Ali G Gharavi, MD

Nephrology
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Overview

My objective is to bring personalized genomic nephrology from the laboratory into patient care.

Dr. Ali Gharavi is a kidney specialist with expertise in human genetics. He is the Jay Meltzer MD Professor of Nephrology and Hypertension and currently serves as Chair of the Department of Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Physician-in-Chief, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia. He previously served as the Chief of the Division of Nephrology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

The principal investigator on multiple research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Gharavi has specific interests in the genetics of kidney diseases, including IgA nephropathy and congenital abnormalities of the kidney and urinary tract. His research has identified genes and risk loci for many kidney diseases and has demonstrated the utility of sequencing for the diagnosis and management of patients with kidney disorders.

"Owing to the recent progress in genomic technologies, we now have the opportunity to make a precise genetic diagnosis for many patients and individualize care based on the specific molecular mechanism of disease. My objective is to therefore bring personalized genomic medicine from the laboratory into patient care," says Dr. Gharavi. As Department Chair, he aims to enhance access to genomic medicine for patients and reduce disparities for underserved populations.

After receiving his medical degree from George Washington University, Dr. Gharavi completed his Internal medicine residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center and fellowships in hypertension and nephrology, also at Mount Sinai. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in human genetics at Yale University School of Medicine. He previously held academic appointments at Yale University School of Medicine and Mount Sinai School of Medicine and hospital appointments at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Gharavi is the author of over 200 peer-reviewed publications and has led national and International committees related to genetic testing and research for kidney disorders. He was a recipient of the Judson Daland Prize for Outstanding Clinical Investigation from the American Philosophical Society, the National Kidney Foundation Clinical Scientist Award, and Homer Smith Award from the American Society of Nephrology. He was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians.

Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated

  • Chronic Glomerular Diseases

Academic Appointments

  • Jay Meltzer, MD Professor of Nephrology and Hypertension (in Medicine)

Administrative Titles

  • Chair, Department of Medicine

Hospital Affiliations

  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Gender

  • Male

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Location(s)

1150 St. Nicholas Avenue
New York, NY 10032
Primary

Insurance Accepted

Aetna

  • Aetna Signature Administrators
  • NY Signature
  • Student Health

Affinity Health Plan

  • Medicaid Managed Care

AgeWell

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • Special Needs

Amerigroup of New Jersey

  • New Jersey Services (Medicaid Managed Care)

Amida Care

  • Special Needs

Cigna

  • EPO
  • Great West (National)
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • POS
  • PPO

Emblem/GHI

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • PPO

Emblem/HIP

  • ConnectiCare
  • EPO
  • Essential Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • POS
  • PPO
  • Select Care (Exchange)
  • Vytra

Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield

  • EPO
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • PPO

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan

Fidelis Care

  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Healthfirst

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Leaf (Exchange)
  • Medicare Managed Care

Local 1199

  • Local 1199
  • NYP Employee Plan

MagnaCare (National)

  • MagnaCare

Medicare

  • Railroad
  • Traditional Medicare

Multiplan

  • Multiplan

MVP Health Care

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Quality Health Management

  • Quality Health Management

RiverSpring

  • Special Needs

UnitedHealthcare

  • Columbia University Employee Plan
  • Compass (Exchange)
  • Empire Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid (Community Plan)
  • Oxford Freedom
  • Oxford HMO
  • Oxford Liberty
  • POS
  • PPO

VNSNY CHOICE

  • SelectHealth

WellCare

  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • New Jersey Services (Medicaid Managed Care)

World Trade Center Health Plan

  • World Trade Center Health Plan

*Please contact the provider’s office directly to verify that your particular insurance is accepted.

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • George Washington University School of Medicine
  • Residency: Mount Sinai Medical Center
  • Fellowship: Mount Sinai Medical Center

Board Certifications

  • Nephrology

Honors & Awards

  • 1997 First Prize Fellow research award, New York /New Jersey National Kidney Foundation
  • 1997 Recognition Award for Young Physicians, American Society of Hypertension
  • 2000 Young Investigator Award, Emerald Foundation
  • 2003 Irving Clinical Scholar Award, Columbia University
  • 2004 Judson Daland Prize for Outstanding Clinical Investigation, American Philosophical Society
  • 2005 National Kidney Foundation Clinical Scientist Award
  • 2006 Zambetti fellowship, Columbia University 2009 Ewig Clinical Education Award, Columbia University
  • 2010 American Society of Clinical Investigation

Research

My research is focused on the molecular genetics of kidney diseases, particularly glomerular and developmental disorders. The long term objective is to identify specific genes and dysregulated pathways underlying kidney disorders in order to facilitate the development of new diagnostic tools and rational therapies. Learn more at the Gharavi Lab Web site.

Research Interests

  • Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urogenital tract
  • Glomerulosclerosis
  • IgA Nephropathy

Selected Publications

  • Gharavi AG, Yan Y, Scolari F, Schena FP, Frasca GM, Giggheri GM, Cooper K, Amoroso A, Viola BF, Battini G, Caridi G, Canova C, Farhi A, Subramanian V, Nelson-Williams C, Woodford S, Julian BA,Wyatt RJ, Lifton RP. (2000) IgA nephropathy, the most common cause of glomerulonephritis, is linked to 6q22-23. Nat. Genetics 26:354-7
  • Gharavi AG, Ahmad T, Wong RD, Hooshyar R, Vaughn J, Oller S, Frankel RZ , Bruggeman LA , D'Agati VD , Klotman PE , and Lifton RP. (2004) Mapping a Locus (HIVAN1) for Susceptibility to HIV-1 Associated Nephropathy to Mouse Chromosome 3 Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 101:2488-2493
  • Zheng Z, Ott-Schmitt K, Chua S., Foster K A., Frankel R Z., Barasch J, Pavlidis P., D' Agati VD, Gharavi AG. (2005) A Mendelian Locus on Chromosome 16 Determines Susceptibility to Doxorubicin Nephropathy In The Mouse. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 102:2502-2507
  • Gharavi AG, Moldoveanu Z, Wyatt RJ, Barker CV, Woodford SY, Lifton RP, Mestecky J, Novak J, Julian BA. (2008) Aberrant IgA1 Glycosylation is Inherited in Familial and Sporadic IgA Nephropathy J Am Soc Nephrol 19:1008-14
  • Papeta N, Chan KT, Prakash S, Martino J, Zheng Z, Frankel R, Klotman PE, D'Agati VD, Lifton, RP, Gharavi, AG. (2009) Susceptibility Loci for HIV- Associated Nephropathy encode trans-regulators of Podocyte Gene Expression. J Clin Invest 119:1178-88
  • Papeta N, Zheng Z, Schon EA, Brosel S, Altintas MM, Nasr SH, Reiser J, D'Agati VD, Gharavi AG. (2010) Prkdc participates in mitochondrial genome maintenance and prevents Adriamycin-induced nephropathy in mice. J Clin Invest. 20:4055-64
  • Gharavi AG, Kiryluk K, Choi M, Li Y, Hou P, Xie J, Sanna-Cherchi S, Men CJ, Julian BA, Wyatt RJ, Novak J, He JC, Wang H, Lv J, Zhu L, Wang W, Wang Z, Yasuno K, Gunel M, Mane S, Umlauf S, Tikhonova I, Beerman I, Savoldi S, Magistroni R, Ghiggeri GM, Bodria ( 2011 ) Genome wide association study identifies susceptibility loci for IgA nephropathy. Nat. Genetics 43:321-327
  • Sanna-Cherchi S., Burgess KE, Nees SN, Caridi G, Weng PL, Dagnino M, M, Carrea A, Allegretta MA, Kim HR, Perry BJ, Gigante M, Clark LN, Kisselev S, Cusi D, Loreto Gesualdo L, Allegri L, Scolari F, D'Agati VD, Shapiro LS, Pecoraro C, Palomero T, Ghiggeri G (2011) Exome Sequencing Identifies MYO1E and NEIL1 as Candidate Genes for Human Autosomal Recessive Steroid Resistant Nephrotic Syndrome. Kidney International 80:389-96
  • Kiryluk K, Li Y, Sanna-Cherchi S, Rohanizadegan M, Suzuki H, Eitner, Snyder HJ, Choi M, Hou P, Scolari F, Izzi C, Gigante M, Gesualdo L, Savoldi S, Amoroso A, Cusi D, Zamboli P, Julian BA, Novak J, Wyatt RJ, Mucha K, Perola M, KristianssonK, Magnusson PK, (2012) Geographic Differences in Genetic Susceptibility to IgA Nephropathy: GWAS Replication Study and Geospatial Risk Analysis PloS Genetics 8:e1002765
  • Lugani F, Arora R, Papeta N, Patel A, Zheng Z, Sterken R, Singer RA, Caridi G, Mendelsohn C, Sussel L, Papaioannou VE, Gharavi AG. (2013) A retrotransposon insertion in the 5' regulatory domain of Ptf1a results in ectopic gene expression and multiple congenital defects in Danforth's short tail mouse. PloS Genetics 9:e1003206
  • Sanna-Cherchi S, Sampogna RV, Papeta N, Burgess KE, Nees SN, Perry BJ, Choi M, Bodria M, Liu Y, Weng PL, Lozanovski VJ, Verbitsky M, Lugani F, Sterken R, Paragas N, Caridi G, Carrea A, Dagnino M, Materna-Kiryluk A, Santamaria G, Murtas C, Ristoska-Bojkovs (2013) Mutations in DSTYK and Dominant Urinary Tract Malformations. N Engl J Med. (in press)