Senior Scientist, Chronic Disease Program
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Professor, Medicine / Cellular & Molecular Medicine
University of Ottawa

Dr. Kennedy’s research program has been funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), the Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFOC), and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. He was a CIHR New Investigator Scholar. He has held CIHR operating grants continuously since 2001, seeking to identify factors such as prostaglandins and reactive oxygen species responsible for mediating damage to cells within the kidney’s filtration barrier – known as podocytes. Such injury results in abnormal leakage of protein into the urine. Identifying the specific factors responsible for filtration barrier injury may reveal a novel therapeutic target for the prevention of glomerular diseases. Most recently, his work defined a critical role for a novel NADPH oxidase isoform (Nox5) in diabetic kidney disease. Dr. Kennedy’s KFOC-funded research has shed light on how mutations in the alpha-actinin-4 gene lead to an inherited form of a common kidney disease - focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). This research project employs transgenic technology to reproduce this disease state in mice so that its progression can be better studied and novel therapies developed.

1 N. C. Read, . C. E. Holterman and C.R. Kennedy. Nox and renal disease. Clinical Science 2015; 128: 465-481.

2 C. E. Holterman, J. F. Thibodeau and C. R. Kennedy. NADPH oxidase 5 and renal disease. Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens 2015; 24: 81-87.

3 C. R. Kennedy. Nitrate, Nitrite, and Nitric Oxide Find a Home in the Kidney by Offsetting Angiotensin II-Mediated Hypertension. Hypertension 2015; 65: 31-33.

4 D. Burger, J. F. Thibodeau, C. E. Holterman, K. D. Burns, R. M. Touyz and C. R. Kennedy. Urinary Podocyte Microparticles Identify Prealbuminuric Diabetic Glomerular Injury. J Am Soc Nephrol 2014 25: 1401-1407.

5 C. E. Holterman, J.-F. o. Thibodeau, C. Towaij, A. Gutsol, A. C. Montezano, R. J. Parks, M. E. Cooper, R. M. Touyz and C. R. J. Kennedy. Nephropathy and Elevated BP in Mice with Podocyte-Specific NADPH Oxidase 5 Expression. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology 2014 25: 784-797.

6 C. R. Kennedy. Nitrate, Nitrite, and Nitric Oxide Find a Home in the Kidney by Offsetting Angiotensin II-Mediated Hypertension. Hypertension 2014;

7 R. J. Mailloux, J. Y. Xuan, S. McBride, W. Maharsy, S. Thorn, C. E. Holterman, C. R. Kennedy, P. Rippstein, R. Dekemp, J. Da Silva, M. Nemer, M. Lou and M. E. Harper. Glutaredoxin-2 is Required to Control Oxidative Phosphorylation in Cardiac Muscle by Mediating Deglutathionylation Reactions. J Biol Chem 2014; 289: 14812-14828.

8 N. C. Read, A. Gutsol, C. E. Holterman, A. Carter, J. Coulombe, D. A. Gray and C. R. Kennedy. Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 deletion ameliorates glomerular injury in mice with ACTN4-associated focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Biochim Biophys Acta 2014; 1842: 1028-1040.

9 D. Z. I. Cherney, B. Zinman, C. R. J. Kennedy, R. Moineddin, V. Lai, S. Yang, J. A. Miller, S. D. Prokopec, P. C. Boutros, J. W. Scholey and H. N. Reich. Long-term hemodynamic and molecular effects persist after discontinued renin-angiotensin system blockade in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Kidney Int 2013; 84: 1246-1253.

10 C. M. Cuerrier, Y. X. Chen, D. Tremblay, K. Rayner, M. McNulty, X. Zhao, C. R. Kennedy, J. de BelleRoche, A. E. Pelling and E. R. O''Brien. Chronic over-expression of heat shock protein 27 attenuates atherogenesis and enhances plaque remodeling: a combined histological and mechanical assessment of aortic lesions. PLoS One 2013; 8: e55867.

11 N. Drapeau, F. Lizotte, B. Denhez, A. Guay, C. R. Kennedy and P. Geraldes. Expression of SHP-1 induced by hyperglycemia prevents insulin actions in podocytes. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2013; 304: E1188-98.

12 C. Patrick, G. S. Wang, D. E. Lefebvre, J. A. Crookshank, B. Sonier, C. Eberhard, M. Mojibian, C. R. Kennedy, S. P. Brooks, M. L. Kalmokoff, M. Maglio, R. Troncone, P. Poussier and F. W. Scott. Promotion of autoimmune diabetes by cereal diet in the presence or absence of microbes associated with gut immune activation, regulatory imbalance, and altered cathelicidin antimicrobial Peptide. Diabetes 2013; 62: 2036-47.

13 M. Sedeek, A. Gutsol, A. C. Montezano, D. Burger, A. Nguyen Dinh Cat, C. R. Kennedy, K. D. Burns, M. E. Cooper, K. A. Jandeleit-Dahm, P. Page, C. Szyndralewiez, F. Heitz, R. L. Hebert and R. M. Touyz. Renoprotective effects of a novel Nox1/4 inhibitor in a momodel of type 2 diabetes. Clin Sci (Lond) 2013; 124(3): 191-202.

Diabetes; Hypertension; Kidney disease