Behzad Najafian, M.D.

Assistant Professor
najaf002@umn.edu

Education:

1989-1996   M.D degree, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2001-2003   Postdoctoral Fellowship, Pediatric Nephrology, University of Minnesota, MN

2003-2006   Pathology Residency, Anatomical Pathology, University of Minnesota, MN

2006-2007   Pathology Fellowship, Renal Pathology, Vanderbilt University, TN

Awards and Grants

Kenneth Ernst Award (outstanding research in Pathology), Minnesota Medical Foundation, 2005.

Travel Grant, American Society of Nephrology 2004, St. Louis, MO.

Kenneth Ernst Award (outstanding research in Pathology), Minnesota Medical Foundation, 2004.

Appointments

Assistant professor of Pathology, University of Minnesota 2007-06-22

Lectures

Similarities and Dissimilarities of Diabetic Nephropathy in Type 1 vs. Type 2 Diabetic Patients. April 2006, Pathology Grand Rounds, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Diabetic Nephropathy: New Structural Findings. Oct. 2005. Mayo Rochester and the University of Minnesota Nephrology Seminar. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

New aspects of diabetic nephropathy: A structural point of view. Dec 2004, Pathology Grand Rounds, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Atubular glomeruli. Jan 2004, Pediatric Grand Rounds, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Morphometry, How to measure structures. Sep. 2003, BSBE, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Atubular glomeruli and glomerulotubular junction abnormalities in diabetic nephropathy. Jan 2003, Pathology Grand Rounds, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Memberships

• International Society for Stereology (current)
• College of American Pathologists (current)
• American Society for Clinical Pathology (current)
• United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (current)
• European Association for Study of Diabetes (past)

Reviewer

• Kidney International
• Diabetologia
• Am J Kidney Dis
• Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews

Publications (peer-reviewed manuscripts)

Toyoda M, Najafian B, Kim Y, Caramori ML, Mauer M. Podocyte detachment and reduced glomerular capillary endothelial fenestration in human type 1 diabetic Nephropathy. Diabetes 56:1-7, 2007

Clewing JM, Antalfy BC, Lucke T, Najafian B, Marwedel KM, Hori A, Powel RM, Do AF, Najera L, SantaCruz K, Hicks MJ, Armstrong DL, Boerkoel CF. Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia: a clinicopathological correlation. J Med Genet. 2007 Feb;44(2):122-30.

Najafian B, Crosson JT, Kim Y, Mauer M.  Glomerulotubular junction abnormalities are associated with proteinuria in type 1 diabetes.   J Am Soc Nephrol 17 Suppl 2:S53-60, 2006.

Fioretto P, Sutherland DER, Najafian B, Mauer M.  Remodeling of renal interstitial and tubular lesions in pancreas transplant recipients.  Kidney Int 69: 907-912,2006.

Najafian B, Kim Y, Crosson JT, Mauer M: Atubular glomeruli and glomerulotubular junction abnormalities in diabetic nephropathy. J Am Soc Nephrol 14: 908-917, 2003

Najafian B, Basgen MJ, Mauer M: Estimating mean glomerular volume using two arbitrary parallel sections. J Am Soc Nephrol 13:2697-2705, 2002

Najafian B, Nakhjavani M, Mirbod P: The effect of chloroquine on experimental diabetic nephropathy. Iranian J Endocrinol Metabol 1(1):3-10, 1999.

Publications (in preparation manuscripts)

Najafian B, Caramori ML, Mauer M, Masood A, Hansen BC: Glomerulopathy of Spontaneously Obese Rhesus Monkeys with Type 2 Diabetes: A Stereological Study.

Najafian B, Caramori ML, Mauer M, Fioretto P: Clustering of type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients based on renal structural-functonal relationships.

Najafian B, Mauer M: Geographical maping of segmental glomerular lesions of diabetic nephropathy.

Publications (books, book chapters)

Mauer M and Najafian B: The structural of human diabetic nephropathy. In: DiabeticNephropathy. Ed. Mogensen CE and Cortes P. Humana Press. (in press)

Behzad Najafian, Paola Fioretto, and Michael Mauer. Mesangial Expansion as a Central Mechanism for Loss of Kidney Function in Diabetic Patients. In: Perspectives in diabetes. Vol 1. Ed. Gregory Guthrie. American Diabetes Association. (in press)

Anatomy of Extremities. Chaurasia L, translated to Persian by Najafian B and Nazari R. Amir-Kabir Publication Inc. Tehran, 1992.

Abstracts

Luiza Caramori, Barbara C. Hansen, Moshe Levi, Behzad Najafian, Sadaf Aslan, Xiaoxin Wang, Tao Jiang, Michael Mauer. Lipid content and renal lesions in non-humnan primate with type 2 diabetes. ADA 67^th annual meeting, June 2007, Chicago, IL. (poster)

Masao Toyoda, Behzad Najafian, Youngki Kim, Michael Mauer. Endothelial fenestration is reduced in type 1 diabetic patients. ADA 67^th annual meeting, June 2007, Chicago, IL. (poster)

Julia Steinke, Behzad Najafian, Michael Mauer. A novel approach to age correction of the glomerular basement membrane width change over time in subjects with type 1 diabetes mellitus. ASN 2006, San Diego, CA.

M. Luiza Caramori, Behzad Najafian, Moshe Levi, Michael Mauer, Paola Fioretto, Barbara Hansen: Renal Cortical Lipid Content and Renal Lesions in a Non-Human Primate Model of Type 2 Diabetes. Platform presentation, EDNSG 2006, Finland.

Najafian B, Caramori ML, Mauer M, Fioretto P: Clustering of type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients based on their structural-functional relationships of diabetic nephropathy . (poster presented in ASN 2005, Philadelphia), J Am Soc Nephrol 16:679A, 2005.

Najafian B, Caramori ML, Fioretto P, Hansen B, Mauer M: Spontaneously obese rhesus monkeys , a model of nephropathy of type 2 diabetes mellitus. (platform presentated in ASN 2005, Philadelphia), J Am Soc Nephrol 16:75A, 2005.

Najafian B, Mauer M, Caramori ML, Fioreto P: Diabetic nephropathy structural-functional relationships in type 2 diabetic patients. (poster presented in ASN 2005, Philadelphia), J Am Soc Nephrol 16:679A, 2005.

Najafian B, Crosson TJ, Mauer M: Propensity of glomerular endothelial cell nuclei to the mesangial zone of capillary lumena: A new method for estimating linear interaction of surfaces. (poster presented in USCAP 2005, San Antonio, TX), Modern Pathol 18(Suppl 1):339A, 2005

Najafian B, Crosson JT, Kim Y, Mauer M: Predilection of tuft to Bowman’s capsule adhesions for glomerulotubular junction area in type 1 diabetes mellitus. (poster presented in ASN 2004, St. Louis, MO). J Am Soc Nephrol 15: 729A, 2004

Toyoda M, Najafian B, Groppoli T, Kim Y, Mauer M: Podocyte detachment is associated with less fenestration in glomerular capillary endothelia in type 1 diabetes mellitus. (poster presented in ASN 2004, St. Louis, MO). J Am Soc Nephrol 15: 265A-266A, 2004

Najafian B, caramori ML, Kim Y, Mauer M: Piecewise Linear vs. multiple regression analyses of structural-functional relationships in diabetic nephropathy. (poster presented in ASN 2004, St. Louis, MO). J Am Soc Nephrol 15: 729A-730A, 2004

Mauer M, Najafian B, Toyoda M: Podocyte detachment, glomerulotubular junction abnormalities and glomerular filtration rate loss in type 1 diabetes. (platform presented in EDNSG2004). Abstract book of the 17^th Annual meeting of the European Diabetic Nephropathy Study Group EDNSG, May 7-8, 2004, p.39

Najafian B, Mauer M: Estimating length density of tubular structures in thin vertical sections and its application in evaluating intertubular space changes. (platform presented in EB2003, San Diego, CA). FASEB J 17(5): A1374-A1375, 2003

Najafian B, Mauer M. Estimating the area of interstitium surrounding a mean tubular profile as an indicator of renal cortical interstitial expansion. (platform presented in EB2003, San Diego, CA). FASEB J 17(5): A1375, 2003

Najafian B, Crosson JT, Kim Y, Mauer M: A description of proximal tubular atrophy in type 1 diabetic patients. (poster presented in ASN2003, San Diego, CA). J Am Soc Nephrol 14:597A, 2003

Najafian B, Crosson JT, Kim Y, Mauer M: The contribution of glomerulotubular junction abnormalities in renal function of proteinuric type 1 diabetic patients. (poster presented in ASN2003, San Diego, CA). J Am Soc Nephrol 14:596A-597A, 2003

Najafian B, Crosson JT, Kim Y, Mauer M: The frequency of glomerulotubular junction abnormalities and atubular glomeruli in relation to albumin excretion rtae in type 1 diabetic patients. (poster presented in ASN2003, San Diego, CA). J Am Soc Nephrol 14:597A, 2003

Toyoda M, Najafian B, Groppoli T, Basgen J, Kim Y, Mauer M: Problems in the measurement of podocyte structural parameters in proteinuric type 1 diabetic patients. (poster presented in ASN2003, San Diego, CA). J Am Soc Nephrol 14: 389A, 2003

Najafian B, Kim Y, Mauer M: Atubular glomeruli and atrophic tubules in diabetic nephropathy: A preliminary study. (platform presented in ASN2002, Philadelphia, PA). J Am Soc Nephrol 13: 8A-9A, 2002

Nakhjavani M., Najafian B.  c-Terminal vs. mid-molecular PTH measurement in diagnosing hyperparathyroidism (a comparative study). The bulletin of the 12^th Iranian Congress of Internal Medicine. May 2001, pp.73-74

Esteghamati AR., Najafian B., Mahmoodi R.  Precision of fine needle aspiration in thyroid cancer diagnosis. ). The bulletin of the 12^th Iranian Congress of Internal Medicine. May 2001, pp51-52

Ravanbakhsh AR., Najafian B. Duchenne and Becker's muscular dystrophies.( Review ). Bulletin of the 1st. conference of "The Genetic Basis of Disabilities". University of  Rehabilitation, 12-14 April 1999. p.25.

Alaii A., Najafian B., Zarindast MR.  Finasteride and prazosin mixed therapy in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Bulletin of the 14th Iranian Congress of Physiology and Pharmacology,16-20 May 1999, p.185-186.

Najafian B., Nakhjavani M., Mirbod P. The effect of chloroquine on experimental diabetic nephropathy.1997, Bulletin of 10th AGM of EDNSG.Bratislava, p.78

Nakhjavani M., Esteghamati AR., Najafian B. High dose dexamethasone infusion test in comparison with other biochemical tests in patients with the Cushing’s syndrome. 1996. Bulletin of 7th Iranian Congress of Internal Medicine, Tehran, pp.383-384.

Publications (book and manuscripts on non-medical subjects)

History of Art. Ed. Najafian B. Janokherad Publication Inc. Tehran, 2000.

About the rebellion. Ed. Albert Camos. Translated by Najafian B. Baya Magazine;8-9:95-96, 1999.

Avant-guard Nationalism: Fascism and cultural Elite. Ed. Stanley G. Payne. Translated by Najafian B. Baya Magazine;1-2:67-68, 1999.

The Doctrine of Fascism. Ed. Benito Mussolini. Translated by Najafian B. Khordad Newspaper, 1(51):6, 1999.

Najafian B and Ravanbakhsh S: Manifesto in plastic arts. Image (Tasvir), March 1997, pp.64-68.

Experiences

A. Renal Pathology

Renal Pathology Fellowship with mentorship of Dr. Agnes Fogo. Vanderbilt University. 2006-2007 

Renal Biopsy of Medical diseases, CME course of Colombia University. New York City. Sep. 2005

Specialty conferences and companion meetings of Renal Pathology. USCAP, St. Antonio, TX. Feb. 2005

The fundamentals of Renal Pathology, postgraduate education course of the American society of nephrology. Oct. 2004

Elective rotation of Renal Pathology with mentorship of Dr. John Cosson, Hennepin Caounty Medical Center. Sep. 2004

B. Surgical Pathology

Residency of Anatomical Pathology with mentorship of Dr. Carlos Manivel. University of Minnesota. 2003-2006.

Specialty conferences and companion meetings of USCAP on Pathologies of head & neck, breast, bone and soft tissue, lymph node, pediatrisc, obstetrics and gynecology, urology and frozen sections. USCAP, St. antonio, TX. Feb. 2005.

Topological properties of colorectal polyps and cancers (this study is going on at the Fairview University Medical Center and the Fairview Riverside Medical Center. (Methodology is developed, pilot study is performed)

C. Theory and practice of Stereology:

Developing a design-based method for unbiased estimation of surface-surface interaction of 3-D structures on isotropic uniform random sections and its application to determine position of glomerular endothelial cell nuclei in relation to peripheral vs. mesangial capillary luminal surfaces (abstract presented in the annual meeting of the United States and Canadian Association for Pathology (USCAP) Feb. 26 – Mar. 3, 2005, Saint Antonio, TX. (manuscript in preparation)

Developing a model-based method to estimate position of point objects in spherical structures with an arbitrary pole (an abstract based on this method was presented in the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) 2004, St. Louis, MO. (manuscript in submission)

Estimating length density of colonic submucosal nerve fibers in Hirschprung disease and idiopathic chronic constipation. Ongoing project with collaboration of Departments of Pathology and Neurology, University of Minnesota, 2004 to date.

Developing a new method for estimating length density of tubular structures in thin vertical uniform random sections (Two abstracts based on this method presented as platform in the annual meeting of Experimental Biology (EB) 2003, San Diego).

Design of stereological studies and tutoring in the "ABCAN (angiotensin blockade in chronic alograft nephropathy) study", 2003 to date.

Design of stereological studies in the study "Podocyte detachment in type 1 diabetic nephropathy". Two abstracts were presented in ASN 2003 and ASN 2004 and a manuscript is in preparation.

Glomerular structural studies using unbiased stereology in the "RASS (renin angiotensin system study)" project, 2001-2003.

6^th ISS (International Society of Stereology) American Stereology Course, Hawks Nest State Park, West Virginia, U.S.A May 2002.

Developing a model-based method for estimating glomerular volume using two parallel sections of arbitrary distance (published in the "J Am Soc Nephrol 2002"), 2001-2002

Designing and optimising a volumetric scale to estimate the volume of the nuclei in podocytes using point-intercept method (not published), 2002

Describing a source of bias in routine glomerular sampling when estimating mean glomerular volume using the Cavalieri principle (not published), 2001

D. Diabetic Nephropathy

Glomerulotubular junction abnormalities and atubular glomeruli in type 1 diabetic nephropathy. Two manuscript published in the "J Am Soc Nephrol 2003 and 2006". Three abstracts were presented in ASN 2003 and 1 abstract was presented in ASN 2004.

Structural-functional relationships in diabetic nephropathy (Piece-wise linear and multiple regression analyses). One abstract was presented in ASN 2004.

The effect of chloroquine on experimental diabetic nephropathy. this was my M.D. thesis in "Tehran University of Medical Sciences", based on which one manuscript was published in the “Iran J Endocrinol Metab 1(1):3-10” and 1 abstract  was published in the "Bulletin of 10th annual group meeting of the European Diabetic Nephropathy Study Group (EDNSG), Bratislava 1997, p.78"

Urinary NAG/Creatinine ratio as an indicator for diabetic nephropathy. (Laboratory methods and   results have been published in my thesis). Feb.1995-Dec.1996. Vali-Asr Hospital, Cancer Institute, Tehran

E. Research Methodology

Research Consultant, Deputy Minister for Education, Ministry of Health & Medical education, Tehran, Iran, 1999 to 2000.

Training: workshop of "Molecular methods in early diagnosis of  cancer". Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Cancer Institute, 1999.

Lecturer of “Research Methodology and Statistics”, Nursing School, Artesh University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, 09/1996 to 09/1998.

Establishing an experimental animal laboratory, Medical School, Artesh University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, 09/1996 to 09/1998.

Basic cell culture techniques and apoptosis. Artesh University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, 1996-1997.

Statistical analysis and research design for the study “The efficacy of Levothyroxin produced by Abu-Reyhan Pharmaceutics Co. in comparison to Euethyrox.” ordered by Abu-Reyhan Pharmaceutics Co., Feb.1997-Jun.1997. Vali-Asr Hospital, Tehran. (unpublished)

Statistical analysis and research design for the study "The serum hormone profile of workers in Abu-Reyhan Pharmaceutics Co.” ordered by Abu-Reyhan Pharmaceutics Co., Sep.1997-Feb.1998. Vali-Asr Hospital, Tehran. (unpublished)

Establishing an experimental animal laboratory and an experimental rat model for diabetic nephropathy, Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, 1994 to 1996.

Relationship between endemic goitre and IQ in school children of Qooch-Hesar village. Studying the relationship between endemic goiter and I.Q in school children. Department of Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran; 1995-1996.

F. Teaching Experience (Medicine)

Pathology Laboratory for medical students. 2004-2005. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Teaching Stereological methods to junior scientists and research assistants. 2002-date. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,MN.

Lecturer, Research Methodology and Statistics.1996-1997. Nursing School, Artesh University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Lecturere, Emergency Medicine. 1996-1997. Nursing School, Artesh University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

G. Visual Arts

Lecturer of “Principles of Visual Arts”, University of Art, Tehran, Iran, 1999 to 2000

Lecturer of “History of Art”, “Principles of Visual Arts” and “Properties of Materials”, Charsoo Institute of Art, Tehran, Iran, 1996 to 2000.

Designer, sculptor, computer graphist, Charsoo Institute of Art, Tehran, Iran, 1996 to 2000.