Jordan Gabriela Nestor, MD, MS, FASN

2024 ASN-Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program Award

Institution: Columbia University

Project Title: Utilizing Temporal Electronic Health Record (EHR) for Early Detection of Collagen Type IV-Associated Nephropathy (COL4A-AN)

How would you sum up your overall research focus in one sentence?

My research focuses on using extensive data and precision informatics to uncover genotype-phenotype links and identify those at risk for early diagnosis and prevention strategies.

Provide a brief overview of the research you will conduct with help from the grant.

My project aims to develop robust phenotyping pipelines using electronic health record (EHR) data for early detection of Collagen Type IV-Associated Nephropathy (COL4A-AN). By leveraging Natural Language Processing (NLP) to extract detailed phenotypic traits from clinical narratives, the study seeks to overcome diagnostic challenges associated with this prevalent monogenic form of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The goal is to build accurate and portable prediction models, laying the groundwork for future development of effective EHR-based decision support tools. These tools will enable clinicians to identify patients with genetic CKD subtypes, even when they are unfamiliar with specific genetic syndromes.

What impact do you hope your research will have on patients?

I aim to develop innovative solutions that effectively bridge the knowledge gaps among nephrologists in the field of genomic medicine, ensuring equitable access to personalized nephrology care. By dedicating my research to this cause, I strive to make meaningful advancements that have the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes.

What are your career goals at the end of the grant period? Five years out? Ten years out?

With the support from this grant, my goal is to gain practical experience working with large biorepository datasets and automation for deep phenotyping and prediction model development. This hands-on experience will be crucial for creating portable predictive models that can be utilized in future studies across various healthcare centers. These models will inform the development of EHR-embedded decision support tools for the early diagnosis of COL4A-AN and other genetic subtypes of CKD.

In five years, I hope to have secured an R01 award focused on utilizing these decision support tools to investigate the real-world clinical outcomes of early diagnosis on patients' CKD progression. Looking ten years ahead, I aspire to lead a successful laboratory dedicated to translational kidney genomic research. This lab will focus on developing effective, user-friendly digital tools for clinical genomic decision-making, ultimately operationalizing precision nephrology.

Through these efforts, I am committed to making significant contributions to the field, ultimately improving patient care and outcomes on a broad scale.

What has surprised you most about your career?

I have been most surprised by the invaluable role of peer mentorship in my career. As researchers know, pursuing a scientific career is no easy feat, but support from my peers has helped me navigate challenge after challenge.

What advice would you give to others to encourage them to apply for this grant funding?

Even though the semi-finals for this award entails presenting to an intimidating room of National Advisory Committee members, apply! Nothing worthwhile is easy, and remember, you can always take propranolol.

Something you may not know about me is…

I am a second-generation New Yorker from my father's side and was raised living between New York City and my mother's hometown of Guayaquil, Ecuador.

In my free time I like to…

Travel.