Dr. Jennifer Charlton is one of two doctors at The University of Virginia Hospital to receive a Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award. Doctors currently have no tests to determine who is at significant risk for early chronic kidney disease. Typically, the condition remains untreated and unrecognized until permanent damage has occurred. Children with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, sickle-cell disease, or those born prematurely are all at increased risk for complications. Dr. Charlton is working to improve identification of at-risk children through the use of MRI to count nephrons. She will receive $100,000 in financial support annually for three years from the Hartwell Foundation, which funds cutting-edge pediatric biomedical research. Twelve researchers at eight different institutions received awards. Charlton hopes that her research will “revolutionize and individualize how we identify and treat children with or at risk for chronic kidney disease leading to an improved quality of life for these children for years to come.”
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