Johann Morelle, MD, PhD, is physician-scientist in the Division of Nephrology at the Saint-Luc Academic Hospital and Professor of Medicine and Nephrology at UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Along with his colleague Eric Goffin, Johann Morelle supervises one of the largest home dialysis programs in Europe, and takes care of individuals with kidney failure on peritoneal dialysis (PD) and home hemodialysis.
Johann Morelle has developed expertise in translational research at the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research at UCLouvain, in the group of Olivier Devuyst. Using a multidisciplinary approach including studies on patients, mouse models of PD, cellular models, and human and mouse genetics, the group investigates the mechanisms and pathophysiology of peritoneal transport. In that line, Johann Morelle contributed to demonstrate the mechanisms of osmosis and the role of water channels in PD; to substantiate the link between vascular proliferation or fibrosis and loss of ultrafiltration; to unravel molecular mechanisms of the immune response during acute PD-related peritonitis and their impact on membrane integrity and transport; and to delineate the role of genetic factors to explain individual variability in transport parameters.
Johann Morelle strongly believes in the importance of education and dissemination of PD. He serves as board member of the Education Committee of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis since 2012 and is member of the H2020 ITN IMPROVE-PD consortium; member of the European Reference Network for Rare Kidney Diseases; and board member of the transdisciplinary Louvain4Water consortium. He was awarded several national and international prizes; has given more than 35 invited lectures and published 40 articles in peer-reviewed journals; and regularly serves as reviewer for scientific journals, including Peritoneal Dialysis International, Kidney International, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, American Journal of Kidney Diseases; Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation, Clinical Science, and Frontiers in Physiology.