Lawrence Lash, Ph.D., professor of Pharmacology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, has been selected by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics to receive the Division for Toxicology Career Award.

The award, presented annually, recognizes outstanding original research contributions in the field of toxicology by an established investigator.

“It is always an honor to be thought of in a positive way by one’s colleagues. I would like to think that the work that I have done from my graduate studies onward, beginning in 1981, has had a positive impact in the field,” said Dr. Lash, who joined the WSU faculty in 1988. “This recognition provides some validation of that.”

The award, to be presented during the society’s annual meeting in Portland, Ore., April 3-6, includes an honorarium, a plaque, and complimentary registration and travel expenses to the annual meeting. Dr. Lash will attend and will present a seminar. 

The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics is a scientific society whose 4,000 members conduct basic and clinical pharmacological research and work for academia, government, pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies and non-profit organizations. The society advances the science of drugs and therapeutics to accelerate the discovery of cures for disease.

Dr. Lash’s areas of research include glutathione in kidney function and toxicity, mechanisms of acute and chronic cytotoxicity of environmental chemicals in the kidney, and the development of biomarkers of environmental chemical-induced nephrotoxicity.

During the last four decades, his work has focused on determining how chemicals produce injury to the kidneys and how approaches can be designed to prevent or correct such injuries.

Dr. Lash’s findings to date include: 

The discovery and characterization of a sodium-coupled glutathione, or GSH, transporter on the renal basolateral membrane that accounts for most of the clearance of GSH in renal circulation.

Identification of mitochondria as a major subcellular site of action for nephrotoxic cysteine S-conjugates of halogenated solvents, such as trichloroethylene, in proximal tubular cells.

Development of in vitro procedures to isolate cell suspensions from proximal and distal tubular regions to enable investigation of factors that determine cell type specificity of susceptibility to pathological and chemically-induced injury.

Characterization of sex- and species-dependent differences in metabolism and sensitivity to trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, providing data for human health risk assessment.

Identification of the dicarboxylate carrier (DIC; Slc25a10) and the oxoglutarate carrier (OGC; Slc25a11) of the mitochondrial inner membrane as responsible for transport of cytoplasmic GSH into renal and hepatic mitochondria.

Characterization of protein expression and transport function of a battery of organic anion, organic cation, and amino acid transporters and expression and function of Phase I and Phase II drug metabolism enzymes in primary cultures of human proximal tubular cells, validating these cells for use in drug development and toxicity studies.

Demonstration of adaptive changes in mitochondrial GSH transport and redox status in proximal tubular cells from the kidney of a diabetic or uninephrectomized animal model.

His current research focuses on mitochondrial biomarkers of renal injury from environmental and therapeutic agents.