Scientific Concept

A significant body of knowledge on chronic kidney disease, diabetes and hypertension has been aggregated over the last decades, including all scientific levels from basic research to applied clinical studies.

Fairly recently major advancements in theoretical as well as experimental concepts and methodologies have opened yet another perspective: An integrated view on disease in the realm of Systems Biology and Systems Medicine. Here the promise for understanding disease is given by integrating high-throughput molecular analysis tools, functional studies
in-vitro as well as in-vivo, computational biology models and simulations, together with clinical and epidemiological data.

SysKid’s researchers will have the unique opportunity to combine the tools of Systems Biology with hypothesis driven bench to bedside and vice-versa strategies for analyzing chronic kidney disease in the context of diabetes and hypertension.

The following major aims are defined:

Aim 1: Identify persons at risk of developing chronic kidney disease utilizing epidemiology as well as molecular tools.

Aim 2: Understand the molecular processes triggering early stage chronic kidney disease and identify associated biomarkers.

Aim 3: Develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to control progression of chronic kidney disease.

Aim 4: Perform pre-clinical verification of novel therapy approaches and perform clinical testing of novel diagnostics.