Kidney disease is a major health problem that continues to grow at a rapid rate that necessitates training of investigators in kidney-related translational research. The goals of the program is to identify promising candidates and train them for careers in academic nephrology. Toward this end we have identified and recruited outstanding clinician and basic science investigators with a track record of mentorship from various Departments and Centers including: Medicine, Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Microbiology, Pathology, Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, the Cardiovascular Research Center, Center for Cell Signaling, Beirne Carter Center of Immunology and Public Health Science. The basic/translational faculty laboratories offer research experience that links kidney disease with inflammation. The program provides training and didactic instruction in fundamental and state of the art disciplines, including molecular, cellular, transgenic technologies, immunology, functional genomics and novel imaging technologies. The patient oriented clinical research program provides training in clinical investigation, epidemiology, and biostatistics and human genetic epidemiology. Three new faculty mentors have been recruited to mentor trainees in genetic susceptibility to kidney disease and disease progression. Trainees with M.D. degrees will pursue a program consisting of 1 year of clinical training, which is not supported by the grant and 2 years of research training funded by this application. PhD applicants will be required to have prior research experience and outstanding references. Thirty mentors/co-mentor will personally supervise the designated trainee. Each of the training faculty has a track record of mentorship and are experts in one or more of 6 core areas that pertain to kidney disease and inflammation including: kidney disease pathogenesis, diabetes/vascular disease, cell signaling, leukocyte biology and patient oriented research/genetic epidemiology. The trainees will be expected to design, conduct, and analyze experiments with progressive independence in our new, modern, and well equipped laboratory space. All trainees will be required to attend specific courses addressing research methodologies, experimental design, research integrity, ethics and faculty development, in addition to regular seminars and journal clubs. We value and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds. It is the goal of the mentored training program that its graduates attain a strong foundation in translational biomedical research and be among a new generation of academic nephrologists and renal investigators who will make significant contributions in addressing the growing problem of kidney disease.
Kidney disease is a major economic and public health burden in the United States and worldwide. One in 9 people in the US have chronic kidney disease (CKD) and over 0.5 million are on dialysis or have received a kidney transplant (end stage renal disease, ESRD). Patient with CKD who have reached ESRD have a shortened life span, with a dismal 5 year survival rate of 33%. For these reasons, more research is (urgently) necessary to better understand kidney disease pathogenesis and to design novel treatment options. The major goal of the Kidney Disease and Inflammation Training grant is to train the next generation of academic nephrologists and renal investigators in translational biomedical research to address the growing problem of kidney disease.
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