Joseph P. Gaut, MD, PhD

Research Interests

My research is focused on improved diagnostic methods for renal disease. My recent work involves acute kidney injury pathology, diagnostics, and therapeutics. We identified myo-inositol oxygenase (MIOX) as an abundant, kidney specific protein and developed a sensitive immunoassay for its quantification in plasma and urine.  Our studies demonstrated that plasma MIOX is increased following acute kidney injury in animals and humans.  Importantly, plasma MIOX increased two days prior to the increase in creatinine. The substrate for MIOX, myo-inositol, shows similar properties. Both MIOX and myo-inositol are actively under investigation in our group. We continue to explore the pathology of kidney injury in various clinical settings.

In close collaboration with Dr. Joshua Swamidass, we developed the first artificial intelligence technology to assist pathologists with quantitative assessment of donor kidney biopsy whole slide images generated from frozen sections. We demonstrated the superiority of these methods compared with current standard of care with a potential 37% decrease in the likelihood of organ discard if computer assisted techniques are deployed for clinical use. This approach is now used clinically in our organ procurement service here at Washington University. We continue to develop improved image analysis technologies to transform biopsy evaluation to include objective, quantitative data that correlates with outcomes.

I am active in the national Human Molecular BioMolecular Atlas Program, and the Kidney Precision Medicine Project. I have served as the chair of multiple national committees including the Kidney Precision Medicine Project Pathology Committee, and the Renal Pathology Society Research and Scientific, Membership, and Program Committees.