Biographical Sketch
Charles Jennette, M.D. is Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Professor of Medicine. From 1999–2019, he was Kenneth M. Brinkhous Distinguished Professor and Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
He received his MD from UNC–CH in 1973. He completed anatomic and clinical pathology residency training at UNC, followed by a research fellowship in immunopathology at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, CA. Dr. Jennette joined the faculty of the School of Medicine at UNC in 1978 and has remained at UNC throughout his career. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology with Special Qualification in Immunopathology.
Dr. Jennette’s service, teaching and research activities focus on kidney disease. He is Co-Director (with Dr. Ronald J. Falk) of the Glomerular Disease Collaborative Network, which coordinates kidney disease research by approximately 300 nephrologists throughout the Southeastern United States.
Dr. Jennette’s research and scholarship are directed at understanding the causes, and improving the diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases, especially those caused by inflammatory and immunologic mechanisms. Dr. Jennette has published over 300 journal articles, over 140 book chapters, and 18 books. He is editor of Heptinstall’s Pathology of the Kidney and serves on the editorial boards of professional journals dealing with pathology or kidney diseases. He has given over 450 national and international invited presentations, including more than 20 named lectureships. Notable awards include the Renal Pathology Society Jacob Churg Award for Outstanding Contributions in Renal Pathology, the European Society of Pathology Honorary Diploma for Outstanding Achievements in Nephropathology, the UNC Medical Alumni Distinguished Faculty Award, and the Distinguished Service Award of the Association of Pathology Chairs.
Research Interests
Dr. Jennette’s more basic research (funded by NIH NIDDK) focuses on the pathogenesis of glomerulonephritis, vasculitis and granulomatosis caused by anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA) using in vitro assays, animal models, and human specimens. In collaboration with Dr. Hong Xiao and Dr. Peiqi Hu, he utilizes animal models of ANCA disease discovered in their laboratory that are induced by mouse anti-myeloperoxidase (anti-MPO) antibodies. These models allow elucidation of pathogenic pathways responsible for the induction of ANCA glomerulonephritis, microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA); and have resulted in the discovery of important targets for novel therapy for ANCA disease.
Dr. Jennette’s clinical and clinicopathologic studies of kidney disease have focused on a wide variety of glomerular diseases including minimal change disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, C1q nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, diabetic glomerulosclerosis, IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis, anti-GBM glomerulonephritis, and ANCA-glomerulonephritis. His clinical research and scholarship on systemic vasculitis includes leadership in formulating the Chapel Hill Consensus Conference Nomenclature of Systemic Vasculitides, which is used worldwide as a guideline for classification and diagnosis of systemic vasculitis.
Publications
List of publications from PubMed
