UAB-UCSD O'Brien Center for Acute Kidney Injury Research

Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) remains a significant clinical problem through its diverse etiologies, the challenges of robust measurements of injury and recovery, and its progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Bridging the gap in our knowledge of this disorder requires bringing together not only the technical resources for research but also the investigators currently endeavoring to expand our knowledge and those who might bring novel ideas and expertise to this important challenge. The University of Alabama at Birmingham-University of California-San Diego O'Brien Center for Acute Kidney Injury Research brings together technical expertise and programmatic and educational efforts to advance our knowledge in these diverse issues and the required infrastructure to develop areas of novel exploration. Since its inception in 2008, this O'Brien Center has grown its impact by providing state-of-the-art resources in clinical and preclinical modeling of AKI, a bioanalytical core that facilitates measurement of critical biomarkers, including serum creatinine via LC-MS/MS among others, and a biostatistical resource that assists from design to analysis. Through these core resources and with additional educational efforts, our center has grown its investigator base to include >200 members from 51 institutions. Importantly, this center has translated its pilot and catalyst funding program with a $37 return per dollar invested. Over 500 publications have resulted from the support provided with a relative citation ratio of 2.18 ± 0.12 (iCite). Through its efforts, this disease-centric O'Brien Center is providing the infrastructure and focus to help the development of the next generation of researchers in the basic and clinical science of AKI. This center creates the promise of the application at the bedside of the advances in AKI made by current and future investigators.

Keywords: O'Brien Center; acute kidney injury; acute renal failure; core; kidney disease.

Graphical abstract

Figure 1.

Diagram of the integration of resources across the translational science spectrum. The core resources of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)-University of California-San Diego (UCSD) O’Brien Center for Acute Kidney Injury Research provide infrastructure across the spectrum of research from basic science investigations (T₀) to translation to patient care (T₄). These resources include a variety of approaches to facilitate research in each realm and leverage additional available resources at each academic medical center, including those of the Centers for Clinical and Translational Science (CTSAs) of each institution. AKI, acute kidney injury. [Modified from Zarjou et al. (81).]

Figure 2.

Enrichment program integration between the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and University of California-San Diego (UCSD). Training opportunities are provided across the range of levels from undergraduate students to postgraduate trainees to junior faculty at both UCSD and UAB as indicated by the coloring. These offerings are available to all research base investigators to foster development of renal scientists and enhance the retention of these individuals in the workforce pipeline, thereby increasing the numbers of individuals performing cutting-edge research in acute kidney injury (AKI). KURE, Kidney Undergraduate Research Experience; PROmoTE, Predoctoral PhD and MD Research Training in Teams; PRIME, Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Training in Renal Physiology and Medicine.

Figure 3.

Utilization of the University of Alabama at Birmingham-University of California-San Diego O’Brien Center for Acute Kidney Injury Research Core Facilities. Core utilization has increased since 2008, demonstrating the relevance of these resources as well as the innovative approach to meeting the needs of the research base. The bars on the left and middle represent activity over 5-yr spans, whereas the bars on the right reflect usage in 3 yr, including 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in shutdown at our institutions during the months of March to June. Core A, Clinical Studies of AKI Core; Core B, Preclinical Studies of AKI Core; Core C, Bioanalytical Core; BR, Biostatistical Resource.

Figure 4.

Publication metrics for the University of Alabama at Birmingham-University of California-San Diego O’Brien Center for Acute Kidney Injury Research (UAB-UCSD O’Brien Center). A: publications citing the UAB-UCSD O’Brien Center. These absolute numbers of publications indicate the productive impact of the Center. These publications have appeared in high-impact journals, including the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology, Nature Medicine, Science, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, American Journal of Pathology, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Kidney International, and others. B: weighted relative citation ratio (RCR) for center publications. Data were obtained from iCite [National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Portfolio Analysis]. To measure the impact of the publications from our center, we used the iCite tool from the NIH Office of Portfolio Analysis. This tool uses the RCR, which represents a citation-based measure of the scientific influence of articles. It is calculated as the cites/year of each paper, normalized to the citations per year received by NIH-funded papers in the same field and year. A paper with an RCR of 1.0 has received the same number of cites/year as the average NIH-funded paper in its field, whereas a paper with an RCR of 2.0 has received twice as many cites/year as the average NIH-funded paper in its field.