Research Awards Recipients

Lay Summary

Although dialysis is a needed treatment, we know that there are risks that come with this therapy. The long-term effects of kidney disease put patients at risk for heart disease. The treatment of dialysis makes this and other risks worse. This is very concerning for the people (doctors and nurses) that care for those on dialysis. Because of this harm patients don't feel well, their quality of life is low, they are hospitalized more often and do not recover. 

Until recently, the bad things that dialysis caused were either not understood or not known. We know now that the longer patients are on dialysis the more damage is done to organs including the heart, brain, liver and gut. This is because of low amounts of blood flowing to the body during dialysis. Penny Jarrin’s research project proposes to make dialysis better by finding ways to decrease risks before they happen and to change the care for dialysis patients. Her goal is to make patients feel safe, improve how they feel and live longer.