Konstantinos Lazaridis

SUMMARY

The research interests of Konstantinos N. Lazaridis, M.D., include genetic susceptibility to the environmental contributors to chronic cholestatic liver diseases and the biology of biliary epithelia.

The overarching aims of the research program in Dr. Lazaridis' Genomic Hepatobiology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic are to elucidate the genetic predisposition and the genetic-environmental interaction that contribute to the development and outcome of chronic cholestatic liver diseases, namely primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis are progressive cholestatic liver diseases that lead to hepatic failure and shorten patient life expectancy. Both diseases are likely caused by immune-mediated damage of the epithelial cells that line the bile ducts in genetically predisposed individuals as a reaction to probable environmental insult or insults.

Yet, the putative genetic loci and the proposed environmental element or elements involved in susceptibility to primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis have not been explained, preventing the development of novel, rational therapies.

Dr. Lazaridis joined the staff at Mayo Clinic in 2000. He was a Mayo Foundation Scholar in Genomics in the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland from 2000 to 2002. He was elected member of The American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2015.

Focus areas

• Resource compilation for research on primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis. Dr. Lazaridis and his colleagues have created and maintained the largest nationwide research resource of primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis probands, including a family registry. This unique resource is linked to a longitudinal clinical database and to a repository of genomic DNA and cell lines as well as serum, plasma, and other biospecimens from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis and selected family members of the enrolled patients.
• Ongoing research studies on primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis. Dr. Lazaridis' laboratory uses these research resources and state-of-the-art experimental methods to systematically investigate the genetic and environmental components that predispose to the development and outcome of primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Significance to patient care

Dr. Lazaridis hopes his team's findings will improve the prognosis, therapy and outcome of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis or primary sclerosing cholangitis by better understanding the genetic susceptibility and environmental risk factors that participate in the development and outcome of these diseases.

Professional highlights

• Executive Director, Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 2021-present
• Member, The American Society for Clinical Investigation, 2015-present; The American Society for Human Genetics, 2003-present; American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, 2002-present; American Gastroenterological Association, 2011-present; and European Association for the Study of the Liver, 1997-present
• Recipient, New Investigator Award, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 2007
• Recipient, Research Scholar Award, Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition, American Gastroenterological Association, 2002
• Recipient, Donald C. Balfour Award for meritorious research, Mayo Clinic Alumni Association, 1998