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Karthik S Suresh, M.D.

Karthik S Suresh, M.D.

Headshot of Karthik S Suresh
  • Associate Fellowship Program Director
  • Associate Professor of Medicine
Male

Languages: English, Tamil

Expertise

Acute Lung Injury (ALI), Autoimmune Lung Disease, Lung Cancer, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine ...read more

Research Interests

ROS signaling; endothelial cell biology; vascular biology; calcium signaling ...read more

Locations

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

4940 Eastern Avenue
301 Building, 1st Floor
Baltimore, MD 21224 map
Phone: 410-955-9441

The Johns Hopkins Hospital

1830 E. Monument Street
1830 Building 5th Floor Pulmonary
Baltimore, MD 21287 map
Phone: 410-955-4176

Background

Dr. Karthik Suresh is a pulmonary and critical care physician. His clinical interests include acute lung injury and critical care medicine. He also specializes in the diagnosis and management of immune-related lung injury, especially in the context of autoimmune conditions and chemotherapy/immunotherapy for cancer.

Dr. Suresh is a member of the Hopkins immune-related adverse events (irAE) tox team. He also takes care of critically ill patients in the medical and oncology ICUs. He’s a firm faculty member for the Janeway Firm of the Osler Housestaff Medical Service and provides teaching to medical students, housestaff and fellows.

...read more

Titles

  • Associate Fellowship Program Director
  • Associate Professor of Medicine
  • Associate Professor of Oncology

Departments / Divisions

Education

Degrees

  • MD; University of Louisville School of Medicine (2008)

Residencies

  • Internal Medicine; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2011)

Fellowships

  • Pulmonary Medicine; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2012)
  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2016)

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Internal Medicine (Critical Care Medicine) (2020)
  • American Board of Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine) (2011)
  • American Board of Internal Medicine (Pulmonary Disease) (2015)

Research & Publications

Research Summary

The Suresh Lab is interested in several basic science and translational projects. Its primary research focus is the study of microvascular endothelial cell (MVEC) dysfunction in various lung diseases including acute lung injury (ALI) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

The lab is specifically interested in the role of mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species (mtROS) and calcium signaling in promoting MVEC dysfunction in ALI and PAH; using animal models of these diseases as well as cells isolated from animal and humans. The lab studies the links between mtROS, calcium levels and mitochondrial structure/function with the goal of understanding the mechanisms driving mitochondrial and cellular dysfunction in lung MVECs.

Related to this project, in collaboration with the Izumchenko lab in Otolaryngology, the lab also employs computational approaches to discover somatic mutations in mitochondrial DNA with a goal of studying the effects of oxidant stress on induction of somatic mtDNA mutations in non-cancerous pathologies such as PAH.

Lastly, in collaboration with members across the Department of Oncology and the  D’Alessio Lab in the Pulmonary/Critical Care division, our lab is conducting translational studies exploring mechanisms of lung injury in patients who develop pneumonitis after receiving immunotherapy. Using human samples and mouse models, we study the biological mechanisms underpinning lung injury in patients who develop pneumonitis after checkpoint immunotherapy.

Clinical Trial Keywords

ROS signaling, calcium signaling, microvascular endothelial cell physiology, mitochondrial structure/function, mechanisms of immunotherapy toxicity

Clinical Trials

 Optimization of steroid-refractory immune checkpoint inhibitors; Therapeutic options for autoimmune-associated interstitial lung disease

Selected Publications

View all on PubMed

Suresh K, Servinsky L, Jiang H, Bigham Z, Huetsch J, Kliment C, Damarla M, Shimoda LA. ROS-induced Ca2+ via TRPV4 and microvascular endothelial dysfunction in the SU5416/Hypoxia model of pulmonary arterial hypertension, Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2018; 314(5): L893-L907, 2018 (APSselect, April 2018)

Suresh K, Servinsky L, Jiang H, Bigham Z, Zaldumbide J, Huetsch J, Kliment C, Acoba M, Kirsch B, Claypool S, Le, A Damarla M, Shimoda LA. Regulation of mitochondrial fragmentation in microvascular endothelial cells isolated from the SU5416/hypoxia model of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2019; 317(5): L639-L652

Suresh K, Zhong Q, Voong R, Ettinger D, Marrone K, Kelly R, Hahn C, Levy B, Feliciano J, Brahmer J, Forde P, Feller-Kopman D, Lerner A, Lee H, Yarmus L, D’Alessio F, Danoff S, Naidoo J. Pneumonitis in non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint immunotherapy: incidence and risk factors. J. Thoracic Onc. 2018; 13: 1930-1939. Editorial by Tay, et al: “Checkpoint Inhibitor Pneumonitis – Real World Incidence and Risk”

Suresh K, Psoter K, Shankar B, Voong R, Ettinger D, Marrone K, Kelly R, Hahn C, Levy B, Feliciano J, Brahmer J, Forde P, Feller-Kopman D, Lerner A, Lee H, Yarmus L, D’Alessio F, Danoff S, Naidoo J. Impact of checkpoint inhibitor pneumonitis on survival in non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint immunotherapy, J. Thoracic Onc. 2019; 14: 494-502. Editor’s Choice – JTO, March 2019; Editorial by Le et al: “Checkpoint inhibitor pneumonitis: Too clinically serious for benefit?”

Suresh K*, Naidoo J*, Zhong, Q, Xiong Y, Mammen J, Villegas de Flores M, Cappelli L, Balaji A, Palmer T, Anagnastou V, Ettinger D, Marrone K, Kelly R, Hahn C, Levy B, Feliciano J, Forde P, Feller-Kopman D, Lerner A, Lee H, Yarmus L, Shafiq M, Lipson E, Soloski M, Brahmer J, Danoff S, D’Alessio F. The alveolar immune cell landscape is dysregulated in checkpoint inhibitor pneumonitis, J. Clin. Investig. 2019; 129(10):4305-4315. Editor’s Pick – JCI This Month, October 2019. * contributed equally.

Contact for Research Inquiries

Johns Hopkins Asthma and Allergy Center
5501 Hopkins Bayview Circle
Rm 4A.45
Baltimore, MD 21224 map

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