**Hitoshi Suzuki**

Hitoshi Suzuki, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor of the Department of Nephrology at Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Juntendo University, Faculty of Medicine. He has investigated genetic factors, the role of bone-marrow-derived cells, and mucosal immunity involved in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy. After the postgraduate course, he studied abroad at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA to study molecular mechanisms of IgA nephropathy from 2005 to 2009 (mentor: Prof. Jan Novak). We have cloned IgA- and IgG-secreting cell lines from patients with IgA nephropathy and healthy controls and have analyzed molecular mechanisms and characteristics of aberrantly glycosylated IgA1 (galactose-deficient IgA1; Gd-IgA1) and the anti-Gd-IgA1 antibodies that formed the nephritogenic immune complexes. Furthermore, we have proposed 'A Multi-hit Mechanism', the widely accepted concept of pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy.
