Lay summary
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.