A research team in the Division of Nephrology has received one of two new competitive grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to support basic and clinical research in renal and urogenital disorders at Duke University.
Thomas Coffman, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Nephrology, was awarded a five-year, $5.8 million grant as part of the NIDDK’s George M. O’Brien Kidney Research Core Centers program. Dr. Coffman was one of seven researchers nationally to receive funding through this program, which brings state-of-the-art technology and resources to study kidney disease.
With their grant, Coffman and his colleagues have established the Duke O’Brien Center for Kidney Research. The focus of the new center is to support research on the connection between kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.
The grant builds upon Duke’s existing excellence in kidney research. Duke already has researchers working on problems in the kidney, and a broad range of researchers looking at cardiovascular disease, said Coffman. The new Center will provide a framework to bring these investigators together and find areas of common interest around this particular problem.
“If you have kidney disease, your risk for cardiovascular disease increases astronomically. Unfortunately, the reasons for this aren’t clear, but the risk presents a significant clinical problem for people with kidney disease,” said Coffman. “Our goal for the center is to provide resources and expertise to facilitate research addressing this problem.”
Joining Coffman in the Duke O'Brien Center for Kidney Research will be these Department of Medicine faculty:
- Michelle Winn, MD, will lead the human genetics studies core.
- Laura Svetkey, MD, MHS, and Uptal Patel, MD, will will lead the clinical and translational research.
- Susan Gurley, MD, and Howard Rockman, MD, will lead the animal models and phenotyping for hypertension, kidney and cardiovascular disease core.