Becknell Lab
Congenital disorders, including congenital obstructive uropathy, are the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children. Apart from surgery to relieve obstruction and repair its anatomic origins, there are no specific medical interventions to prevent progressive CKD in children with obstructive uropathy. Urinary tract infections (UTI) rank among the most common bacterial infections in children, and certain children who have them may develop permanent renal scarring. While antibiotics can eradicate uropathogenic bacteria, there are no specific therapies to prevent renal scarring from UTI. The Becknell Lab therefore aims to identify and implement medical therapies to prevent kidney injury in response to obstructive and infectious insults.
To identify novel treatment options, the Becknell Lab studies the mechanisms responsible for kidney injury and recovery in response to urinary tract obstruction and infection. In obstructive uropathy, the primary focus is to clarify the protective roles of urothelium in preserving kidney function and preventing kidney injury. The lab’s team aims to manipulate the urothelium to enhance its renoprotective mechanisms and to utilize urothelial biomarkers to identify patients with clinically significant urinary tract obstruction. In the setting of urinary tract infections (UTI), the Becknell Lab team studies the role of phagocyte derived antimicrobial peptides in eradicating bacterial uropathogens and preventing kidney injury. We utilize the laboratory mouse as a preclinical model of urinary tract obstruction and infection. We employ transgenic and knockout strategies to manipulate specific genetic pathways and test their roles in these disease states. We reply on cell culture based experiments to investigate these pathways at a mechanistic level. We collaborate with partners in nephrology and urology to translate our discoveries to patients with obstructive uropathy and UTI.
Lab Staff
Michael Brian Becknell, MD, PhD
Principal Investigator
Brian.Becknell2@NationwideChildrens.org
M. Brian Becknell, MD, PhD, grew up in central Ohio and attended Kenyon College. He received his medical and doctorate degrees from The Ohio State University and completed his pediatric residency and nephrology fellowship training at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Becknell undertook his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Kirk McHugh, PhD, where he developed the skills needed to study the roles of urothelium during states of urinary tract obstruction and infection. In 2013, Dr. Becknell joined the faculty at Nationwide Children’s Hospital as a principal investigator.
Hanna Cortado
Senior Research Associate
Hanna.Cortado@NationwideChildrens.org
Hanna received her bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from University of the Philippines. She worked in aquaculture research at the Southeast Asian Fisheries and Development Center before acquiring her master’s degree in Food Science and Technology at The Ohio State University, where she studied antibiotic resistance in gut microbiome in the laboratory of Hua Wang, PhD. After graduating, Hanna joined the Partida Lab in the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s and helped investigate aspects of cellular host immune responses to urinary tract infections. Hanna then had a brief stint at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia, working on animal models of osteosarcoma before joining the Becknell Lab in 2016. Currently, Hanna’s work with Dr. Becknell focuses on describing the role of RNase 6 in host defense against cystitis and pyelonephritis.
Rollin Li
Senior Research Associate
Rollin.Li@NationwideChildrens.org
Rollin joined the Becknell Lab in 2013. His work is focused on understanding the role of urothelium during urinary tract obstruction. He also collaborates with other labs in the center on projects requiring small animal surgical techniques. Previously, he worked with Sheryl Justice, PhD, to investigate the molecular interactions between host cells and bacteria in a mouse model of urinary tract infection (UTI). Rollin received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from Amoy University in China.
Yusuf Ali, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist
Yusuf.Ali@NationwideChildrens.org
Yusuf received his master's degree in Pharmacy from University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh; and doctorate in Pharmacology at Mie University, Japan for studying the regulation of aldosterone synthesis and cardiac protective role of SGLT2 inhibitor. After graduation, Yusuf moved to the U.S. and joined Dr. Celso Gomez-Sanchez’s lab at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) where he studied the mechanistic regulation of adrenal steroidogenesis and Mineralocorticoid Receptor activity. He joined Nationwide Children's Hospital in September 2023 and currently his work focuses on elucidating the role of RNase 3 and 6 in combating pathogens responsible for UTI and how their activity is regulated. His goal is to build extensive experience on the biology of the urinary tract and continue research on the regulation mechanism of antimicrobial peptides, and associated partners in host defense against UTI.
Macie Kercsmar
Research Associate
Macie.Kercsmar@NationwideChildrens.org