Kidney Action Week Highlights Importance of Diversity in Clinical Research

The 6th annual Kidney Action Week virtual conference turned its focus to diversity in clinical trials during the session The Power of Participation: Diversifying Clinical Research to Advance Kidney Health on March 6, 2025.

The discussion featured Camille (Pope) Campbell, PharmD, RPh, senior director of health equity at Acclinate, and Joshua Denny, MD, MS, CEO of the All of Us program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The talk was moderated by Candace Turner, CCRC, clinical research specialist at Acclinate and a kidney health coach for the American Kidney Fund, the host of Kidney Action Week.

Building Trust

Dr. Campbell’s segment began with a review of a few of the reasons for disparities in clinical trials before she described the approach Acclinate is taking to broaden trial participation. Dr. Campbell noted that Black Americans comprise 13% of the nation’s population, yet account for fewer than 5% of trial participants. She pointed out causes for this, such as social determinants (eg, rural residents do not live near academic medical centers, where many trials occur) and mistrust based on historic mistreatment of racial and ethnic minority groups by the medical community (eg, the Tuskegee Experiment, Henrietta Lacks).

Acclinate describes itself as “a healthcare technology company helping pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations access and engage communities of color, so research is more inclusive.” Dr. Campbell suggested that their approach of leaning into affective trust, which centers on demonstrating care and genuine concern, rather than logical trust, yields better results.

Dr. Campbell explained that Acclinate builds affective trust through early engagement and awareness before asking for participation. The organization engages diverse populations through a “touch + tech” strategy, which combines the building of an omnichannel community with integrated predictive analytics. Partnerships within the community—with clergy, elected officials, healthcare professionals, and others—are a critical element.

Gathering Data

The work Dr. Denny engages in through the All of Us program takes a different approach to improving diversity in clinical research. The stated goal of the program is to “accelerate health research and medical breakthroughs, enabling individualized prevention, treatment, and care of all of us.” In short, the program helps gather data on people who are not always included in clinical studies.

Participants contribute information from electronic health records, biosamples, survey responses, and wearable devices (the largest collection of such data in the world). In return for their participation, they receive information regarding their genetic ancestry, hereditary risks, and how their bodies process medicines. Currently, more than 852,000 adults are enrolled. Dr. Denny hopes to see that number expand to 1 million and to include children as well.

Since the program’s creation in 2015, more than 15,200 researchers have studied its data, resulting in more than 905 publications. Twenty-seven of them focused on kidney diseases, and Dr. Denny noted that discoveries about APOL1 have been among their findings.

Two Approaches, One Goal: Improving Care

The discussion highlighted the importance of diversifying clinical trials to ensure better representation and more equitable healthcare outcomes. Dr. Campbell offered insights regarding Acclinate’s work to build affective trust, emphasizing the need for genuine care and community partnerships in increasing trial participation. Meanwhile, Dr. Denny’s work with the All of Us program underscores the power of inclusive data collection in driving medical breakthroughs, particularly in kidney health. Both approaches demonstrate that, by prioritizing diversity and trust, clinical research can advance more personalized and effective treatments for all.

Kidney Action Week is hosted by the American Kidney Fund and concludes on March 7.