The potential of human kidney stem/progenitor cells for use in drug discovery and regenerative therapy programmes

Objective

Renal disease is a global public health problem, with the incidence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) rising annually. Current treatment options for ESRD are dialysis or renal transplantation, which have significant drawbacks in terms of increased morbidity and mortality, besides placing an increasing economic burden on society. The development of interventions aimed at preventing ESRD, including drug- and cellular-based therapies, is made difficult by the lack of availability of primary human renal cells for in vitro drug testing and by our inability to accurately assess the effectiveness of cellular-based therapies in appropriate animal models. However, due to recent advances in the fields of stem cell science, biomaterials and bioelectronics, we have unprecedented opportunities to generate the following tools that will facilitate important breakthroughs in renal medicine: (i) human kidney-derived stem/progenitor cells (KSPCs) for drug discovery and cellular therapy; (ii) biomaterials for regulating the differentiation of the KSPCs in vitro for use in drug development programmes; (iii) electronic devices capable of measuring renal function, enabling the effectiveness of stem cell-based therapies to be properly evaluated. The overarching goal of the NephroTools ITN is to provide state-of-the-art multidisciplinary training for a cohort of 15 young researchers in order to equip them with the skills required to make a significant impact in renal medicine and the wider field of stem cell biotechnology. To achieve this goal, the training of each researcher will be based around a specific research project, coupled with placement periods, within a multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral Network that aims to evaluate the potential of human kidney stem/progenitor cells for use in drug discovery and regenerative therapy programmes.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

• medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
• medical and health sciences health sciences public health
• medical and health sciences clinical medicine nephrology
• medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
• medical and health sciences clinical medicine transplantation

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

• FP7-PEOPLE-2011-ITN - Marie-Curie Action: "Initial Training Networks"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2011-ITN
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-ITN - Networks for Initial Training (ITN)

Coordinator

Participants (10)