Faculty Areas of Research Interest

Mohamed G. Atta, M.D., M.P.H.

Mohamed G. Atta, MD, MPH, is Associate Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the DaVita Dialysis Center, in East Baltimore at 25th Street, Maryland. A graduate of Mansoura University School of Medicine in Egypt, he completed his internship and residency training in various locations including the Urology and Nephrology Center at Mansoura University, Cabrini Medical Center in New York, and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr Atta received his MPH degree from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2005.  

Dr Atta is a member of the Health Disparity Committee at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in Maryland, the Scientific Council on Kidney of the American Heart Association, the International Society of Nephrology, and the American Society of Nephrology. Dr Atta has participated as principal investigator in several studies and serves as a peer reviewer for the American journal of Medicine, American Journal of Kidney Diseases and Journal of Infectious Diseases. He authored or co-authored numerous articles and abstracts published in Genomics, the Journal of Biological Chemistry, American journal of Medicine, American journal of transplantation, the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, and Kidney International, among others.

 Past Activities:

• Genetic cloning of the human gene that encodes the sodium myo-inositol cotransporter (SMIT). This transporter is essential for cell volume regulation in response to hypertonicity. 
• Studying the transcriptional regulation of the human SMIT gene.
• Subsequently my focus was to explore the potential role of protein phosphorylation in regulating the activity of osmolyte transporters in response to hypertonic stress.
• A clinical prospective cohort study to determine the incidence of vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) in outpatient dialysis patients and the association of vancomycin use with the development of VRE in this population.
• In collaboration with Dr. Fine, we were able to determine the utility of transjugular kidney biopsy in high-risk patient.

Current and Future Plans:

• At present, I’m studying kidney diseases in patients with HIV infection.
• Identifying new risk factors for diabetic nephropathy in collaboration with several faculty members in our division.
• Studying new treatment strategies for glomerular disorders.

Selected Publications:

1. John J. Mallee, Mohamed G. Atta, Victor Lorica, Jong S. Rim, H. Moo Kwon, Anthony D. Lucente, Yi Wang, Gerard T. Berry.  The Structural Organization of the Human Na+/Myo-inositol Cotransporter (SLC5A3) Gene and Characterization of the Promoter. Genomics, v46, n3, 459-465,  December 15, 1997 .
2. Jong S. Rim, Mohamed G. Atta, Stephen C. Dahl, Gerard T. Berry, Joseph S. Handler, H. Moo Kwon.  Transcription of the Na+/Myo-inositol Cotransporter Gene is Regulated by Multiple Tonicity-Responsive Enhancers Spread over 50 kb in the 5' Flanking Region. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 273 (32) 20615-20621,  August 7, 1998.
3. Mohamed G. Atta, Stephen C. Dahl, H. Moo Kwon, Joseph S. Handler.  Tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immunosuppressants perturb the myo-inositol but no the betaine cotransporter in isotonic and hypertonic MDCK cells. Kidney international, v55, n3, 956-962, March 1999.
4. Mohamed G. Atta, Joseph A. Eustace, Xiaoyan Song, Trish M. Perl, Paul J. Scheel, Jr.  Outpatient vancomycin use and vancomycin-resistant enterococcal colonization in maintenance dialysis patients. Kidney international 2001 Feb; 59(2): 718-24. 
5. Michael J. Choi, Joseph A. Eustace, Luis F. Gimenez, Mohamed G. Atta, Paul J. Scheel, Jr., Renuka Sothinathan, William A. Briggs.  Mycophenolate mofetil treatment for primary glomerular diseases. Kidney international 2002 Mar; 61(3): 1098-114.
6. Mohamed G. Atta, J. Craig Longenecker, Derek M. Fine, Davinder S. Grover, Jean Wu, Lorraine C. Racusen, Paul J. Scheel, Jr., Ulrike M. Hamper.  Sonography as a predictor of HIV associated Nephropathy. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine 23: 603-610, May 2004.
7. Derek M. Fine, Aravind Arepally, Lawrence Hofmann, Steven Mankowitz, Mohamed G. Atta.  Transjugular kidney biopsy in the obese patients. Nephrology dialysis transplantation, 19(7):1798-802, July 2004.
8. Mohamed G. Atta, Michael J. Choi, J. Craig Longenecker, Megan Haymart, Jean Wu, Nagapradeep Nagajothi, Lorraine C. Racusen, Paul J. Scheel, Jr., Frederick L. Brancati, Derek M. Fine.  Nephrotic Range Proteinuria and CD4 Count as Non-invasive Indicators of HIV-Associated Nephropathy. American Journal of Medicine, Volume 118, Issue 11, Pages 1288.e21-1288.e26, November 2005.