Urine peptide-based classifiers to guide improved understanding of CKD in people with diabetes (DC6)

This is a 3-year PhD position, that is part of a European Doctoral Network (DN) program entitled “PersonalIzed medicine in Chronic KidnEy Disease (PICKED)” that involves 10 research centers from France, Austria, Spain, Greece, Germany, Denmark and Estonia.

The PhD position “DC6” is hosted at Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Denmark.

The PICKED Consortium / Background
Kidney diseases both chronic (CKD) and acute (AKI) should be considered as a priority, but also a challenge, for Public Health Policies as they concern >850 million persons in the world. The major urgent needs that have been identified over the last years include i) early detection in “at-risk” patients of CKD, ii) detection and prediction of CKD progression/complications and iii) personalized treatment avoiding over- or unnecessary-treatment, that collectively contribute to the adoption of Personalized Medicine (PM) in CKD. To address such ambitious challenges, it is essential to embark and train professionals to identify these issues. Constituting a network of 10 PhD students, 6 public laboratories, 4 research and development companies and several associated partners, the PICKED consortium will work on different aspects of PM aiming to significantly reduce the burden of CKD including: early detection of CKD and its progression; personalized drug and dialysis treatment and the social-economic impact of PM in CKD.

Objectives of the PhD
The overall objective of the PhD project is to investigate urinary peptide patterns and the effect of different contemporary treatments, to increase understanding of specific beneficial pathways that treatments affect and explore kidney-specific mechanisms through which these compounds act.

The main objectives of the PhD will be:

• To collect existing data from cohorts with renal follow-up to expand previous analyses and perform detailed exploration of available data.
• To measure urinary proteomics patterns in stored samples from intervention trials with SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-receptor agonists aiming to understand at least part of the mechanism behind the renal benefit seen with these drugs.
• To explore performance of recently developed classifiers in the collected cohorts with urinary proteomic data available.

• Data and statistical analysis
• Interpretation of the clinical aspects of the results and convey the implications to people with CKD

Expected Results
Further advancement of the understanding of dynamics and the mechanisms of current CKD treatment in diabetes. The data will enable more detailed assessment of molecular pathophysiology (due to the multiparametric approach) and linking drug response to molecular mechanisms in diabetic CKD (collaboration with DC2).
Supervision

• You will be enrolled in a PhD programme at the Copenhagen University.
• You will be supervised by Peter Rossing and Tine Willum Hansen from Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen and Paul Perco from University of Heidelberg

Planned secondments
Mosaiques Diagnostics, Harald Mischak, to learn and understand CE-MS analysis of urinary proteomics; 2) University of Heidelberg, Paul Perco, bioinformatic analysis, linking biomarkers to disease pathophysiology and training in especially vector.
Required skills and education

• You hold a master’s degree in medicine.
• You speak and write fluent English. As discussion with people with CKD is part of the project some Danish skill as an advantages.
• You are ambitious, well organized and have excellent communication skills.
• You have the ability to work effectively and collaboratively.
• You are an enthusiastic and motivated person, ready to participate in personal training, international travel and public awareness activities.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie ITN rules

• You must not have a doctoral degree at the date of their recruitment
• You must comply with the mobility rule: not have resided or carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Denmark for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date.

Benefits

• You will benefit from all Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action scheme advantages.
• You will participate in the weekly web-seminars (in English) of the collaborative network of the laboratory including 20 laboratories.
• You will attend yearly meetings organised by the PICKED consortium, as well as international and national congress.

How to apply
Click on the Applybutton on the right side and uploud your appllication, CV and other relevant documents.

The closing date for applications is the 31st of July 2024.

For further information please contact professor Tine Willum Hansen on tel. + 45 3091 3103, or email: [email protected]

Department:
Borgmester Ib Juuls Vej 83, Herlev

Lokation: Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen

Application deadline: 31 Jul 2024