Jodie Babitt, MD, MGH Research Scholar Profile
Dr. Babitt studies how cells and organisms regulate their iron content, and how this process goes awry in many common diseases.
Iron Homeostasis in Health and Disease
Patricia and Scott Eston MGH Research Scholar 2019-2024
Physician Investigator, Division of Nephrology
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Iron is an essential nutrient that is important for the production of red blood cells and for optimal brain development. However, when iron is in excess or is distributed to the wrong places in the body, it can contribute to a number of disorders including liver disease, heart disease, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and vulnerability to infections.
My laboratory studies how cells and organisms regulate their iron content, and how this process goes awry in many common diseases.
We have used our discoveries to develop novel therapies that are being tested in clinical studies in human patients to treat anemia of chronic kidney disease, thereby taking our discoveries from the bench to the bedside.
Our future goals are to take innovative approaches to tackle fundamental unanswered questions about how iron balance is regulated, and to discover new treatment strategies for disorders related to iron imbalance.