Research into the mechanisms contributing to chronic kidney disease, as well as new therapeutic options for its management, has been awarded funding through the Health Research Council’s 2023 NZ-China Biomedical Research Alliance Fund.
The University of Otago’s Professor Robert Walker will lead the project alongside Professor Xiaoqiang Ding and colleagues at the Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, China.
This investment is supported through the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment’s (MBIE) Catalyst Strategic Fund, aimed at facilitating the development of research collaborations between New Zealand researchers and Chinese colleagues.
See below for more details on the research project:
Elucidating pathways of kidney injury and repair – new therapeutic options?
Professor Robert Walker, University of Otago
36 months, $399,340.00
Lay summary (from NZ research team): With Professor Ding and colleagues at the Department of Nephrology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, we plan to set up a collaborative research project elucidating mechanisms of kidney injury and repair to identify new therapeutic options. Professor DIng's group has focused on mechanisms protecting the kidney tubular epithelial cells from ischaemic (reduced blood supply) injury, and our group has focused on pathways associated with drug-induced kidney cell injury and potential therapeutic interventions to prevent the development of interstitial fibrosis (scarring) following injury. Both these forms of kidney injury are common clinical problems. Therefore, combining our expertise to further define key pathways of injury and how these are modified will lead to potential new therapeutic interventions to protect kidneys from damage.
Click here to see other research projects awarded funding from the Catalyst Strategic Fund as part of the New Zealand China Strategic Research Alliance.