BDI scientist’s kidney research recognised in US grant
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), a chronic disease which causes cysts to enlarge in the kidneys, is a common cause of renal failure in Australia. It affects between one in 400 and one in 1000 people.
Recently the peak United States-based funding body, the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation awarded grants and fellowships to 11 outstanding PKD researchers worldwide – including Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) researcher Professor Ian Smyth.
Professor Smyth, one of the Monash BDI’s co-Heads of the Development and Stem Cell Program, received $250,000 to further his research into a protein that could play a key role in regulating cyst development.
“The preliminary data we have is pretty exciting,” Professor Smyth said.
“It’s nice that the Foundation is recognising the quality of this work,” he said.
Professor Smyth and colleagues have identified a gene that is over-expressed in PKD and which, when removed in animal models of disease, can almost completely prevent the formation of cysts.
He said the two-year grant would help further investigations into how this gene functions in kidney epithelial cells.
“We’re aiming to better understand the disease mechanism that operates in PKD with a view to identifying new ways that we can potentially restrain cyst formation or growth and explore the development of new PKD therapies,” he said.
Currently there is no cure for PKD.
The disease, which has several forms, starts when cysts form in the kidney, expand over time and ablate normal kidney tissue to the point where the kidney stops functioning and the patient requires either renal dialysis or a transplant.
“It is the most common inherited single gene disorder that can kill you,” Professor Smyth said.
Professor Smyth, an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, has worked with Dr Denny Cottle and PhD student Ming Shen Tham on the research.
The Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation’s Research Grant and Fellowship Programs fund critical research to increase understanding of the genetic and pathological processes involved in PKD and to accelerate the development of potential therapies for PKD patients.
About the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute
Committed to making the discoveries that will relieve the future burden of disease, the newly established Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University brings together more than 120 internationally-renowned research teams. Our researchers are supported by world-class technology and infrastructure, and partner with industry, clinicians and researchers internationally to enhance lives through discovery.