Jovenes
The goal of the Jovenes-Nica Study is to identify environmental risk factors for renal decline among children and young adults in Nicaragua, a region heavily affected by CKDnt. Our study of youth began in 2011. Since that time, we have enrolled over 800 children and adolescents in Nicaragua, ages 7-18 years, who are the foundation of our new longitudinal youth cohort. Our youth participants reside in five regions across Nicaragua which were selected to reflect a distribution of CKDnt risk, as well as different climates, industries, and environmental exposures. From 2021-2026, we will evaluate environmental exposures (heavy metals, chemicals, medications, behaviors and heat stress) in association with multiple measures of kidney health. At the conclusion of this study, we will have comprehensive information on kidney health in youth over a decade for most study participants, reflecting the largest and longest study of kidney disease in youth in Central America to date.
Our Team
With a multidisciplinary and international group of investigators and collaborators, our team brings expertise across epidemiology, nephrology, environmental health, and biostatistics.
Core Research Team
Boston University School of Public Health
Jessica H. Leibler, DrPH, ScM, Principal Investigator
Selene Vences, BA, Research Manager
Daniel Brooks, DSc, Boston University School of Public Health
Madeleine Scammell, DSc, Boston University School of Public Health
Samantha Hall, MPH, Boston University School of Public Health
Nicaragua
Juan Jose Amador, MD, MPH, Study Director
Damaris Lopez Pilarte, ER, MPH, Study Manager
Other Collaborators
David Friedman, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Oriana Ramirez-Rubio, MD, PhD, MPH
Funding: This study is funded by the US National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (PI: Dr. Jessica Leibler).
Publications:
Ramírez-Rubio O, Amador JJ, Kaufman JS, Weiner DE, Parikh CR, Khan U, McClean MD, Laws RL, López-Pilarte D, Friedman DJ, Kupferman J, Brooks DR. Urine biomarkers of kidney injury among adolescents in Nicaragua, a region affected by an epidemic of chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2016 Mar;31(3):424-32. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfv292. Epub 2015 Aug 25. PMID: 26311057; PMCID: PMC4762398.
Leibler JH, Ramirez-Rubio O, Velázquez JJA, Pilarte DL, Obeid W, Parikh CR, Gadupudi S, Scammell MK, Friedman DJ, Brooks DR. Biomarkers of kidney injury among children in a high-risk region for chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology. Pediatr Nephrol. 2021 Feb;36(2):387-396. doi: 10.1007/s00467-020-04595-3. Epub 2020 Jun 5. PMID: 32504218.