# The Interplay between Glucose Metabolism and Heat in Kidney Disease using a Metabolomics Approach

> **NIH NIH K23** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $148,339

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Roxana Chicas, PhD, RN is a 1st generation bilingual Latina and her goal is to become an independent NIH-
funded nurse scientist developing a sustainable research program in the area of
glucose metabolism and
kidney disease. Support from the K23 award will provide the dedicated research time that will enable
fundamental training and mentorship to further her understanding of: 1) the relationship of
glucose metabolic
pathways and heat exposure and the development of
kidney disease in farmworkers using a metabolomics
approach; and 2) the design and management of community-engaged intervention trials to decrease the risk of
heat stress, renal dysfunction, and glucose dysregulation in vulnerable populations. Heat is the leading cause
of weather-related deaths in the US, and farmworkers comprise an occupational sector particularly vulnerable
to heat-related illness (HRI). Between 2-3 million workers in the US agricultural industry are at risk of heat
related mortality at a rate that is 35 times greater than that of the general workforce population. In the last
decade a number of investigations have shown a link between heat exposure and the risk of acute kidney
injury (AKI). The chronic effects of the insidious and unexplained uptick of AKI among farmworkers, and the
disproportionate burden of HRI and repetitive heat stress-induced dehydration are not well understood. The
role that predisposing health conditions such as prediabetes may play in the risk of AKI has not been
examined. While studies have documented heat-related risk factors and the body’s physiologic response to
heat, few investigations have considered whether glucose metabolism and high environmental heat conditions
are a risk factor for acute kidney injury, and less is known about the metabolic pathways underlying the body’s
response to heat stress. The goal of this project is to characterize the physiologic phenotypes of farmworkers
across seasons and exposures (indoors v. outdoors), using non-targeted, high-resolution metabolomics (HRM)
to compare metabolomic profiles, and examine the associations between HRI clinical profiles (including core
body temperature, heart rate, dehydration, HRI symptoms); inflammation biomarkers (IL-10, IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β,
TNF-α, HSP72, HSP90); renal biomarkers (serum creatinine, BUN, eGFR, proteinuria, uric acid; aldosterone,
and copeptin); and glucose clinical profiles (HbA1c, AM fasting blood glucose, and PM blood glucose levels).
This proposed study will explore interplay of glucose metabolism and HRI and advance our understanding of
the physiologic underpinnings of AKI and renal function. The incorporation of metabolomic profiles will add to
the state of the science by indicating the underlying metabolic mechanisms and consequences of the
physiologic response to heat stress.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10899765
- **Project number:** 5K23NR020356-03
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Roxana Cristina Chicas
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $148,339
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-21 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10899765

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10899765, The Interplay between Glucose Metabolism and Heat in Kidney Disease using a Metabolomics Approach (5K23NR020356-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10899765. Licensed CC0.

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