New NIH-funded program to advance kidney, urologic, and hematologic research training

New NIH-funded program to advance kidney, urologic, and hematologic research training

Written by: Jeannette Sanchez | Updated: October 06, 2025

Researchers at UTHealth Houston, in collaboration with scientists across the Texas Medical Center, are leading a collaborative effort to strengthen the pipeline of future researchers in kidney, urologic, and hematologic science through the newly launched Houston Area Incubator for Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Research Training.

Backed by a $6.25 million grant from the National Institutes of Health over five years, the initiative will aim to build a robust scientific workforce to address the pressing health challenges faced by patients in the Houston area and beyond.

Houston bears a significant burden of kidney disease, hypertension, sickle cell disease, and other nonmalignant hematologic conditions. The research training program will bring together 58 investigators from across the Texas Medical Center to leverage biomedical research infrastructure to equip students and trainees with the skills needed for impactful careers in kidney, urologic, and hematologic research.

The institutions include UTHealth Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, University of Houston, Houston Methodist, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Rice University, and Texas A&M University Institute of Biosciences and Technology. The initiative spans a wide spectrum of research in this area, including disease development, prevention, diagnostics, and treatment.

"This new award provides unique collaborative training experiences that extend beyond the outstanding kidney, urology, and hematology research going on in the Texas Medical Center," said Peter Doris, PhD, principal investigator of the program, professor, and director in the Center for Human Genetics at The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. "In conceiving this award, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases envisioned trainee development across the full spectrum of skills required for professional success."

Doris is the Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth Distinguished University Chair in Metabolic and Inflammatory Disease Research at McGovern Medical School.

The training program will extend into professional development and research networking activities. The training will begin locally then extend to trainee participation hosted by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

The program will support six predoctoral and six postdoctoral trainees selected through a competitive process. Participants will receive comprehensive training in scientific research, professional development, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Co-principal investigators for the program include Alison Bertuch, MD, PhD, and Margaret Goodell, PhD, with Baylor College of Medicine.

Core leads include Rachel Miller, PhD; Pamela Wenzel, PhD; and Oleh Pochynyuk, PhD, from UTHealth Houston, along with Chester Koh, MD, and Rayne Rouce, MD, from Baylor College of Medicine.

Funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (U2CDK143942 and TL1DK147564), the research training incubator is poised to foster innovation and collaboration across institutions, preparing the next generation of kidney, urologic, and hematologic researchers to make lasting contributions to science and patient care.