Awardees
 

Supervisor(s):  David Cherney, Jacob Udell
Award: KRESCENT Post-Doctoral Fellowship
Institution: University Health Network
Year:  2022-2025

Study title:  Expanding the Use of SGLT-2 Inhibitors to Improve Cardiorenal Disease

Biography
Dr. Ayodele Odutayo is a General Internist and Nephrologist. He obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree at UofT in 2013 and completed his Masters of Science (MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Epidemiology from 2013-2017, both at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. His research focuses on clinical trials examining cardiovascular and renal disease and is co-funded by the Kidney Foundation of Canada."

Lay Summary
Background Sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors are a class of medication that alter blood flow in the kidney, thereby reducing the risks of developing heart failure and/ or kidney failure by up to 40%. These medications have been principally studied in people with heart failure and advanced stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Their use in people with CKD after a heart attack or in those with CKD and stable cardiovascular disease is unclear. Expanding these medications to other patient populations will have important renal implications, particularly as their mechanism of action involves alteration in kidney blood flow. Methods To examine whether the SGLT-2 inhibitors are also beneficial in other patient populations, I will participate in and lead analyses of clinical trials of these medications. First, the EMPACT-MI trial is an ongoing clinical trial comparing the effect of an SGLT-2 inhibitor, empagliflozin, versus placebo in people with a recent heart attack. I will lead two studies of this clinical trial to examine whether the effect of empagliflozin versus placebo is the same in people with and without kidney disease. As well, I will lead a study looking at the change in kidney function over time with empagliflozin. Given that people in clinical trials are different than people living in the community, I will perform an analysis of health services data for residents in Ontario using data from the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES). I will assess how many people with a heart attack would have qualified for EMPACT-MI and whether they would also benefit from the findings of the study. Finally, I will design a clinical trial that will examine the effect of an SGLT-2 inhibitor on people with CKD and cardiovascular disease but without diabetes. Conclusion My research will be uniquely positioned at the intersection of cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. It will create collaborations between Cardiologists and Nephrologists to safely expand the use of SGLT-2 inhibitors. With increased use, SGLT-2 inhibitors have the potential to reduce the development of kidney and cardiovascular disease.