Name: David Leaf, MD

Institution: Brigham and Women's Hospital

Grant: Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar Grant

Project Title: Hepcidin, Dysregulated Iron Homeostasis, and Anemia in Human Acute Kidney Injury
 

How would you sum up your research in one sentence?

• I conduct patient-oriented research in acute kidney injury, with an emphasis on identifying novel pathways and therapeutic targets

Provide a brief overview of the research you will conduct with help from the grant.

• Using samples from the ATN trial, I will explore whether plasma hepcidin levels are elevated in critically ill patients with established acute kidney injury (AKI), and whether this elevation contributes to AKI-associated anemia and other adverse outcomes.  Additionally, using samples from an ongoing, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of activated vitamin D metabolites in critically ill patients, I will explore whether elevated hepcidin levels in critical illness can be lowered by administration vitamin D metabolites.

What inspired you to focus your research in this area?

• Anemia is a nearly universal complication of advanced chronic kidney disease and is a major area of investigation.  Anemia as a complication of acute kidney injury, on the other hand, has received much less attention, yet is likely contributes to adverse outcomes in this setting as well.  I believe that elevated levels of hepcidin may be a major contributor to anemia in patients with AKI.

What impact do you hope your research will have on patients?

• I hope that this research will help elucidate the mechanisms of anemia in patients with AKI and thereby provide a potential therapeutic target for future interventional studies to improve outcomes in patients with AKI.

What are your short- and long-term career goals?

• I hope that by the end of the grant period I will have answered the questions I proposed in relation to AKI-associated anemia.  Five-to-ten years from now, I hope to have conducted a randomized controlled trial in this area to assess whether targeting anemia in patients with AKI could be a strategy to improve outcomes in this group of patients.

What has surprised you most about your career?

• How collaborative most people in the research community have been.

Describe the importance of having grant funding available through the ASN Foundation.

• This ASN Foundation grant will be critical to my success in becoming an independent investigator and in establishing a new area of investigation within the field of AKI.

What advice would you give to others to encourage them to apply for this grant funding?

• It’s a wonderful grant opportunity, especially in the last few years of a K-award during which time additional funding is needed to investigate new areas.

Something you may not know about me is…

• I’m a NY rangers fan.

In my free time I like to…

• Spend time with my wife and daughter, work out, play tennis, ski, and travel