Dr. Collins trained under Dr. Fred L. Shapiro, an innovator in kidney disease care, and founder of the Regional Kidney Disease Program (RKDP), the first program of its kind for dialysis and transplant patients, with an extensive demographic and clinical database in place by 1973. Dr. Collins served as the RKDP Medical Director, and assumed responsibility for research operations in 1983.

Building on RKDP data systems and biostatistical support, Dr. Collins and NAS created a comprehensive end-stage renal disease (ESRD) database of demographic, clinical, and provider information capable of answering a variety of observational research questions. With a research agenda expanded to include chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, anemia, dementia, and other chronic conditions, CDRG investigators use large public and private pharmaceutical, claims, and clinical databases to analyze healthcare practices and systems and evaluate their impact on morbidity, survival, quality of life, and healthcare costs.

CDRG expertise includes data management and analysis and clinical trial support using advanced computer systems. Our clinician-guided research support benefits pharmaceutical, biotechnical, and biochemical sponsors; health plans; universities; and government agencies concerned with improving patient care. We create project-specific data reports to interpret and summarize our findings.

We regularly publish our research in peer-reviewed medical journals and members of our group present findings at national and international meetings.