Susan L. Furth, MD, PhD

Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology

Currently Dr. Furth is the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health multi-center observational cohort study in progressive chronic kidney disease in children (CKiD). This study, now in its eighth year, is the largest multicenter prospective cohort study of children with chronic kidney disease ever conducted in the U.S. The study is tasked with defining risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression in children. It was also designed to characterize the effect of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) decline on neurodevelopment, cognitive abilities and behavior; to identify the prevalence and evolution of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in progressive CKD; and to examine the effects of declining GFR on children’s growth. In an ancillary project, Dr. Furth has begun to study cognition and neuroimaging in children with advanced CKD.

Additionally she is a co-principal investigator and director of the Data Coordinating Center for the NIH funded TAKE-IT Trial, a behavioral intervention to promote medication adherence after kidney transplants in adolescents. Dr. Furth has held a mid-career award in mentoring patient oriented research for the last four years.