Project description
Regenerative treatments for kidney disease
Chronic kidney disease is characterised by gradual loss of kidney function necessitating dialysis or in extreme cases renal transplant. Advances in stem cell biology enable the development of regenerative therapies that aim to repair or replace damaged renal tissue. The aim of the EU-funded RenalToolBox project is to develop technologies to facilitate the translation of such cell-based regenerative interventions to the clinic. The project involves the multidisciplinary and multisectoral training of young researchers in the fields of cellular therapeutics and regenerative medicine. Trainees will develop new diagnostic tools and focus on therapies based on mesenchymal stromal cells.
Objective
The RenalToolBox ITN comprises a team of world-leading clinicians, scientists and industrialists from academia and private enterprise whose common goal is to develop innovative medical devices and imaging technologies to expedite the translation of cell-based regenerative medicine therapies (RMTs) to the clinic. The target disease for RenalToolBox is kidney disease, the incidence of which is increasing annually. The ITN provides an excellent framework for training 15 early stage researchers (ESRs) in a range of technological, entrepreneurial and transferable skills that will not only enhance their career prospects, but will also boost European scientific excellence and business innovation. By the end of the programme, the ESRs will have benefitted from a comprehensive multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral training experience that will equip them to expedite progress in the emerging supradisciplinary fields of biomedical devices, bio-imaging, cellular therapeutics and regenerative medicine. The research training objectives are as follows: 1. Train the young researchers in the development of diagnostic devices and novel tracers for monitoring renal function. 2. Apply cutting-edge imaging technologies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of novel cell-based RMTs in a rodent model of kidney disease. 3. Assess the safety and efficacy of different sources of mesenchymal stromal cells and explore the mechanisms whereby these cells can ameliorate kidney disease. This comprehensive training programme will endow the young researchers with the necessary scientific and industrial skills to ensure their employability and readiness to engage and lead the next European generation of scientists-entrepreneurs.
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Coordinator
L69 7ZX Liverpool
United Kingdom