Lesley Inker
Professor of Medicine Tufts Medical Center
Dr. Lesley Inker is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and attending physician in the Division of Nephrology at Tufts Medical Center, where she directs the Kidney and Blood Pressure Center. Her research focuses on kidney function measurement, clinical trial endpoints for kidney disease progression, and CKD epidemiology. She collaborates with the National Kidney Foundation on public health initiatives, and chairs the steering committee for the NKF KidneyCARE Study, the first national kidney disease patient registry.
Seminars
Wednesday 18th March 2026
Who Are the High-Risk CKD Patients Now? Redefining Risk Beyond Proteinuria
3:00 pm
- Understanding what is the unmet need on top of standard of care and treatment landscape? Combinations & Polypharmacy?
- Are traditional definitions of high risk (low eGFR, proteinuria) still sufficient in the era of multi-omics and cardiometabolic overlap?
- What biomarkers and surrogate endpoints are emerging to identify and serve nonproteinuric CKD patients?
- How can we define clinical endophenotypes, such as patients with reduced ejection fraction, diabetes, or obesity—that may signal higher risk or non-response?
- What data are missing from current longitudinal cohorts (e.g., cardiovascular outcomes, repeat biopsies), and how do we fill these gaps to better guide drug development?
Tuesday 17th March 2026
Panel Discussion: How Can We Harness Hierarchal Composite Endpoints to Advance CKD Drug Design?
9:30 am
- The new Kidney HCE framework combines GFR slope, various thresholds of GFR decline (e.g. ≥ 40%, 50%, 57%), ESKD, and mortality in a hierarchical ordering to improve trial sensitivity and clinical relevance
- Regulatory bodies (NKF/FDA/EMA) are increasingly recognizing eGFR slope + albuminuria as valid surrogates, but the choice of thresholds, population, and follow-up duration remain critical
- Key methodological challenges include deciding component priorities, handling multiplicity, ensuring interpretability for patients
- Use-cases in broad CKD and rare subpopulations (e.g. IgA nephropathy) differ: design of HCEs must adapt thresholds, endpoints composition, and regulatory acceptability depending on disease, severity, and existing therapies
Wednesday 18th March 2026
Accelerating Kidney Research Through the NKF KidneyCARE™ Study: A Platform for Patient Insights, Trial Readiness, and Real-World Evidence
1:30 pm
- Building a national, patient-centered registry that integrates real-world data with patients’ lived experience to drive innovation across the spectrum of kidney diseases
- Enabling targeted trial awareness and recruitment through an opt-in patient community spanning all types and stages of CKD, including dialysis and transplant
- Utilizing tailored, rapid-turnaround “Pulse” surveys to capture timely patient insights on topics relevant to research and development priorities
- Creating a platform for sponsors and investigators to accelerate discovery and therapeutic development in both common and rare kidney diseases
