Meghan Pearl, MD, MSCR
Meghan H Pearl, MD, MS, is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Keck School of Medicine of USC. She has a clinical and research focus in pediatric transplant nephrology. After earning a B.A. in History of Medicine from Yale, Dr. Pearl attended medical school at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She then completed her pediatric residency at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and nephrology fellowship at UCLA. Dr. Pearl is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Nephrology and received an MS in Clinical Research from UCLA. She was on faculty at UCLA from 2016 until 2024 when she joined the team at CHLA. She cares for patients in the CHLA kidney transplant clinics and on the inpatient ward service.
Dr. Pearl’s primary research is focused on studying the impact of non-HLA antibodies on pediatric kidney transplant outcomes. She also has an interest in novel immunosuppression regimens and therapeutics in pediatric kidney transplantation. Her research has been funded by grant awards from the National Kidney Foundation, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Education
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Master of Science in Clinical Research, University of California, Los Angeles
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
Accomplishments
Pediatric Nephrology, American Board of Pediatric Nephrology
General Pediatrics, American Board of Pediatrics
Society for Pediatric Research
American Society of Transplantation
American Society of Pediatric Nephrology
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society
T32 DK104687 UCLA Translational Research in Pediatric Nephrology Program
National Kidney Foundation Young Investigator Award
The American Society of Nephrology Norman Siegel Research Scholar Grant
1K23AI139335-01A1 Career Development Award, NIH/NIAID
Publications
Pearl M, Leuchter R, Reed E, Zhang Q, Ettenger R, Tsai E. Accelerated rejection, thrombosis, and graft failure with angiotensin II type 1 receptor antibodies. Pediatric Nephrology. 2015 Aug; 30(8): 1371-1374
Pearl M, Nayak A, Ettenger R, Puliyanda D, Palma Diaz MF, Zhang Q, Reed E, Tsai E. Bortezomib may Stabilize Pediatric Renal Transplant Recipients with Antibody-Mediated Rejection. Pediatric Nephrology. 2016 Aug; 31(8):1341-8.
Pearl M, Grotts J, Rossetti M, Zhang Q, Palma-Diaz MF, Gjertson D, Elashoff D, Weng P, Reed E, Tsai E. Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Antibodies are Associated with Inflammatory Cytokines and Poor Clinical Outcomes in Pediatric Kidney Transplantation. Kidney International. 2018 Jan; 93(1): 260-269
Pearl MH, Grotts J, Rossetti M, Zhang Q, Gjertson D, Weng P, Elashoff D, Reed EF and Tsai E. Cytokine Profiles Associated With Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Antibodies. Kidney International Reports. 2018 Dec 21;4 (4):541-550.
Seifert M, MD, Dahale D, Kamel M, Winterberg P, Barletta G, Belsha C, Chaudhuri A, Flynn J, Garro R, George R, Goebel J, Kershaw D, Matossian D, Misurac J, Nailescu C, Nguyen C, Pearl M, Pollack A, Pruette C, Singer P, VanSickle J, Verghese P, Warady B, Warmin A, Wickman L, Wilson A, Hooper D on behalf of the Improving Renal Outcomes Collaborative (IROC). Standardizing Appropriate Blood Pressure Measurement: The Improving Renal Outcomes Collaborative. Pediatrics. 2020 Jul;146(1):e20192833. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-2833. Epub 2020 Jun 9.
Pearl M, Chen L, ElChaki R, Rossetti M, Elashoff D, Gjertson D, Weng P, Zhang Q, Reed E, Tsai E. Endothelin Type A Receptor Antibodies are associated with Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Antibodies, Vascular Inflammation, and Decline in Renal Function in Pediatric Kidney Transplantation. Kidney International Reports. 2020 Sep 6;5(11):1925-1936. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2020.09.004. PMID: 33163713; PMCID: PMC7609952.
Bradford K, Pearl M, Kohn D, Weng P, Yadin O, Bowles L, De Oliveira S, Moore T. AT1R Activating Autoantibodies in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2020 Nov;26(11):2061-2067.
Shaw B, Lee H, Chan C, Ettenger R, Grimm P, Pearl M, Reed E, Robien M, Sarwal M, Stempora L, Warshaw B, Zhao C, Martinez O, Kirk A, Tsai-Chambers E. Relationship between antithymocyte globulin, T cell phenotypes, and clinical outcomes in pediatric kidney transplantation. Am J Transplant. 2021 Feb;21(2):766-775. doi: 10.1111/ajt.16263. Epub 2020 Sep 12. PMID: 33480466. PMCID: PMC7952017
Farkas-Skiles CM, Ettenger RB, Zuckerman JE, Pearl M, Venick RS, Weng PL. De novo lupus-like glomerulonephritis after pediatric non-kidney organ transplantation. Pediatric Nephrology 2022 Jan;37(1):153-161. doi: 10.1007/s00467-021-05194-6. Epub 2021 Jul 22. PMID: 34292379
Limm-Chan B, Wesseling-Perry K, Pearl M, Jung G, Tsai-Chambers E, Weng P, Hanudel M. Associations among erythropoietic, iron-related, and FGF23 parameters in pediatric kidney transplant recipients. Pediatric Nephrology 2021 Apr 26.doi: 10.1007/s00467-021-05081-0. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33903951
Pearl M, Weng P, Chen L, Dokras A, Pizzo H, Garrison J, Butler C, Zhang Q, Reed E, Kim I, Choi J, Haas M, Zhang X, Vo A, Tsai-Chambers E, Ettenger R, Jordan S, Puliyanda D. Long term Tolerability and Clinical Outcomes associated with Tocilizumab in the Treatment of Refractory Antibody Mediated Rejection in Pediatric Renal Transplant Recipients. Clinical Transplantation 2022 Aug;36(8). https://doi.org/10.1111/ctr.14734. PMID: 35657013 PMCID: PMC9378624. *submitted at time of last review
ElChaki R, Ettenger R, Lee S, Chen L, Gales B, Srivastava R, Pearl M. Envarsus XR® pharmacokinetics in adolescents post-kidney transplantation - A pilot study. Pediatr Transplant. 2023 Feb 2:e14480. doi: 10.1111/petr.14480. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36732080
Stern R, Chen L, Wozniak L, Chin A, Pearl M. Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Antibodies and Native Renal Function in Pediatric Liver and Intestinal Transplant Recipients. Published online ahead of print, 2023 Jul 11. Pediatr Nephrol. doi:10.1007/s00467-023-06055-0. PMID: 37432534
Hogan J, Divard G, Aubert O, Garro R, Boyer O, Alex L, Cooper D, Farris AB, Fila M, Seifert M, Sellier-Leclerc A, Smith J, Fichtner A, Tönshoff B, Twombley, Warady B, Pearl M, Zahr R, Lefaucheur C, Patzer R, Loupy A. Validation of a prediction system for risk of kidney allograft failure in pediatric kidney transplant recipients: An international observational study. Published online ahead of print, 2023 Jul 13. Am J Transplant. 2023;S1600-6135(23)00576-2. doi:10.1016/j.ajt.2023.07.004. PMID: 37453485
Pearl M, Chen L, Elashoff D, Weng P, Tsai-Chambers E. Reed E. Five Year Outcomes with Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Antibodies and Endothelin Type A Receptor Antibodies in Pediatric Transplantation. Published online ahead of print, 2023 Aug 1. Transplantation. doi:10.1097/TP.0000000000004753. PMID: 37527494
Research
Research Interests
Kidney Transplantation; non-HLA antibodies; Novel Immunosuppression; Spatial Transcriptomics
