Award

Postdoc Kohei Omachi Receives Cecil Alport Award for Genetics Poster

Congratulations to WashU Nephrology postdoc research scholar Kohei Omachi, PhD, who received a Cecil Alport Award for his research presented at the 2021 Online International Workshop on Alport Syndrome.

The workshop was an opportunity for the Alport community to discuss the latest research, new therapies and clinical trials, as well as to connect with patients (see program here).  

Omachi, an investigator in the Miner Laboratory, received the Best Genetics Poster Award for his work titled A new COL4A4-G394S missense variant in a patient with TBMN/mild ARAS affects a3a4a5(IV) heterotrimer formation

The award is named in honor of Arthur Cecil Alport, MD, (1880-1959) the physician who first described the main features of the syndrome in a British family in 1927.  Alport syndrome is caused by an inherited defect in type IV collagen, which is needed for the normal function of different parts of the body.  The syndrome is characterized by glomerulonephritis, end-stage kidney disease and hearing loss.  See more about Alport syndrome on the Miner Laboratory website.

At the end of the workshop, Cecil Alport Awards were presented by Carole Alport Taylor, Dr. Alport’s granddaughter, for best posters in a variety of categories, as well as for best questions put forth during the workshop, as determined by the organizing committee. 

On Twitter, follow @JeffMinerPhD, @AlportSyndFndn, @alportuk, and keep up to date with the Washington University in St. Louis Division of Nephrology at @WUNephrology.