Congratulations to Ignacio Portales-Castillo, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, WashU Nephrology, for receiving an award from the 18th annual Clinical and Translational Research Funding Program (CTRFP). Sponsored by the WashU Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) and The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and ICTS partner institutions Saint Louis University and the University of Missouri-Columbia, the CTRFP supports projects that turn scientific discoveries into tangible advancements in human health.
Dr. Portales-Castillo is one of 18 awardees for 2025. A physician-scientist who joined the division in 2022, he provides inpatient and outpatient nephrology consults at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and conducts research on parathyroid hormone receptor function in the laboratory of Roberto Civitelli, MD, the Sydney M. and Stella H. Shoenberg Chair in Medicine and Chief of the Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases.
His award-winning project, “Creatine-induced Downregulation of Glycine Amidinotransferase (GATM) as a Treatment for Hereditary Kidney Disease,” addresses a hereditary form of kidney failure caused by mutations in the GATM gene. These mutations lead to the accumulation of a dysfunctional protein, AGAT, in kidney cells, causing injury. Creatine—a benign supplement—has shown promise in reducing AGAT production and restoring energy levels.
“We developed a genetic mouse that has the human disease. If creatine can prevent renal failure in our mouse, we can use creatine, a benign supplement, to prevent renal failure in humans with GATM mutations.”
Ignacio Portales-Castillo
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