Genetic Variants Associated with Tacrolimus Metabolism in Kidney Transplant Recipients

The goal of this genetic epidemiology proposal is to identify and validate genetic variants associated with metabolism of Tacrolimus which is the primary immune suppressant used in transplantation. Since African Americans have worse kidney allograft survival, in part due to increased Tacrolimus metabolism, this project will determine these genetic variants in African American kidney transplant patients using an extreme phenotype sampling model and next generation sequencing, then validate the variants in cell culture assays. The data from this project will lead to personalized dosing models that account for clinical factors, aimed at improving disparities in clinical outcomes.