Dr. VanSickle has over 15 years of experience in pediatric nephrology. Her research focuses on allostatic load and the cellular mechanism of increased psychosocial stress in children with advanced kidney disease. Her key qualifications are clinical and research expertise in pediatric chronic kidney, end-stage kidney disease, and renal transplantation. She completed a master’s degree that included training in statistical methods and has first-hand experience in navigating patients’ lives complicated by childhood trauma, difficult family structure, and lack of resources. She serves as the Principal Investigator of a 3-year research program focusing on psychosocial factors affecting disease progression and access to better care funded by Children’s Mercy (CM) Kansas City. She is the Co-Principal Investigator of the Improving Renal Outcomes Collaborative to Improve Health, Longevity, and Quality of Life for Children with Kidney Disease (IROC) since the inception of the collaborative. Also, her period as a fellow of the John E. Lewy Fund for Children's Health Advocacy Scholar’s Program (JELF), and the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, provided participation in legislative initiatives to improve the life of children. Her previous experience as a primary investigator (PI) includes leading a multicenter study investigating the relationship between blood viscosity and hemoglobin level utilizing new laboratory methods in children with end-stage kidney disease funded by the Katherine B. Richardson Associates Endowment Fund. Later, she developed a statistical method to identify risk factors for the development of severe acute kidney injury due to Shiga Toxin-induced hemolytic uremic syndrome in the pediatric population. Additionally, she contributed to the science of bone and mineral metabolism by publications focusing on novel therapeutic methods for the treatment of secondary osteoporosis in children as well, being PI for a study focusing on evaluating the biochemistry of Vitamin D binding protein and its relationship to free D-25-OH Vitamin D. As a result, the research team developed a mathematical method to calculate free level, as a cost-saving method.