# UROCUP: Undergraduate Research Opportunity to explore the Composition of Urinary casts using Proteomics

> **NIH NIH R15** · COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON · 2020 · $356,309

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
UROCUP: Undergraduate Research Opportunity to explore the Composition of Urinary casts using Proteomics
proposes to introduce undergraduate students, interested in health science-related research at the College of
Charleston, to medically translational research within new collaboration between senior investigators at the
College of Charleston, Charleston, SC and Oschner Medical Center, New Orleans, LA. Undergraduates
majoring in the sciences and participating within the South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation program
will be recruited to the laboratory in effort to address gaps in knowledge relevant to the diagnosis of acute
tubular necrosis by investigating the urine sediment using proteomics. Undergraduates will participate in all
aspects of laboratory research and receive meaningful immersion opportunities at Oschner Medical Center to
help them connect their results to patient outcomes. Training opportunities in scientific communication and
literacy will be stressed as well as inclusivity and diversity in science. Research aims and objectives have been
designed to promote discovery, passion, and curiosity.
Urinary casts are cylindrical structures that are visualized through microscopic examination of the urine and are
often associated with kidney injury. Although certain types of urinary casts have both diagnostic and prognostic
value, examination of the urine sediment is tedious and requires trained personnel. Due to time constraints or
logistical issues, urine casts are not consistently reported by hospital laboratories and when they are, cast type
and quantity is often inaccurate. Furthermore, biorepositories that enable large-scale retrospective studies
rarely store urine sediment for cast quantification or identification because urinary casts are susceptible to
damage from freezing and thawing. Studies within UROCUP seek to understand whether there are unique
components to urine casts that can serve as proxies of cast type and quantity so that this information can be
automated or assayed in manner that is not reliant on cast integrity or specialists. UROCUP will also
significantly advance knowledge in cast protein composition, with focus on muddy brown granular casts, and
allow undergraduates to answer the questions: Can casts be cryopreserved with different cryoprotective
agents?; What proteins comprise urinary casts?; Can unique cast proteins predict cast quantity as well as a
trained nephrologist?

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9965463
- **Project number:** 1R15DK124846-01
- **Recipient organization:** COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael G. Janech
- **Activity code:** R15 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $356,309
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9965463

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9965463, UROCUP: Undergraduate Research Opportunity to explore the Composition of Urinary casts using Proteomics (1R15DK124846-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9965463. Licensed CC0.

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