Health Disparities in Chronic Kidney Disease Mentoring Program

描述(由申请人提供)：慢性肾脏疾病(CKD)在美国困扰着2600多万人，众所周知，这种慢性疾病对种族/少数民族的影响不成比例。造成这种差距的因素是复杂的，也是不完全理解的。尽管在这一领域迫切需要更多的研究，但越来越多的受训人员选择了学术肾脏病学的职业。以患者为中心的研究中的K24职业生涯中期研究人员奖提供了一个独特的机制，以帮助现有的研究人员吸引和留住有才华的新内科科学家投身职业生涯 以病人为中心的研究。这个K24的候选人是芝加哥伊利诺伊大学医学副教授詹姆斯·拉什医学博士。拉什博士的研究重点是慢性肾脏病的流行病学，并特别强调少数族裔人群。作为一名以患者为中心的研究人员，他拥有丰富的经验，是NIDDK赞助的两项研究的首席研究员：1)慢性肾功能不全队列(CRIC)研究和2)西班牙裔CRIC研究。这些研究以及其他几个多中心合作研究为受训者提供了丰富的机会。在指导年轻研究人员方面，拉什博士有着良好的履历，其中不乏有少数族裔背景的人。由该奖项资助的新研究项目是拉什博士正在进行的工作的自然延伸，将为受训人员提供更多机会。它由两个项目组成，侧重于造成成人和患有慢性肾脏病儿童差异的潜在因素：1)个人/邻里社会经济地位，2)健康素养。这项拟议的研究利用了两项正在进行的大型队列研究(CRIC研究和儿童慢性肾脏疾病研究)的基础设施，因此，为检查CKD儿童和成人的这些因素提供了一个独特的机会。除了指导研究，学员还将通过UIC K30临床研究培训计划参加教学培训，并可以使用UIC临床转化科学中心(CCTS)、UIC公共卫生学院和UIC P60健康差异卓越中心提供的广泛资源和基础设施。这一K24奖项将为拉什博士提供额外的时间和资源，以扩大他在促进我们对健康的理解方面的努力。 在慢性肾脏病和培训新的内科科学家成为肾脏疾病研究的独立研究者方面的差异。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Chronic kidney disease (CKD) afflicts more than 26 million individuals in the United States and it is well established that racial/ethnic minorities ae disproportionately affected by this chronic condition. The factors responsible for this disparity are complex and incompletely understood. Despite the critical need for more research in this area, decreasing number of trainees are choosing careers in academic nephrology. The K24 Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient- Oriented Research provides a unique mechanism to assist established investigators to attract and retain talented new physician-scientists to careers in patient-oriented research. The candidate for this K24 is James Lash, MD, an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Dr. Lash's research focuses on the epidemiology of CKD with a particular emphasis on minority populations. He has considerable experience as a patient- oriented researcher and is the Principal Investigator for two NIDDK-sponsored studies: 1) the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study and 2) the Hispanic CRIC Study. These studies, as well as several other multicenter collaborative studies, provide a wealth of opportunities for trainees. Dr. Lash has developed a solid track record for mentoring young investigators, including a significant number from minority backgrounds. The new research program funded by this award is a natural extension of Dr. Lash's ongoing work and will provide additional opportunities for trainees. It consists of two projects which focus on potential factors contributing to disparities in adults and children with CKD: 1) individual/neighborhood socioeconomic status, and 2) health literacy. This proposed research leverages the infrastructure of two large ongoing cohort studies (the CRIC Study and Chronic Kidney Disease in Children Study) and therefore, provides a unique opportunity to examine these factors in both children and adults with CKD. In addition to mentored research, trainees will participate in didactic training through the UIC K30 Clinical Research Training Program and have access to the extensive resources and infrastructure provided by the UIC Center for Clinical Translational Science (CCTS), the UIC School of Public Health, and the UIC P60 Center for Excellence in Health Disparities. This K24 award will provide Dr. Lash with the additional time and resources to amplify his efforts in contributing to our understanding of health disparities in CKD and in training new physician scientists to become independent investigators in kidney disease research.