Researchers at Umeå University and SLU in Umeå will together with AcureOmics AB get a SEK 4 million funding for a transplant research project.

The project is focused on developing new methods to early identify risks of rejection of transplanted kidneys. “If we can discover rejection processes in transplanted kidneys at an earlier stage it gives a possibility of more personalized treatments to improve the quality of life and prolong the life of those who have had kidney transplantation,” says Johan Trygg, Professor of chemometrics at Umeå University.

Thirteen research groups from France, Belgium, Germany and Sweden will jointly study how genes, proteins and metabolites can be used to identify new biomarkers  for various rejection processes of the kidney. The project goes under the name BIOMARGIN (BIOMArkers of Renal Graft INjuries in kidney allograft recipients).

“The researchers in Umeå will through the collaboration with AcureOmics AB contribute with our expertise within metabolomics and multivariate data analysis to try to find biologic markers or panels of markers in patients that have undergone kidney transplantation and whose kidneys have started to be rejected. As a result we hope thereafter to be able to recommend necessary lifestyle changes to maximize the possibilities of the kidney’s survival and thereby improve quality of life for many people in Europe,” says Johan Trygg.

 

Photo credit: Mattias Pettersson, Umeå University