Dr. Keith Norris, RTRN Principal Investigator

Keith Norris, M.D., serves as the principal investigator (PI) of RTRN. Dr. Norris is a full-time faculty member at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science with over 20 years experience as a postdoctoral clinical researcher.

Science

Dr. Norris has played an active role in each phase of the NIDDK funded African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension study (21 sites including 4 RCMI institutions, 1992-2007). To date, AASK is the largest comparative drug intervention trial in CKD patients that has focused on renal outcomes conducted in any population. It is also the first clinical end-point trial with sufficient sample size to evaluate the effect of inhibition of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in African Americans.

Under Dr. Norris’ leadership, Drew ranked third (of 20 sites) in recruitment for AASK and exceeded its patient recruitment goal. He also serves leads the NCRR funded Comprehensive Center in Health Disparities in Chronic Kidney Disease (Drew/UCLA/RAND/UC Irvine). His role includes: 1) providing administrative leadership for Network activities; 2) developing strategies to promote scientific planning, interaction, implementation, and evaluation; and 3) seeking outside sources of funding and ensure optimal utilization of support services and resources across the Network.

Dr. Norris directs the NIDDK funded National High School Summer Research Program (65 students per year in 15-20 states, since 2000)

Since 1995 Dr. Norris has been the PI for "Healthy African American Families," a collaboration started in 1992 among the community, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Drew, and UCLA to overcome the negative perceptions and barriers that impede optimizing family health in the Los Angeles African American community, In 2000, Dr. Norris established a community-driven, semi-annual, community-based educational forum in collaboration with the South Central Senior Citizens Multipurpose Group and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Service Planning Area 6 (SPA 6) collaborative that focuses on health issues that the community deems priority. This component provides ongoing dialog between community and academia and is the foundation for performing true participatory research blending community priorities with the expertise of academic medical centers.

Dr. Norris has served as Editor-in-Chief for the international journal “Ethnicity and Disease” since 2000.