Ying (Maggie) Chen, MD, PhD
Ying (Maggie) Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Renal Division, has been awarded a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Grant. The award is one of several that Dr. Chen has received in 2015, including an R03 grant from the NIH/NIDDK, an Early Career Development Award from the Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research (CSCTR) and a Career Development Award from the Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network (NEPTUNE).
The focus of Dr. Chen’s research is on genetic forms of nephrotic syndrome. These result from inherited defects in certain proteins that cause endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in kidney podocytes, which damages kidney function. Her overarching goal is to some day develop biomarkers for the early detection of podocyte ER stress and drugs that reduce podocyte ER stress. You can read more about her work here.
The Clinical Scientist Development Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation provides funding for physician scientists as they transition to independent research careers, enabling them to secure 75 percent of their professional time for clinical research while they establish their own labs and research teams. Since 1998, the foundation has awarded 253 Clinical Scientist Development Awards, totaling more than $100 million.
“The dual demands of seeing patients and conducting research make the transition to independence especially challenging for early-career physician scientists. This is why supporting talented, young investigators remains a priority for the Medical Research Program,” said Betsy Myers, program director for medical research at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
About the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, child well-being and medical research, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties. The foundation’s Medical Research Program supports clinical research that advances the translation of biomedical discoveries into new preventions, diagnoses and treatments for human diseases.