J. Brian Byrd investigates human hypertension using laboratory investigation, clinical trials, and epidemiology. He has helped define a role for dipeptidyl peptidase IV deficiency in angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)-associated angioedema in a rodent model and a case-control study. He also contributed to the discovery of potential genetic predictors of ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema in a genome-wide association study. He helped test the hypothesis that a bradykinin receptor antagonist would improve ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema in a randomized clinical trial. Dr. Byrd served as an investigator for the SYMPLICITY HTN-3 pivotal clinical trial of renal artery denervation, the first sham-controlled clinical trial of renal denervation. His principal interest is resistant hypertension, especially endocrine forms of hypertension.

Recently, his laboratory has published novel assays to detect mineralocorticoid receptor-regulated gene expression in cell-depleted human urine. The ability to detect these signals in human urine opens promising new avenues of investigation toward clinically useful biomarkers of human mineralocorticoid receptor activation.

He is a principal investigator at the University of Michigan School of Medicine, where he is Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. He has received several awards for his academic work, including the NIH K23 Award, and the Central Society of Clinical and Translational Research Early Career Development Award. In addition, he is a co-investigator on the MIPACT study of health trajectories, helping to guide blood pressure-related aspects of that study.