Research Registries

The UNC Kidney Center has both created and participated in local, national, and international research registries. Registries follow groups, or cohorts, of subjects over time, collecting clinical data and biologic samples like urine and blood and various times. A cohort means that a group of people are identified by something similar, like a type of kidney disease, then followed over time to observe and learn about the disease in a large group. One way to think of a cohort is like a library full of books. Each book contains the story of one person’s disease, and investigators are able to “check out” information from the library to do their research.

For over thirty years, community nephrology offices, the UNC Division of Nephrology and the UNC Nephropathology Laboratory have worked together through the Glomerular Disease Collaborative Network (GDCN) to enhance research efforts for patients diagnosed with glomerular disease.

The successes of the GDCN registry enabled the participation in national and international registries, including CureGN, NEPTUNE, and TRIDENT.