Chronic Kidney Diseases of UnceRtain Etiology (CKDu) in Agricultural Communities (CURE) Research Consortium Renal Science Core (U01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications for a Renal Science Core to support and provide scientific guidance as part of the new consortium to study Chronic Kidney Disease of UnceRtain Etiology (CKDu) in Agricultural Communities (CURE). The Renal Analytic Core (RAC) will provide leadership in discovery science and support the analytic needs of the new consortium. The RAC will assess renal function, analyze kidney biopsies, devise and carry out a scientific approach to understanding the cause or causes of CKDu, including planning a biological sampling strategy to be implemented at Field Sites. This collaborative research consortium will bring together a broad range of expertise and enable discovery science to understand the cause or causes of CKDu and disease progression. The consortium will also work to identify potential therapeutic targets and public health interventions. The consortium will consist of a Scientific Data Coordinating Center, Field Sites, a Renal Analytic Core and the NIEHS Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource (HHEAR). The consortium will work together to develop common protocols for evaluation of participants who are currently affected with early manifestations of CKDu and control participants, to define common strategies for biosampling and environmental assessment, and to determine analytic strategies to best use the samples collected by the consortium. This FOA will not support intervention trials to prevent or treat CKDu. This FOA is intended to support only human studies and applications that include animal or model systems are not responsive.