Several members of the KHRC team have recently been awarded new grants. Congrats to you all!

Scott Bauer: GEMSSTAR R03; Longitudinal Associations Between Frailty and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Older Men

Summary: This research project will result in an improved understanding of the potential bidirectional and reciprocal relationship of these conditions and will identify novel mechanisms to inform the development of new interventions to improve or maintain health-related quality of life and physical function among older men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

Vasantha Jotwani: R56; Cannabis use and kidney health among veterans with coronary artery disease

Summary: This R56 award will support the development of preliminary data to strengthen an R01 proposal that focuses on the effects of cannabis use on kidney health among veterans with coronary artery disease.

Jonathan Amatruda: F32; NSAID Use and Multidimensional Assessment of Kidney Health

Summary: This proposal will analyze the Prospective Study of Outcomes in Ankylosing Spondylitis (PSOAS) cohort, which recorded high-quality, standardized measures of NSAID use over time for each participant. Because NSAIDs are a mainstay of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) treatment, this population encompasses a range of NSAID exposure from very high intensity users to non-users over the course of up to 15 years of follow-up. These high-quality data thus allow rigorous investigation of dose and duration of NSAID exposure as possible drivers of kidney disease. This study is a necessary step to better understanding of NSAID-associated kidney risk and to safer, evidence-based prescribing.

Michael Shlipak:   P30 supplement; Kidney Tubular Injury and Dysfunction and Racial Disparities in Incident Hypertension and Kidney Function Decline

Summary: The overarching goal of this project is to extend the mission of the University of Alabama at Birmingham-University of California, San Diego O’Brien Center for Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) Research (P30) by examining factors that contribute to racial disparities in kidney-related health outcomes, which are disproportionately represented in the Southeastern US.

Michelle Estrella   and Michael Shlipak:  HSR&D Award; CKD Cascade of Care (C3) Initiative – Phase 1

Summary: This Phase 1 proposal will lay the groundwork for: 1) translating our extensive research focused on cystatin C into the daily clinical care of Veterans at risk for or with kidney disease; and 2) to improve the application of guideline recommended kidney disease testing and treatment strategies throughout VA healthcare.