The George M. O’Brien Kidney Resource Alliance (OKRA) is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
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- Welcome to the George M. O’Brien Kidney Resource Alliance
- Coming Up: March National Forum
- Biannual OKRA Travel Awards Available!
- OKRA Resource Showcase registration requests and ESI travel award applications are live!
- New Publications from OKRA National Resource Centers – IU
- Highlighting an OKRA Patient Advocate
- New Publication from OKRA National Resource Center – WashU
- OKRA is on Kaltura!
- Check Out Other Funding Opportunities!
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Welcome to the George M. O’Brien Kidney Resource Alliance
The George M. O’Brien Kidney Resource Alliance (OKRA) is a consortium of National Resource Centers (NRCs) whose primary purpose is to provide kidney researchers with specialized resources, tools, technologies, services, and expertise beyond those typically available in an individual lab or institutional core.
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Coming Up: March National Forum
The next session of the OKRA National Forum is coming up! Join us on Friday, March 27, from 10am-11am CST to hear Dr. Mohiuddin Quadir (University of Central Florida) present on “Actively Targeted Nanomedicine for Addressing Chronic Kidney Diseases”
Register HERE! -
Biannual OKRA Travel Awards Available!
We are excited to announce the return of the biannual OKRA Travel Awards! These awards are available to Early-Stage Investigators (ESIs) to help support travel to kidney-related national meetings. These are rolling submissions and evaluations so applicants should apply as soon as possible! The latest you may be considered for review is 31 days prior to the start of your conference. Once our awards are full, submission will be closed until July when our second biannual round will open.
Please note, potential applicants are eligible for an OKRA Travel Award once per academic year (beginning on July 1).
If you are interested in learning more, check out our page here. -
OKRA Resource Showcase registration requests and ESI travel award applications are live!
Mark your calendars for the Resource Showcase! Join us on Monday, April 6 from 11:30am-6pm ET at the John Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC to learn how OKRA can support your work and upcoming projects!
Activities will include:
- Learning about the services, tools, and expertise offered by our National Resource Centers
- Receiving guidance on writing successful proposals and networking with peers
- Participating in breakout sessions and round table discussions with OKRA PIs and key personnel
- Reviewing ESI research questions and aims pages with peers and OKRA investigators
Learn more and submit a registration request HERE. If you are an Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) and would like to attend, apply for a Resource Showcase Travel Award HERE.
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New Publication from OKRA National Resource Centers – IU
Be sure to check out the OKRA consortium’s publications! Indiana University’s recent article discusses interrogating human kidney biopsies with integrated spatial protein imaging and spatial transcriptomics. This work identifies the Thy1 gene and protein expression as an important marker of healthy proximal tubules that undergoes dynamic changes with kidney disease. It is therefore a novel biomarker and potential therapeutic target.
Read the Full Article! -
Highlighting an OKRA Patient Advocate
The OKRA NCC is proud to highlight the recent efforts of Arnold Davis! Arnold serves on the OKRA Patient Advocacy Council (PAC) and devotes his time to improving outreach, advocacy, and education throughout the kidney community. You can read his recent interview with ASN’s KidneyNews Online HERE.
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New Publication from OKRA National Resource Center – WashU
Learn more about WashU’s recently published article, “Multimodal spatial transcriptomic characterization of mouse kidney injury and repair.” This article discusses multiscale spatial mapping of over one million kidney cells, revealing a critical fibro-inflammatory niche and cell-cell communication network that drives the progression from acute kidney injury to chronic kidney disease. All code with detailed tutorials is publicly available for all analyses, including multimodal integration.
Read the full article HERE and access GitHub code tutorials HERE.
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OKRA is on Kaltura!
Missed a recent OKRA presentation? Watch the recording on our Kaltura channel! We’ll be posting past National Forums and Gumbo Gatherings so you can learn more about all the O’Brien Kidney Resource Alliance offers.
Click here to go to our channel. -
Check Out Other Funding Opportunities!
There are many funding opportunities for researchers at every stage of their career! Make sure to check out the list of upcoming opportunities on our website. Regularly updated, this list includes the NIA 2025 Start-Up Challenge and Accelerator, the NIH’s Kidney Technology Development Research Education Program, and supplements to promote diversity in small business research and development.
Read More Information!