Clinical and translational research in acute kidney injury (AKI) requires access to well characterized patients with longitudinal follow up coupled with biological samples enabling investigators to probe the underlying mechanisms and pathways contributing to outcomes.
The specific aims of the Resource for Clinical Studies of AKI (Core A) are to (i) facilitate and support the design and conduct of clinical research in AKI with appropriate tools to collect and record information for detailed phenotypic characterization of patients through the course of AKI, (ii) provide access to comprehensive datasets of well characterized patients with and without AKI, and (iii) provide a biological sample repository that includes human kidney tissue, blood and urine, linked to an accessible clinical database of patients with and without AKI to enable translational research studies. This core will specifically provide investigators access to patients with AKI through an established international network of collaborating investigators who are contributing to an ongoing registry of AKI in the ICU setting currently with over 2,200 patients. Core A is designed to facilitate both hypothesis-driven and hypothesis-generating clinical research by providing essential resources for clinical investigation and enhancing interactions with a large worldwide network of investigators and centers focused on AKI. Since its inception the Core has been very successful in supporting investigators for clinical and translational research. We have established a robust data management system and database of patients with AKI that is flexible in accommodating the research objectives of individual investigators and collaborating centers. A new service being offered by Core A is the addition of human kidney tissues along with biological samples (blood, urine and DNA) from patients with and without AKI and healthy controls. Over the last 4 years, Core A has been highly productive in assisting multiple facets of clinical research supporting 72 investigators including 8 pilot and catalyst awardees and 111 different projects. These combined efforts have resulted in 40 peer-reviewed publications. All services provided by Core A are being utilized by our investigator base. We envision that these rich resources will continue to enable interdisciplinary clinical investigation in AKI to advance our understanding of the natural history and pathophysiology of human AKI. We are confident that Core A in conjunction with the existing resources at UAB and UCSD and other cores within the O'Brien Center will accelerate the translation of new investigative insights towards improving outcomes for patients with AKI.
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