New $2.8 million grant continues Tulane research into chronic kidney disease

A new $2.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will continue groundbreaking research into chronic kidney disease (CKD) by Tulane University. A team of investigators, including Dr. Jiang He from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and Drs. Jing Chen and Lee Hamm from Tulane University School of Medicine, has been conducting a landmark kidney study — the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study since 2001. The new grant allows them to investigate novel risk factors for the progression of CKD, cardiovascular disease and other related disease outcomes among patients with CKD.

CKD is an important public health challenge because it is common in the general population and a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Understanding novel risk factors for the progression of CKD, cardiovascular disease and other related diseases that often occur simultaneously may help researchers develop effective approaches for early intervention in order to reduce the adverse disease burden.

“The CRIC Study has significantly contributed to our knowledge about the causes of CKD and cardiovascular disease progression among patients with CKD and has produced more than 175 peer-reviewed scientific articles,” said He, principal investigator and Copes Chair of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. “NIH has made substantial investments into the CRIC Study due to its clinical and public health importance. At Tulane University alone, NIH has awarded $14.6 million over the study period.”

The new phase of the CRIC Study will include home monitoring of kidney and cardiovascular functions, to better characterize study participants.

”Kidney function decline is not linear,” said co-investigator Dr. Jing Chen, a nephrologist and professor of  medicine at Tulane School of Medicine. “With more frequent monitoring of serum creatinine and proteinuria,we will be able to detect acute kidney injury and study its impacts on CKD progression.”

The new phase of the CRIC Study will last for five years.