# UAB National Coordinating Center for the George M. O'Brien Kidney National Resource Centers

> **NIH NIH U24** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2024 · $1,182,493

## Abstract

For over 30 years, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has funded
the O’Brien Kidney Center program to advance kidney-related research. To expand the breadth and impact of
these centers, NIDDK has modified this program by establishing the O’Brien Kidney Consortium. This
consortium will include ~8 theme-based National Resource Centers (NRCs) tasked with developing and
sharing specialized resources, tools, technologies, services, and expertise and a National Coordinating Center
(NCC) to lead, manage, and harmonize all aspects of the Consortium. We propose the University of
Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to serve as the NCC for the O’Brien Kidney Consortium. Led by an
epidemiologist (Dr. Paul Muntner) and nephrologist (Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez) and supported by nephrologists,
biostatisticians, kidney physiologists, health behaviorists, and strong research mentors, the proposed NCC
investigator team is interdisciplinary with experience participating in NIDDK-sponsored consortia. UAB has the
infrastructure to lead the NCC including (1) An established Data Management and Analysis Center (DMAC)
with an established data portal that has supported NIH-funded multi-center networks and implemented
programs to enhance collaboration, common data elements, and data sharing, and (2) Experience engaging
patients to ensure research addresses issues that are important to them, (3) A commitment to diversity/equity/
inclusion, (4) Drug development/ entrepreneurship expertise to facilitate the translation of research into better
patient outcomes, and (4) Training programs that will provide support for early-stage investigators that spurs
innovation and impact of their research. Additionally, the UAB investigators have implemented and
administered competitive pilot grant programs that has nurtured the development and provided supported high-
impact research ideas with a substantial return on investment. The UAB NCC has five aims including (1)
Providing administrative support, facilitating communication and coordination, and enhancing synergy by
implementing standard operating procedures and sub-committees for the O’Brien consortium; (2) Expanding
the UAB DMAC to provide a portal for sharing protocols, data, tools and other resources for the O’Brien
consortium; (3) Implementing a training plan that includes team science workshops, hierarchical, peer and
near-peer mentoring, and virtual office hours for early-stages investigators to collaborate with the O’Brien
NRCs; (4) Engaging patient viewpoints, priorities and preferences through focus groups and active scientist-
patient interaction to inform the O’Brien NRCs and consortium; and (5) Administering a national pilot program
with pre-submission scientific and biostatistics consultation, rigorous peer review, and ongoing mentorship to
support early-stage investigators, investigators new to kidney research and collaborations with the broader
kidney community. The UAB NCC will support NID...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10915570
- **Project number:** 5U24DK137318-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** Amanda Hyre Anderson
- **Activity code:** U24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,182,493
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10915570

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10915570, UAB National Coordinating Center for the George M. O'Brien Kidney National Resource Centers (5U24DK137318-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10915570. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*