Marcus G. Pezzolesi

Marcus G. Pezzolesi, PhD, MPH

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Adjunct - Human Genetics , Primary - Internal Medicine

Divisions: Nephrology & Hypertension

Dr. Marcus Pezzolesi is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine in the University of Utah’s Division of Nephrology and Hypertension and its Diabetes and Metabolism Center and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Genetics. After attending the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA, he completed his Ph.D. training in Biological Sciences, with a focus on Human Genetics, at The Ohio State University followed by a Master’s of Public Health in Quantitative Methods at the Harvard School of Public Health. He completed his post-doctoral training as a member of the Joslin Diabetes Center’s Section on Genetics and Epidemiology and as an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Education History

Undergraduate University of Massachusetts Amherst
 BS
Graduate Training Northeastern University
 Graduate Certificate
Doctoral Training Ohio State University
 PhD
Fellowship Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic
 Predoctoral Research Fellow
Research Fellow Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School
 Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Graduate Training Harvard School of Public Health
 MPH

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Lazaro-Guevara J, Fierro-Morales J, Wright AH, Gunville R, Simeone C, Frodsham SG, Pezzolesi MH, Zaffino CA, Al-Rabadi L, Ramkumar N, Pezzolesi M (2021). Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing Identifies Pathogenic Variants in Diabetic Kidney Disease. American journal of nephrology, 52(3), 1-11.
  2. Salem RM, Todd JN, Sandholm N, Cole JB, Chen WM, Andrews D, Pezzolesi MG, McKeigue PM, Hiraki LT, Qiu C, Nair V, Di Liao C, Cao JJ, Valo E, Onengut-Gumuscu S, Smiles AM, McGurnaghan SJ, Haukka JK, Harjutsalo V, Brennan EP, van Zuydam N, Ahlqvist E, Doyle R, Ahluwalia TS, Lajer M, Hughes MF, Park J, Skupien J, Spiliopoulou A, Liu A, Menon R, Boustany-Kari CM, Kang HM, Nelson RG, Klein R, Klein BE, Lee KE, Gao X, Mauer M, Maestroni S, Caramori ML, de Boer IH, Miller RG, Guo J, Boright AP, Tregouet D, Gyorgy B, Snell-Bergeon JK, Maahs DM, Bull SB, Canty AJ, Palmer CNA, Stechemesser L, Paulweber B, Weitgasser R, Sokolovska J, Rov'te V, P'r¿gs V, Prakapiene E, Radzeviciene L, Verkauskiene R, Panduru NM, Groop LC, McCarthy MI, Gu HF, Möllsten A, Falhammar H, Brismar K, Martin F, Rossing P, Costacou T, Zerbini G, Marre M, Hadjadj S, McKnight AJ, Forsblom C, McKay G, Godson C, Maxwell AP, Kretzler M, Susztak K, Colhoun HM, Krolewski A, Paterson AD, Groop PH, Rich SS, Hirschhorn JN, Florez JC, SUMMIT Consortium, DCCT/EDIC Research Group, GENIE Consortium (2019). Genome-Wide Association Study of Diabetic Kidney Disease Highlights Biology Involved in Glomerular Basement Membrane Collagen. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 30(10), 2000-2016.
  3. Li M, Pezzolesi M (2018). Advances in understanding the genetic basis of diabetic kidney disease. Acta diabetologica, 55(11), 1093-1104.
  4. Morieri ML, Shah HS, Sjaarda J, Lenzini PA, Campbell H, Motsinger-Reif AA, Gao H, Lovato L, Prudente S, Pandolfi A, Pezzolesi MG, Sigal RJ, Paré G, Marcovina SM, Rotroff DM, Patorno E, Mercuri L, Trischitta V, Chew EY, Kraft P, Buse JB, Wagner MJ, Cresci S, Gerstein HC, Ginsberg HN, Mychaleckyj JC, Doria (2020). PPARA Polymorphism Influences the Cardiovascular Benefit of Fenofibrate in Type 2 Diabetes: Findings From ACCORD-Lipid. Diabetes, 69(4), 771-783.
  5. Jungtrakoon P, Shirakawa J, Buranasupkajorn P, Gupta MK, De Jesus DF, Pezzolesi MG, Panya A, Hastings T, Chanprasert C, Mendonca C, Kulkarni RN, Doria (2019). Loss-of-Function Mutation in Thiamine Transporter 1 in a Family With Autosomal Dominant Diabetes. Diabetes, 68(5), 1084-1093.
  6. Frodsham SG, Yu Z, Lyons AM, Agarwal A, Pezzolesi MH, Dong L, Srinivas TR, Ying J, Greene T, Raphael KL, Smith KR, Pezzolesi M (2019). The Familiality of Rapid Renal Decline in Diabetes. Diabetes, 68(2), 420-429.
  7. Tezza S, Ben Nasr M, D'Addio F, Vergani A, Usuelli V, Falzoni S, Bassi R, Dellepiane S, Fotino C, Rossi C, Maestroni A, Solini A, Corradi D, Giani E, Mameli C, Bertuzzi F, Pezzolesi MG, Wasserfall CH, Atkinson MA, Füchtbauer EM, Ricordi C, Folli F, Di Virgilio F, Pileggi A, Dhe-Paganon S, Zuccotti GV, Fiorina (2018). Islet-Derived eATP Fuels Autoreactive CD8+ T Cells and Facilitates the Onset of Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes, 67(10), 2038-2053.
  8. van Zuydam NR, Ahlqvist E, Sandholm N, Deshmukh H, Rayner NW, Abdalla M, Ladenvall C, Ziemek D, Fauman E, Robertson NR, McKeigue PM, Valo E, Forsblom C, Harjutsalo V, Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy Study (FinnDiane)., Perna A, Rurali E, Marcovecchio ML, Igo RP Jr, Salem RM, Perico N, Lajer M, Käräjämäki A, Imamura M, Kubo M, Takahashi A, Sim X, Liu J, van Dam RM, Jiang G, Tam CHT, Luk AOY, Lee HM, Lim CKP, Szeto CC, So WY, Chan JCN, Hong Kong Diabetes Registry Theme-based Research Scheme Project Group., Ang SF, Dorajoo R, Wang L, Clara TSH, McKnight AJ, Duffy S, Warren 3 and Genetics of Kidneys in Diabetes (GoKinD) Study Group., Pezzolesi MG, GENIE (GEnetics of Nephropathy an International Effort) Consortium., Marre M, Gyorgy B, Hadjadj S, Hiraki LT, Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT)/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) Research Group., Ahluwalia TS, Almgren P, Schulz CA, Orho-Melander M, Linneberg A, Christensen C, Witte DR, Grarup N, Brandslund I, Melander O, Paterson AD, Tregouet D, Maxwell AP, Lim SC, Ma RCW, Tai ES, Maeda S, Lyssenko V, Tuomi T, Krolewski AS, Rich SS, Hirschhorn JN, Florez JC, Dunger D, Pedersen O, Hansen T, Rossing P, Remuzzi G, SUrrogate markers for Micro- and Macrovascular hard endpoints for Innovative diabetes Tools (SUMMIT) Consortium., Brosnan MJ, Palmer CNA, Groop PH, Colhoun HM, Groop LC, McCarthy M (2018). A Genome-Wide Association Study of Diabetic Kidney Disease in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes, 67(7), 1414-1427.
  9. Satake E, Pezzolesi MG, Md Dom ZI, Smiles AM, Niewczas MA, Krolewski A (2018). Circulating miRNA Profiles Associated With Hyperglycemia in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes, 67(5), 1013-1023.
  10. Roshandel D, Gubitosi-Klug R, Bull SB, Canty AJ, Pezzolesi MG, King GL, Keenan HA, Snell-Bergeon JK, Maahs DM, Klein R, Klein BEK, Orchard TJ, Costacou T, Weedon MN, DCCT/EDIC Research Group., Oram RA, Paterson A (2018). Meta-genome-wide association studies identify a locus on chromosome 1 and multiple variants in the MHC region for serum C-peptide in type 1 diabetes. Diabetologia, 61(5), 1098-1111.
  11. Skupien J, Smiles AM, Valo E, Ahluwalia TS, Gyorgy B, Sandholm N, Croall S, Lajer M, McDonnell K, Forsblom C, Harjutsalo V, Marre M, Galecki AT, Tregouet DA, Wu CY, Mychaleckyj JC, Nickerson H, Pragnell M, Rich SS, Pezzolesi MG, Hadjadj S, Rossing P, Groop PH, Krolewski A (2019). Variations in Risk of End-Stage Renal Disease and Risk of Mortality in an International Study of Patients With Type 1 Diabetes and Advanced Nephropathy. Diabetes care, 42(1), 93-101.
  12. Yu MG, Keenan HA, Shah HS, Frodsham SG, Pober D, He Z, Wolfson EA, D'Eon S, Tinsley LJ, Bonner-Weir S, Pezzolesi MG, King G (2019). Residual ß cell function and monogenic variants in long-duration type 1 diabetes patients. The Journal of clinical investigation, 129(8), 3252-3263.
  13. McCullough ML, Wan N, Pezzolesi MG, Collins TW, Grineski SE, Wei YD, Lazaro-Guevara J, Frodsham SG, Vanderslice JA, Holmen JR, Srinivas TR, Clements S (2021). Type 1 Diabetes incidence among youth in Utah: A geographical analysis. Social science & medicine (1982), 278, 113952.
  14. Usuelli V, Ben Nasr M, D'Addio F, Liu K, Vergani A, El Essawy B, Yang J, Assi E, Uehara M, Rossi C, Solini A, Capobianco A, Rigamonti E, Potena L, Venturini M, Sabatino M, Bottarelli L, Ammirati E, Frigerio M, Castillo-Leon E, Maestroni A, Azzoni C, Loretelli C, Joe Seelam A, Tai AK, Pastore I, Becchi G, Corradi D, Visner GA, Zuccotti GV, Chau NB, Abdi R, Pezzolesi MG, Fiorina (2021). miR-21 antagonism reprograms macrophage metabolism and abrogates chronic allograft vasculopathy. American journal of transplantation,
  15. Nicholson RJ, Pezzolesi MG, Summers S (2021). Rotten to the Cortex: Ceramide-Mediated Lipotoxicity in Diabetic Kidney Disease. Frontiers in endocrinology, 11, 622692.
  16. Ibrahim A, Lin E, Hinckley M, Khalighi M, Altawallbeh Z, Al-Rabadi D, Al-Hassanat Z, Pezzolesi MG, Gregory MC, Al-Rabadi (2025). Renal Phenotype Variations Among Families with Autosomal Alport Syndrome: Potential Role of Modifier Genes. Kidney360,
  17. Ihara K, Satake E, Wilson PC, Krolewski B, Kobayashi H, Md Dom ZI, Ricca J, Wilson J, Dreyfuss JM, Niewczas MA, Doria A, Nelson RG, Pezzolesi MG, Humphreys BD, Duffin K, Krolewski A (2024). Circulating proteins linked to apoptosis processes and fast development of end-stage kidney disease in diabetes. JCI insight, 9(20),
  18. Chen Z, Satake E, Pezzolesi MG, Md Dom ZI, Stucki D, Kobayashi H, Syreeni A, Johnson AT, Wu X, Dahlström EH, King JB, Groop PH, Rich SS, Sandholm N, Krolewski AS, Natarajan (2024). Integrated analysis of blood DNA methylation, genetic variants, circulating proteins, microRNAs, and kidney failure in type 1 diabetes. Science translational medicine, 16(748), eadj3385.
  19. Qeadan F, Tingey B, Egbert J, Pezzolesi MG, Burge MR, Peterson KA, Honda (2022). The associations between COVID-19 diagnosis, type 1 diabetes, and the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis: A nationwide cohort from the US using the Cerner Real-World Data. PloS one, 17(4), e0266809.
  20. Giuffrida FMA, Rai SK, Tang Y, Mendonça C, Frodsham SG, Shah HS, Pezzolesi MG, Sun Q, Doria (2024). Low-frequency variants in genes involved in glutamic acid metabolism and ¿-glutamyl cycle and risk of coronary artery disease in type 2 diabetes. Cardiovascular diabetology, 23(1), 406.
  21. Satake E, Krolewski B, Kobayashi H, Md Dom ZI, Ricca J, Wilson JM, Hoon DS, Duffin KL, Pezzolesi MG, Krolewski A (2024). Preanalytical considerations in quantifying circulating miRNAs that predict end-stage kidney disease in diabetes. JCI insight, 9(12),
  22. Simeone CA, Wilkerson JL, Poss AM, Banks JA, Varre JV, Guevara JL, Hernandez EJ, Gorsi B, Atkinson DL, Turapov T, Frodsham SG, Morales JCF, O'Neil K, Moore B, Yandell M, Summers SA, Krolewski AS, Holland WL, Pezzolesi M (2022). A dominant negative ADIPOQ mutation in a diabetic family with renal disease, hypoadiponectinemia, and hyperceramidemia. NPJ genomic medicine, 7(1), 43.
  23. Mychaleckyj JC, Valo E, Ichimura T, Ahluwalia TS, Dina C, Miller RG, Shabalin IG, Gyorgy B, Cao J, Onengut-Gumuscu S, Satake E, Smiles AM, Haukka JK, Tregouet DA, Costacou T, O'Neil K, Paterson AD, Forsblom C, Keenan HA, Pezzolesi MG, Pragnell M, Galecki A, Rich SS, Sandholm N, Klein R, Klein BE, Susztak K, Orchard TJ, Korstanje R, King GL, Hadjadj S, Rossing P, Bonventre JV, Groop PH, Warram JH, Krolewski A (2021). Association of Coding Variants in Hydroxysteroid 17-beta Dehydrogenase 14 (HSD17B14) with Reduced Progression to End Stage Kidney Disease in Type 1 Diabetes. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 32(10), 2634-2651.
  24. Satake E, Saulnier PJ, Kobayashi H, Gupta MK, Looker HC, Wilson JM, Md Dom ZI, Ihara K, O'Neil K, Krolewski B, Pipino C, Pavkov ME, Nair V, Bitzer M, Niewczas MA, Kretzler M, Mauer M, Doria A, Najafian B, Kulkarni RN, Duffin KL, Pezzolesi MG, Kahn CR, Nelson RG, Krolewski A (2021). Comprehensive Search for Novel Circulating miRNAs and Axon Guidance Pathway Proteins Associated with Risk of ESKD in Diabetes. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 32(9), 2331-2351.