU is an invaluable asset for my future career! I look forward to the future success of WashU Nephrology.
Kohei Omachi
Thank you all!”
“Kohei brought new expertise and innovative ideas to the lab, along with tireless devotion to bench research,” says Jeffrey Miner, PhD, FASN, Eduardo and Judith Slatopolsky Professor of Medicine and Director of Basic Research, Nephrology. “His diverse knowledge and willingness to share it with other researchers has been a huge asset to the lab and to the Division as a whole. He will be missed!”
We wish much success and happiness to you in your new venture, Kohei!
Pictures from another going away party, held on the 8th floor of the McDonnell Medical Science Building. (Credit Dr. Meei-Hua Lin):
Please check out Dr. Omachi’s first-authored articles:
- Comparative analysis of dCas9-VP64 variants and multiplexed guide RNAs mediating CRISPR activation, 2022
- A COL4A4-G394S Variant and Impaired Collagen IV Trimerization in a Patient with Mild Alport Syndrome, 2022 (co-first author)
- PPARδ agonism ameliorates renal fibrosis in an Alport syndrome mouse model, 2022
- NanoLuc reporters identify COL4A5 nonsense mutations susceptible to drug-induced stop codon readthrough, 2022
- Metformin ameliorates the severity of experimental Alport syndrome, 2021
- Alport Syndrome Therapeutics: Ready for Prime-Time Players, 2019
Please follow @JeffMinerPhD and @AlportSyndFndn on Twitter and keep up with our Division at @WUNephrology.