Kenneth Lim, MD, PhD, MPhil, FASN

2022 Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar Grant

Institution: Indiana University School of Medicine

Project Title: Translating Biological Discoveries in Klotho into a Therapeutic Strategy for CKD-associated Cardiac Fibrosis

How would you sum up your research in one sentence?

The overall goal of my research focuses on the development and delivery of definitive trials in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), and the development of advanced therapeutics.

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

The aim of the present study is to assess the functional role of an isoform of Klotho in CKD-associated cardiac fibrosis. This work will be fundamental to help translate biological discoveries in Klotho one step further toward a potential therapy.

What inspired you to focus your research in this area?

Cardiovascular complications in CKD is a modern-day global epidemic in both developed and developing nations. To put this into perspective, reduced GFR has been associated with ~4% of deaths globally and more than half of these deaths have been attributable to cardiovascular disease. Despite this, novel therapeutics and clinical trials to help tackle this problem are exceedingly lacking. Learning about these challenges when I was a clinical fellow inspired me to train on the combined path of clinical and translational research, and help contribute to our fight against this disease.

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

My hope is that my translational research will lead to the development of new peptide-based therapeutics and exciting new exploratory clinical trials that could have a sustainable impact on human health. One of my interests is in the area of translational strategies for taking biological discoveries into early phase clinical trials.

What are the major challenges facing nephrology research today?

It is widely known that the field of nephrology lags behind in advances in new therapies and much needed clinical trials. As an example, at the end of 2017, the field of Oncology had ~5,890 ongoing trials and brought 29 of 99 FDA-approved drugs to the market between 2015 and 2017. During this period, nephrology had < 500 registered clinical trials and only two FDA-approved drugs. The field is therefore in need of greater scientific and clinical advances, as well as more well-designed, adequately powered clinical trials to help answer important questions and improve the care of patients with kidney disease.

In one sentence, please describe the importance of having grant funding available through KidneyCure.

Grant funding generously provided through KidneyCure is critical to help foster, retain and support next-generation physician-scientists and young investigators in the field of academic nephrology today.

Something you may not know about me is…

As part of my service in medicine, I often deploy to regions around the world to provide medical care and strategic principles to help meet critical needs of victims of humanitarian crises, such as war, poverty and natural disasters. In the face of increasing geopolitical and economic uncertainty, the delivery of humanitarian assistance both locally and to some of the world's most afflicted regions is a critical and growing need today.

In my free time I like to…

Spend time with family, go biking and play the piano.