Congratulations to Associate Professor Jaqui Hughes who has been nationally recognised for her work to address the high rates of chronic kidney disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults.

Associate Professor Hughes received the 2019 NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Award for the top-ranked application in the 2019 funding round at NHMRC’s annual awards in Canberra.

She is the chief investigator of the eGFR3 cohort study: Progression of chronic kidney disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults.

The study is the result of 12 years of partnership between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members, clinical health services partners and the research team to advance knowledge of kidney health.

“Our work explains mechanisms of lost kidney function amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in Australian regions known to have highest prevalence of potentially preventable chronic kidney failure,” Associate Professor Hughes said.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people undertake vital roles in the eGFR3 study community, clinical and research governance groups, which we recognise as best research practice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kidney health research. We are thrilled for further recognition of our approach with this prestigious NHMRC award.”

Between 2020 and 2024 the eGFR3 study will undertake the third direct clinical and biomedical follow-up of 650 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults assessed at baseline (2007-2011) and first follow-up (2012-2014) and include linkage to administrative and health data sets.

The data from the previous studies have been used nationally to inform policy and practice about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults kidney health. The NHMRC Research Excellence Awards are announced annually to top-ranked researchers and teams following peer review of applications to NHMRC’s highly competitive grant schemes.