Kidney disease and Transplant Epidemiology (KiTE)
The KiTE (Kidney disease and Transplant Epidemiology) research consortium has several ambitious goals. Collaborators from VCU and the University of Arizona aim to develop models for early identification of acute and chronic kidney disease. Implementation of these clinical decision tools in electronic health records promises dramatic impacts for early identification of disease with early interventions. We also aim to increase access to kidney transplants, automate and embed machine learning in transplant decision making, and study innovative diagnostic techniques that can improve kidney disease and kidney transplant outcomes.
Director's Message
Gaurav Gupta, MD
Studies
Learn more about our active KiTE studies
This study supported by the VCU Department of Internal Medicine is working on developing and embedding algorithms in the VCU Electronic Health Records for early identification of kidney disease.
Kidneys from donors with acute kidney injury (AKI) have been shown to be often discarded yet have good long-term transplant outcomes. Reasons for discard are thought to include transplant center hesitancy in using such donors due to concerns about delayed graft function (DGF), primary non-function, and other early, poor recipient outcomes and complications. This study in collaboration with The United Network for Organ Sharing is helping identify patients that might be good candidates to receive these types of kidneys. Ultimately, the aim is to aid transplant decision-making to transplant more patients by reducing kidney discards, while improving recipient outcomes.
This study funded by the VCU Department of Medicine and the Gupta-Levy Research Fund aims to provide comprehensive physical therapy to frail dialysis patients to make them stronger so that they can successfully tolerate transplant surgery.
This study funded by the VCU Department of Medicine and the Gupta-Levy Research Fund aims to assess the role of AT1R antibodies in kidney transplant rejection.
This ongoing registry supported by the Gupta-Levy Fund is a collection of biospecimens from all kidney transplants. The ultimate aim of this biobank is identify why people have different outcomes after transplants and how treatments can be individualized for better outcomes.
13% of African-Americans have two high risk APOL1 alleles. When transplanted in to others, these mutations can result in a higher risk of kidney transplant failure. This molecular study supported by the Gupta-Levy Fund is looking at the pathogenetic pathways in kidney transplant biopsies to understand the mechanisms of disease.
This study supported by Industry Partners aims to understand the pathogenesis, immune response and treatment responses to BK Virus kidney transplant disease, which is the 3rd most common cause of kidney transplant failure.
This multi-center study supported by Industry Partners aims to investigate the utilization of the molecular diagnosis platform MMDx in kidney transplant management and outcomes.
This national cohort analysis supported by Industry Partners aims to assess whether Envarsus XR improves overall graft survival and decreases acute rejection rate at one-year post kidney transplant.
Patient Registries:
- Establish comprehensive patient registries for various glomerular diseases, facilitating long-term follow-up and recruitment for focused studies.
- Utilize ICD-10 codes and specific diagnostic criteria to identify eligible participants.
Research and Collaboration:
- Foster collaborations among nephrology practices, pathology laboratories, and academic institutions across the Mid-Atlantic region.
- Engage in both clinical trials and observational studies to explore new treatments and improve patient outcomes.
Clinical Trials and Studies:
- Conduct and participate in clinical trials, focusing on novel therapeutic approaches and patient management strategies.
- Collect bio-samples (blood and urine) from consenting participants for biobanking, enabling future research into disease biomarkers and pathology.
Education and Outreach:
- Provide educational resources to healthcare providers and patients, raising awareness and improving the management of glomerular diseases.
- Involve patients in the design and development of educational programs, ensuring that the research addresses their needs and concerns.
The Designing Equitable Care for Kidneys (DECK) study aims to address health disparities in kidney disease, particularly among disadvantaged groups. This initiative was launched in East End communities of Richmond, VA, through a grant from the National Kidney Foundation in 2023. By combining educational outreach with screenings for kidney disease and social determinants of health (SDOH), DECK seeks to enhance awareness, identify unmet community needs, and improve access to care, ultimately fostering a better understanding of how social factors influence kidney disease risk.
Publications
Learn more about our scholarly activity
- Comparison of Short-Term Outcomes in Kidney Transplant Recipients from SARS-CoV-2-Infected versus Noninfected Deceased Donors. Yamauchi J, Azhar A, Hall IE, Bhalla A, Potluri VS, Tanriover B, Gupta G, Imlay H, Truax C, Balaraman V, Raghavan D, Zimmerman M, Campsen J, Rofaiel G, Baker T, Molnar MZ.Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2023 Nov 1;18(11):1466-1475. doi: 10.2215/CJN.0000000000000275. Epub 2023 Aug 14. PMID: 37574663.
- The Independent Effects of Kidney Length and Vascular Plaque on Ten-Year Outcomes of Extended Criteria Donor Kidney Transplants. Tanriover B, Stewart D, Kamal L, Saeed M, Cooper M, Foutz J, McGehee H, Gupta G.Transpl Int. 2023 Jul 14;36:11373. doi: 10.3389/ti.2023.11373. eCollection 2023. PMID: 37519905. Free PMC article.
- Oversimplification and Misplaced Blame Will Not Solve the Complex Kidney Underutilization Problem. Stewart D, Tanriover B, Gupta G.Kidney360. 2022 Oct 5;3(12):2143-2147. doi: 10.34067/KID.0005402022. eCollection 2022 Dec 29.PMID: 36591359 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
- Detection of Transmissible Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 From Deceased Kidney Donors: Implications for Kidney Transplant Recipients. Azhar A, Kleiboeker S, Khorsandi S, Duncan Kilpatrick M, Khan A, Gungor A, Molnar MZ, Morales M, Levy M, Kamal L, Moinuddin I, Kumar D, Tanriover B, Gupta G.Transplantation. 2023 Feb 1;107(2):e65-e67. doi: 10.1097/TP.0000000000004422. Epub 2022 Nov 1.PMID: 36316299 No abstract available.
- Increased Rates of Kidney Discard in the Era of COVID-19 and Recent KAS Policy Implementation. Özer Y, Kaplan S, Sandikçi B, Gupta G, Tanriover B.Transplantation. 2022 Nov 1;106(11):e503-e506. doi: 10.1097/TP.0000000000004321. Epub 2022 Aug 5.PMID: 35939384 No abstract available.
- Predicting Post-Heart Transplant Composite Renal Outcome Risk in Adults: A Machine Learning Decision Tool. Mete M, Ayvaci MUS, Ariyamuthu VK, Amin A, Peltz M, Thibodeau JT, Grodin JL, Mammen PPA, Garg S, Araj F, Morlend R, Drazner MH, AbdulRahim N, Kim Y, Salam Y, Gungor AB, Delibasi B, Kotla SK, MacConmara MP, Mohan Anand P, Gupta G, Tanriover B.Kidney Int Rep. 2022 Apr 9;7(6):1410-1415. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2022.04.004. eCollection 2022 Jun.PMID: 35685329 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
- Clinical outcomes from the Assessing Donor-derived cell-free DNA Monitoring Insights of kidney Allografts with Longitudinal surveillance (ADMIRAL) study. Bu L, Gupta G, Pai A, Anand S, Stites E, Moinuddin I, Bowers V, Jain P, Axelrod DA, Weir MR, Wolf-Doty TK, Zeng J, Tian W, Qu K, Woodward R, Dholakia S, De Golovine A, Bromberg JS, Murad H, Alhamad T.Kidney Int. 2022 Apr;101(4):793-803. doi: 10.1016/j.kint.2021.11.034. Epub 2021 Dec 22.
Our Team
KiTE research consortium
VCU Team members:
Akshay Athreya, MD
VCU Division of Nephrology
Email: akshay.athreya@vcuhealth.org
Ambreen Azhar, MD
VCU Division of Nephrology
Email: ambreen.azhar@vcuhealth.org
Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, PhD
Director of Data Analytics
VCU Department of Biostatistics
Email: dbandyop@vcu.edu
Andinet Gizaw, MD
VCU Division of Nephrology
Email: andinet.gizaw@vcuhealth.org
Gaurav Gupta, MD
Professor of Medicine and Surgery
Medical Director of Kidney/Pancreas Transplantation
VCU Division of Nephrology
Email: gaurav.gupta@vcuhealth.org
Layla Kamal, MD
Program Director, Transplant Nephrology Fellowship
VCU Division of Nephrology
Email: layla.kamal@vcuhealth.org
Jason M. Kidd, MD
Program Director, Nephrology Fellowship
VCU Division of Nephrology
Email: jason.kidd@vcuhealth.org
Danielle Kirkman, PhD
VCU Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences
Email: dlkirkman@vcu.edu
Dhiren Kumar, MD
VCU Division of Nephrology
Email: dhiren.kumar@vcuhealth.org
In Koo Lee, PhD
VCU Department of Biostatistics
Email: leei9@vcu.edu
Irfan Moinuddin, MD, FASN
VCU Division of Nephrology
Email: irfan.moinuddin@vcuhealth.org
Amber B. Paulus PhD, RN, CPPS
VCU Division of Nephrology
Email: paulusab@vcu.edu
Vasco Miguel Pontinha, PhD
VCU Department of Pharmacotherapy & Outcomes Science
Email: vieiradasilvv@vcu.edu
University of Arizona Collaborators:
Give
Learn more about supporting our work
To support our work, please consider donating to the KiTE Research Consortium supported by the Gupta-Levy Transplant Research Endowed Fund. Donations to this fund can be made directly online or by mail. Thank you for supporting kidney research at VCU Health.
Online
To make a credit card gift online, please use the hospital's secure giving site for the Gupta-Levy Transplant Research Endowed Fund.
By Mail
When making a gift by check, please:
- Make it payable to MCV Foundation.
- Specify the 'Gupta-Levy Endowed Fund - KiTE' in the memo line.
- Mail your gift to:
Virginia Commonwealth University
Gifts and Records Management
Box 843042
Richmond, VA 23284-3042
If you are interested in exploring larger donations, endowments or other impactful ways to support the KiTE Research Consortium at VCU, please contact Dr. Gaurav Gupta, Chief of the Division of Nephrology, at gaurav.gupta@vcuhealth.org or Brenna Monk, Director of Development, at monkb@vcu.edu.
Contact
KiTE Research Consortium
Gaurav Gupta, MD
KiTE Research Consortium (medical lead at VCU)
VCU Division of Nephrology
Email: gaurav.gupta@vcuhealth.org