Simon Correa Gaviria, MD, MS, MSc

2026 Joseph A. Carlucci Research Fellowship

Institution: Mass General Brigham

Project Title: Magnesium Deficiency and Kidney Disease: Exploring Novel Pathways of CKD Progression

How would you sum up your overall research focus in one sentence?

My research focuses on understanding how magnesium protects the kidneys in humans and generating the key mechanistic data needed to support a future trial of magnesium supplementation in chronic kidney disease.

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

I will analyze blood, urine, and kidney tissue samples from more than 5,000 patients across four major CKD cohorts to uncover how magnesium influences kidney health. This research program builds on my previous observation that hypomagnesemia is associated with a higher risk of CKD progression. I will examine whether low magnesium is associated with biomarkers of tubular injury and inflammation in CRIC, with specific histopathologic patterns of kidney injury using KPMP biopsy data, and with distinct protein and metabolite signatures identified through multi-omics analysis in CRIC, with validation in AASK and ARIC. Together, these aims will provide the most complete mechanistic picture to date of magnesium's role in CKD and lay the groundwork for future clinical trials of magnesium supplementation.

What inspired you to focus your research in this area?

Despite the broad evidence supporting neurohormonal therapies to slow CKD progression, the residual risk of disease progression remains unacceptably high, and novel non-neurohormonal therapies remain largely unexplored — an area ripe for research. I became particularly interested in mineral metabolism, and specifically in magnesium, given its biological plausibility, safety, low cost, and wide availability, paired with the fact that we still don't understand how it protects the human kidney.

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

This project is designed to generate the strong preliminary mechanistic data needed to support a future trial of magnesium supplementation in CKD. Beyond that, I hope this work will raise broader awareness of the role of mineral metabolism in kidney disease progression — an area that remains incompletely explored despite its biological importance. Ultimately, identifying simple, accessible interventions like magnesium could offer a new avenue to help patients with CKD maintain kidney function longer and delay dialysis.

What are your career goals at the end of the grant period? Five years out? Ten years out?

By the end of the grant, I aim to have completed my nephrology fellowship, transitioned to faculty and established a productive research portfolio on mineral metabolism, magnesium and CKD, with peer-reviewed publications and preliminary data to support a career development award. Five years out, I hope to be an early-career physician-scientist leading an independent clinical and translational research program, launching a clinical trial of magnesium supplementation in CKD. Ten years out, my goal is to be an established investigator running multicenter trials that translate mechanistic kidney research into therapies, while mentoring the next generation of nephrology researchers.

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

Start early, identify mentors who will genuinely invest in your project, and don't let imposter syndrome stop you from applying — the writing process itself sharpens your science even before a decision is made. The Ben J. Lipps Fellowship is uniquely structured to support nephrology fellows doing meaningful research, and the community of KidneyCure investigators you join is just as valuable as the funding itself.

Something you may not know about me is…

I grew up in Colombia and completed medical school there before moving to the U.S. to pursue clinical and research training. I trace part of my family back to Galician and Portuguese Sephardic ancestors who fled the Inquisition, and that history sparked a lifelong fascination with languages and migration – which is why I'm now learning Portuguese, hoping to better serve the Portuguese, Brazilian, and Cape Verdean patients I see in the Boston area.

In my free time I like to…

Be outside exploring nature –hiking, cycling and swimming— or indoors dancing salsa.