02/21/2022
NIH Funds Multi-Institutional Training Network to Support Kidney, Urologic and Hematologic Research
John Sedor, MD, and Walter Boron, PhD, MD, received a five-year, $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the Cleveland Kidney, Urology and Hematology Training Network (KUH-TN). The network’s mission is to cultivate a highly integrated cohort of trainees and early career investigators who will accelerate kidney, urologic, and hematologic research and address outcomes in patients with kidney and benign urinary and blood conditions. Cleveland Clinic is one of four institutions in the nation to receive this award.
“Our trainees will garner experience working in interdisciplinary groups to understand concepts across the spectrum from the laboratory to clinical and public health sciences,” said Dr. Sedor, program co-director of KUH-TN and staff, Department of Inflammation & Immunity. “This scientific training and professional development will enable our trainees to address unmet health needs and improve and advance community health.”
“A goal of the program is to enhance our trainee’s competitiveness by providing them with the knowledge and skills needed for successful research careers in nephrology, urology and hematology,” said Walter Boron, MD, PhD, program co-director and chair of Physiology & Biophysics at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine. “The program supports three pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees each year of its five-year funding cycle. Trainees will have an opportunity to attend an annual scientific meeting with faculty and trainees from all the KUH-TN sites.
Community Health Training Initiatives
Drs. Sedor and Boron have complementary expertise and successful training track records in career development and community health. They began working together in 2007 as co-directors in the Cleveland Nephrology Training Program, which was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and also prepared trainees for science-related careers.
In addition to scientific training and professional development skills training, KUH-TN will provide networking activities to promote a community of practice among trainees, their peers and the training faculty.
NIH support for the KUH-TN is funded through the Lerner Research Institute in two components, a U2C and a TL1 award.
Supporting Institutions
KUH-TN unites the six Cleveland biomedical research institutions: Cleveland Clinic; Case Western Reserve University; University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center; Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center; MetroHealth Medical Center and Cleveland State University, to provide trainees with a multidisciplinary environment for learning.
