Sonia Fargue, Ph.D., COOKS investigator and assistant professor with the Department of Urology, has received an R03 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) for her research, “Assessment of Endogenous Oxalate Synthesis in Calcium Oxalate Kidney Stone Formers and Healthy Individuals.”

The project is a pilot project that focuses on methods to investigate endogenous oxalate synthesis in the context of kidney stones.

The NIDDK, an institute with the National Institute of Health (NIH), awarded $199,470 for two years.

Fargue also received a grant from the UAB NORC for another pilot project “Role of Obesity on Endogenous Oxalate Synthesis” which focuses on feasibility and has an emphasis on a particular role of obesity and associated co-morbidities in kidney stones. The total funding is $35,000 for one year.

The UAB NORC recently chose Fargue as Named New Investigator. The Named New Investigator is an honor created when UAB NORC received its designation as an NIDDK Center in 2001. The award provides early career scientists $45,000 toward salary and protecting effort dedicated toward their pilot project.

Fargue’s pilot projects aim to provide new, rigorous data to support an R01 application. The overarching goal of the R01 application is to investigate mechanisms underlying endogenous oxalate synthesis in kidney stone formers.