Download Awarded Grants 2015 (awarded_grants_2015)

Awarded Grants 2015
1. Furthering Dr Kavanagh's research into the role of the terminal pathway
of complement in atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS).
2. For
research into the relationship between complement activation and
macrophage phenotype in kidney disease led by Professor Neil Sheerin.
3.Continued work on renal scarring by Dr Ian Logan is supported by the
NCKRF
Kidney scarring is the end point of essentially all the different diseases that
affect the kidney. The accumulation of this scar tissue within the kidney leads
to chronic kidney disease and, eventually, end stage renal failure which
necessitates dialysis or transplantation.
Dr Logan and his team have identified a new factor, called SET9, that is
required for the cell signalling pathways that produce scarring. New studies
will now characterise SET9 in more detail, to determine whether it might
represent a target for future therapy. Dr Logan will use cell models to inhibit
the function of SET9 to see whether this prevents the development of
scarring.
National Awards won off the back of preliminary NCKRF funding:
1.
The NCKRF has had a long history of funding research into clinical
transplantation at Newcastle University and Hospitals. The National Institute
for Health Research, the national organisation responsible for funding clinical
research in the UK, has joined forces with NHS Blood and Transplant to
establish Centres of research excellence for research into blood transfusion
and transplantation.
Newcastle University in partnership with Cambridge
University has been selected to co-host one of these Blood and Transplant
Research Units. Newcastle researchers who have received support from
NCKRF, including Professor John Kirby, Mr Colin Wilson and Professor
Neil Sheerin, were involved in the application for this award. This is a very
prestigious award, which includes £3.9m of research funding, and places
Newcastle at the forefront of transplant research in the UK.
2. On the back
of an NCKRF award 2014, the national Kidney Research UK fund have
agreed, against strong competition, to fund Prof Nicholson (Cambridge), Dr
Sarah Hosgood (Cambridge), Mr Colin Wilson (Newcastle) and Mr Chris
Callaghan (Guy's Hospital) to run a national multi-centre trial to establish the
potential for ex vivo normothermic perfusion (EVNP) to increase both the
number of kidney transplants and the longevity.
The technique utilises cardiopulmonary bypass equipment to "re-energise"
kidneys prior to transplantation and in preliminary studies has been shown to
improve early outcomes after transplantation.
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The award, totalling £750,000, will be used to include over 200 kidney
transplants in the trial and also includes a study to look at new technologies,
in conjunction with EVNP, to further improve the prospects for kidney
transplant recipients.
3. NCKRF funding is vital for renal research and allows investigators to
generate preliminary scientific data to allow highly competitive funding
proposals to be submitted to national funders such as the MRC. This model
has led to a recent successful funding award to Dr John Sayer and Dr Colin
Miles. This will provide funding for a new 3 year project to be carried out at
the Institute of Genetic Medicine, International Centre for Life, Newcastle
upon Tyne. A summary of the planned work is detailed below.
Cystic kidney disease is part of a group of disorders referred to as the
"ciliopathies" that cause various
combinations of cystic kidney disease, retinal degeneration and brain
abnormalities in patients. There are no current disease modifying treatments
for these conditions.
Our work will identify the factors involved in the complex presentation of
ciliopathies to answer the question of why patients carrying mutations in the
same gene show different symptoms?
In addition to the specific benefits to the field of ciliopathies, this proposal will
provide a demonstration of the potential of using modern genetics to
understand complex human diseases in general.
This project is likely to provide long-term benefit to patients with inherited
ciliopathies as it brings forward in a tangible way the prospect of personalized
medicine and individualized treatments for patients. Specifically, the findings
of this research proposal will help to categorize and precisely diagnose
specific forms of ciliopathy.
4. The National Study of Membranoproliferative
Glomerulonephritis (MPGN) and C3 Glomerulopathy (C3G) – study
administrator/data manager role 2013 to 2015
MPGN and C3G are rare kidney diseases that can cause kidney failure in
both children and adults. Current treatments are very non-specific (such as
drugs that suppress the immune system) and not always effective at
preventing the development of kidney failure. There are no treatments that
can cure these disorders.
Dr Sally Johnson (a children’s kidney specialist at Great North Children’s
Hospital, Newcastle) leads a UK-wide collaborative study which is building a
large group of patients with MPGN and C3G to learn more about these rare
diseases. The study has 3 main elements:
1)
Information about individual patients is entered into RADAR (the national
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database which collects information about patients with rare kidney diseases)
by staff at the patient’s own renal unit
2) Blood samples are taken to look for underlying abnormalities that may
contribute to developing MPGN/C3G (including genetic testing)
3) The kidney biopsy is reviewed by an expert in MPGN/C3G
The main study was funded by Kids Kidney Research. However NCKRF has
provided additional support for the study to enable the appointment of a study
administrator and data manager, Paul McAlinden. Paul’s role has been
crucial to support the local renal units in recruiting patients and ensuring
blood and biopsy samples get where they need to go.
With Paul’s help, Dr Johnson has now secured longer-term funding for the
study from the National Institute for Health Research Rare Disease
Translational Research Collaboration. This prestigious funding would not
have been achieved without the additional support provided by NCKRF.
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