In the Spotlight: Wales Kidney Research Unit

The WKRU was funded in 2015 by Health and Care Research Wales and aims to deliver an All-Wales strategy for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment and social context of kidney disease.

Kidney disease is common. About one in ten people in Wales have longstanding kidney disease, and about one in five people admitted to hospital have a serious problem with their kidneys as part of their illness. The WKRU provides core infrastructure enabling researchers, clinical staff, patients, families and carers to work together to answer important health and social care research questions related to kidney disease.

WKRU is built on internationally recognised research undertaken by investigators across Wales. WKRU connects expertise in each step of the translational pathway, from fundamental disease mechanisms and better diagnosis to improved implementation and health outcomes. This expertise connects to the core of WKRU, which is explicitly designed to include patients, families and carers, service providers and service commissioners, as well as researchers.

In its first year, members of WKRU made 12 successful grant applications worth £3.4 million, leading to the appointment of 12 new staff. In addition, 4 extra staff have been appointed through successful business cases to Welsh Higher Education Institutions and NHS organisations.

New studies have started on family attitudes following the implementation of the new Human Transplantation Act (Wales), predicting cardiovascular risk in peritoneal dialysis, evaluating innate immunity and its regulation in peritoneal dialysis, biomarker expression in acute kidney injury and the regulation of extracellular matrix components involved in inflammation and fibrosis.

The Cardiff Centre of WKRU is led by Professor Donald Fraser (WKRU Director) and managed by Dr Chantal Colmont, who also runs the Wales Kidney Research Tissue Bank.

WKRU is a major research grouping of more than 20 researchers within the Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff School of Medicine. Research strengths include the molecular and cellular biology of renal and peritoneal inflammation and fibrosis as well as clinical trials in Acute Kidney Injury, Chronic Kidney Disease and Peritoneal Dialysis.

These include the CREDENCE study, investigating new treatments for diabetic Nephropathy and SIGN, developing immunotherapies for IgA Nephropathy, amongst others.

In addition, the Unit has strong international clinical links highlighted by the International Society of Nephrology Sister Center Program linking the WKRU with the renal units at Zhang Da Hospital, Nanjing, China and Tikur nebessa Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Although this feature focuses on the WKRU’s Cardiff members, the Unit has an All-Wales remit which is part of a wider research family.

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This is a shortened version of the full article that features in the edition 25 of ReMEDy.