Kidney
Our mission is to find new ways to prevent kidney failure in childhood and develop better alternatives to dialysis.
Kidney disease and children
Chronic kidney disease is a common and serious problem in Australia, currently impacting 1.7 million Australians and costing our economy around $1.8 billion every year. Over 28,500 Australians are currently on dialysis and 1,400 patients are waiting on the kidney transplant list.
Kidney disease means that a person’s kidneys are damaged and cannot filter blood the way they should, which leads waste to build up in the body. In its early stages, kidney disease can be silent.
In children, a significant proportion of kidney disease is genetic and in many instances, the disease-causing mutation is unknown. This makes both diagnosis and treatment more difficult.
Left untreated, chronic kidney disease can progress into kidney failure, for which there is no cure. Children and young adults with kidney failure are managed with medications and dialysis until they can receive a kidney transplant, though for some children a kidney transplant may not be possible.
Dialysis is a procedure that uses a machine to remove excess fluid and waste from the body. Over the long term, dialysis impacts the quality of life of the child and their family and reduces life expectancy by five to ten years. We are working to find better alternatives to dialysis.
Treatment options for chronic kidney disease and kidney failure have advanced little in the last 70 years. Waiting for a replacement kidney in Australia can also take many years.
Vision
Our vision is to end kidney failure in childhood.
Aim
Our mission is to find new ways to prevent kidney failure in childhood and develop better alternatives to dialysis. We aim to:
- To empower families to drive research and clinical innovation
- To provide an early accurate diagnosis for children based on research genetics
- To develop data-led approaches to manage kidney disease
- To discover and repurpose therapies to treat kidney disease
- To develop transplantable stem cell derived kidneys
Key facts
- Each year, two million hospitalisations record chronic kidney disease as a diagnosis.
- Indigenous Australian adults are twice as likely as non-Indigenous adults to have chronic kidney disease.
- The main causes of kidney disease in children are congenital kidney anomalies and genetic disease.
- Around 50 per cent of children with chronic kidney disease have a genetic aetiology to their disease.
- Early diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease can reverse, delay or even prevent progression to advanced kidney disease.
- Each year, two million hospitalisations record chronic kidney disease as a diagnosis.
- Indigenous Australian adults are twice as likely as non-Indigenous adults to have chronic kidney disease.
- The main causes of kidney disease in children are...
- Each year, two million hospitalisations record chronic kidney disease as a diagnosis.
- Indigenous Australian adults are twice as likely as non-Indigenous adults to have chronic kidney disease.
- The main causes of kidney disease in children are congenital kidney anomalies and genetic disease.
- Around 50 per cent of children with chronic kidney disease have a genetic aetiology to their disease.
- Early diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease can reverse, delay or even prevent progression to advanced kidney disease.
Our Kidney Flagship
Through the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Kidney Flagship, we can speed up our understanding of the causes of paediatric kidney disease and develop new interventions.
The Kidney Flagship is a strategic and collaborative program of clinicians and researchers designed to tackle the currently unanswerable questions around kidney disease. We strive to give every child the opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilled life.
Our Flagship members
Kidney Disease Modelling
Our vision is to model kidney disease using human stem cells and develop new treatments for inherited and chronic kidney disease.
Kidney Regeneration
Through our pioneered methods of using stem cells to grow mini kidneys, we hope to revolutionise kidney disease treatment.
Patient and Family Advocacy
Understanding the burden of kidney disease through the experience of patients and families to better focus research and clinical outcomes.
Clinical Data Analytics
Harnessing innovative health analytics methodologies to leverage existing hospital data for better patient outcomes.
Clinical Research
Advancing scientific knowledge and patient care to deliver high quality healthcare.
Kidney Genomics
Using multidisciplinary assessment of genetic testing to provide demonstrable differences to the safety and quality of patient care.
Our Steering Committee
The leadership team consists of representatives from across Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Victorian Clinical Genetics Services (VCGS) and The Royal Children's Hospital Department of Nephrology.
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Committee member
|
Role
|
|---|---|
| Professor Melissa Little | Chief Scientist, Kidney Regeneration, CEO of reNEW |
| Dr Joshua Kausman | Director of Nephrology, The Royal Children’s Hospital |
| Paediatric Nephrologist and Clinician Scientist | |
| Paediatric Nephrologist and Clinician Scientist | |
| Clinical Geneticist, Victorian Clinical Genetics Services (VCGS) | |
|
Lakshi Starks
|
Program Manager, Kidney Regeneration |