Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a leading cause of kidney failure, yet current methods for predicting and preventing it remain heavily limited. To combat this, CQDM, Roche, the Jewish General Hospital Foundation, and McGill University have partnered to fund a new, large-scale collaborative research project valued at over $9.4 million.
Quick Summary
Announced on April 30, 2024, this joint initiative will collect and analyze genomic, proteomic, and clinical data from thousands of diabetic patients. Led by Brent Richards at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, the project utilizes the Jewish General Hospital’s BioPortal platform to identify how specific genes and proteins influence DKD risk and progression.
The $9.4M+ in funding is made possible by:
- $2.8M from the Jewish General Hospital Foundation
- $2.4M from Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche)
- $1.5M from the Quebec government (MEIE), awarded by CQDM
- ~$2.7M from other sources, including the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Genomic Medicine at McGill University
The Goal of the Project
The primary objective of this project is to uncover predictive biomarkers and innovative therapeutic treatments for DKD. By utilizing the open-science BioPortal infrastructure, researchers will have access to deeply phenotyped clinical data combined with high-fidelity genomics and proteomics.
“By encouraging collaborative research as we’re doing today, we spur innovation to find new treatments for kidney diseases, for which effective prediction and prevention methods are lacking.” — Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy
As part of the initiative, a unique, multi-purpose biobank for diabetes and DKD research will be established at the Jewish General Hospital. By enabling open access to this data, the project is designed to benefit the entire global research and healthcare ecosystem, allowing scientists worldwide to drive precision medicine and create targeted solutions for future clinical applications.
For more details on this announcement, you can read the official press release on Newswire.