The Michael Klag Lab focuses on the epidemiology and prevention of kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Our research determined that the U.S. was experiencing an epidemic of end-stage kidney disease, pinpointed the incidence of kidney disease and published scholarship on risk factors for kidney disease such as race, diabetes and socioeconomic status. Our Precursors Study has shown that serum cholesterol measured at age 22 years is a predictor for midlife cardiovascular disease, a finding that has influenced policy about cholesterol screening in young adults. We also research health behaviors that lead to hypertension and study how differences in these behaviors affect urban and non-urban populations.

Abbey J. Hughes, Ph.D., and Meghan Beier, Ph.D., are clinical psychologists, co-investigators and grant-funded clinical researchers specializing in neurorehabilitation psychology and multiple sclerosis. Dr. Hughes' research focuses on health behaviors and their impact on cognitive dysfunction in people with multiple sclerosis. Dr. Beier's research focuses on characterizing emotional and cognitive symptoms common among people with MS, refining neuropsychological assessment techniques, and developing interventions to ameliorate or slow MS-related cognitive decline.