James Lash

James Lash — Photo: Jenny Fontaine

Dr. James Lash, professor of medicine in the UIC College of Medicine, studies the epidemiological and behavioral factors associated with chronic kidney disease and heart disease. His clinical practice focuses on the treatment of kidney disease and hypertension.

There are 26 million adults with chronic kidney disease in the U.S., and approximately 500,000 are on dialysis. Diabetes and hypertension are risk factors, but little is known about exactly how they contribute to the development or progression of kidney disease or how they may work differently in different populations, Lash says. He is also interested in how lifestyle and behavior affect the development of kidney disease, especially sleep. Lack of sleep has recently been identified as a risk factor.

Lash is UIC’s principal investigator on the multi-center Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study and the Hispanic CRIC Study. These studies investigate risk factors for the progression of chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease in people with chronic kidney disease. He is also the principal investigator for the Forgarty International Center-sponsored Mexico City CRIC Study, and the co-principal investigator at UIC for the National Institutes of Health-funded Hispanic Health Study/Study of Latinos, the largest health study of Latinos in the U.S. to date.

Subject areas:

Chronic kidney disease

Kidney transplant

Hypertension