Note: Before 2006 Arbor Research was known as the University Renal Research and Education Association (URREA); this overview uses the original name when appropriate.
The University Renal Research and Education Association (URREA) was founded in 1996 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by Philip J. Held, PhD, a nationally recognized leader in the field of renal research. An economist by training, Dr. Held’s career has centered on the development and analysis of large databases and, over the last two decades, has focused on the study of patients with kidney failure. Dr. Held has published extensively in medical journals on a wide range of topics related to the epidemiology and economics of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), including the dose of dialysis, the relationship between the length of dialysis and mortality, the impact of antigen mismatches on kidney transplant survival, and initial predictors of mortality in patients with ESRD.
In May 2002, Dr. Held retired as president, though he remained a Senior Researcher and advocate for URREA’s mission. His longtime collaborator, Dr. Friedrich K. Port, MD, MS, then became the second president of URREA. Dr. Port, an emeritus professor of the University of Michigan (UM), had worked with Dr. Held on numerous epidemiological projects, including the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS). Dr. Port served as director of the Michigan Kidney Registry from 1984 to 1994, as deputy director of the USRDS Coordinating Center from 1988 to 1999, and as co-director of the University of Michigan Kidney Epidemiology and Cost Center (KECC) from 1993 to 2002. Dr. Held and Dr. Port were joined in their work by their long-time colleague, Robert A. Wolfe, PhD, chairman of the UM Department of Biostatistics, who served as a primary investigator on the USRDS.
Together, the three fostered strong collaborative ties between URREA and KECC, as well as with the UM schools of Medicine and Public Health. Close-knit teams of clinicians, biostatisticians, programmers and other staff bid successfully on several large contracts for medical outcomes research. These include the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study, an international prospective cohort study of hemodialysis patients and facilities in 12 countries; the U.S. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, which is the national database for all solid organ transplant activity; and a Multiple Research and Demonstration contract with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. For their body of work, Drs. Held, Port, and Wolfe were awarded the 2004 Belding H. Scribner Award for outstanding contributions to the care of patients with renal disorders by the American Society of Nephrology.
In 2005, URREA diversified its leadership team, adding Dr. Wolfe, now an emeritus professor of the University of Michigan, as vice president for biostatistics, and Sylvia Ramirez, MD, MS, MBA, as vice president of research. Dr. Ramirez, a clinical and research fellow in Pediatric Nephrology at Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, joined URREA after serving four years as chief of prevention at the National Kidney Foundation of Singapore, where she spearheaded an initiative aimed at the prevention of kidney and related diseases, which included implementing a nationwide screening program and database.
In July of 2006, URREA formally changed its name to Arbor Research Collaborative for Health. After 10 years of successfully developing an ever-broadening research agenda in the areas of chronic and end-stage organ diseases, the company selected a name that better reflects the breadth of its efforts to improve patient care and support the development of sound public health care policies.
In March 2009, Robert M. Merion, M.D., joined Arbor Research as its third president. A highly respected transplant surgeon, researcher, and collaborator from the University of Michigan, Dr. Merion has worked closely with Arbor Research since 2000, including as Clinical Transplant Director of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. To his leadership role, Dr. Merion brings clinical experience, expertise in analytic techniques and biostatistics, and longstanding interest in medical databases and informatics issues. Even after guiding the organization over seven years of growth, Dr. Port will remain highly involved in scientific work in the role of senior investigator.