Developing a Research Mentorship Program: The American Society of Pediatric Nephrology's Experience

Background: Most pediatric nephrologists work in academia. Mentor-mentee relationships provide support and guidance for successful research career. Mentorship program implementation is valuable in medical fields for providing research opportunities to young faculty. Methods: The American Society of Pediatric Nephrology (ASPN) established a research mentorship program to (a) assist with matching of appropriate mentor-mentee dyads and (b) establish metrics for desirable mentor-mentee outcomes with two independent components: (1) the grants review workshop, a short-term program providing mentor feedback on grant proposals, and (2) the longitudinal program, establishing long-term mentor-mentee relationships. Regular surveys of both mentors and mentees were reviewed to evaluate and refine the program. Results: Twelve mentees and 17 mentors participated in the grant review workshop and 19 mentees were matched to mentors in the longitudinal program. A review of NIH RePORTER data indicated that since 2014, 13 NIH grants have been awarded. Mentees in the longitudinal program reported that the program helped most with identifying an outside mentor, improving grant research content, and with general career development. Mentors perceived themselves to be most helpful in assisting with overall career plans. Email communications were preferred over phone or face-to-face communications. Mentees endorsed strong interest in staying in touch with their mentors and 100% of mentors expressed their willingness to serve in the future. Conclusion: This mentorship program was initiated and supported by a relatively small medical society and has shown early success in cultivating mentoring relationships for a future generation of clinician-scientists

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Significant Reductions in Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Washington State from 2003 to 2011

<div><p>Background</p><p>Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) is an autoimmune multisystem disease. While a complete understanding of lupus’ origins, mechanisms, and progression is not yet available, a number of studies have demonstrated correlations between disease prevalence and severity, gender, and race. There have been few population based studies in the United States</p><p>Objectives</p><p>To assess temporal changes in demographics and hospital mortality of patients with lupus in Washington State from 2003 to 2011</p><p>Study Design</p><p>This study used data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), a patient information database, and data from the Washington State census to study a group of patients in the state. Lupus hospitalizations were defined as any hospitalization with an ICD-9-CM diagnosis code for systemic lupus erythematosus. Regression analysis was used to assess the effect of calendar time on demographics and hospital outcomes.</p><p>Results</p><p>There were a total of 18,905 patients in this study with a diagnostic code for lupus. The mean age of the group was 51.5 years (95% CI: 50.6-52.3) in 2003 and 51.3 years (95% CI: 50.6-52.0) in 2011. The population was 88.6% female. Blacks were 2.8 times more likely to have a lupus hospitalization than whites when compared to the Washington population. While hospital mortality decreased during this eight year period (3.12% in 2003 to 1.28% in 2011, p=0.001) hospital length of stay remained statistically unchanged at an average of 4.9 days during that eight year period. We found a significant decrease in annual hospital mortality over the study period [odds ratio(OR): 0.92 per year, 95% CI 0.88-0.96, P<0.001]. Hospital mortality was higher in males (2.6% male death to 1.8% female death)</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>In this large group of hospitalized lupus patients in Washington, hospital length of stay remained relatively stable over time but hospital mortality decreased by over 50% over the eight year study period.</p></div

CD36 Regulates Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Hypercholesterolemic CKD

Scavenger receptors play a central role in atherosclerosis by processing oxidized lipoproteins and mediating their cellular effects. Recent studies suggested that the atherogenic state correlates with progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD); therefore, scavenger receptors are candidate mediators of renal fibrogenesis. Here, we investigated the role of CD36, a class B scavenger receptor, in a hypercholesterolemic model of CKD. We placed CD36-deficient mice and wild-type male mice on a high-fat Western diet for 7 to 8 wk and then performed either sham or unilateral ureteral obstruction surgery. CD36-deficient mice developed significantly less fibrosis compared with wild-type mice at days 3, 7, and 14 after obstruction. Compared with wild-type mice, CD36-deficient mice had significantly more interstitial macrophages at 7 d but not at 14 d. CD36-deficient mice exhibited reduced levels of activated NF-κB and oxidative stress (assessed by measuring fatty acid–derived hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid and protein carbonyl content) and decreased accumulation of interstitial myofibroblasts compared with wild-type mice. These data suggest that CD36 is a key modulator of proinflammatory and oxidative pathways that promote fibrogenesis in CKD

The percentage of lupus patients hospitalized every year by gender, age category, and hospital mortality and mean length of stay in Washington State from years 2003 through 2011.

<p>The percentage of lupus patients hospitalized every year by gender, age category, and hospital mortality and mean length of stay in Washington State from years 2003 through 2011.</p

Prevalence of lupus hospitalizations by race based on Washington State population estimates, 2008 through 2011.

<p>Prevalence of lupus hospitalizations by race based on Washington State population estimates, 2008 through 2011.</p