POSAT · Prolong Organ Survival After Transplantation

Organ transplantation is the treatment of choice for many patients with end-stage diseases. Waiting lists are lengthening but the supply of donor organs has not expanded to meet this demand. Chronic rejection resulting in late loss of graft function now represents the greatest clinical challenge, with many patients rejoining the waiting list years after an initial transplant operation. Indeed, as many as a third of patients joining the kidney transplant waiting list have already chronically rejected one or more previous transplants. Preventing this form of graft loss would have a huge socio-economic impact for patients and transplant medicine. Basic research performed by our group and others has defined this problem but has failed to provide any clinically useful solution. We now believe this solution lies at the interface between basic science and translational medicine, with necessary involvement of the private sector. The POSAT scheme will address this by training a cohort of 4 early stage researchers to function at this dynamic interface in order to address specific problems which contribute to chronic graft failure. This programme will meet two specific objectives: development of methods to reduce organ inflammation immediately after transplantation (thereby preserving long-term graft function), and identification of biomarkers which allow transplant patients to be stratified allowing individualized drug treatment. These complementary objectives will be addressed by allocation of a trainee-specific project to each of the 4 early stage researchers. Although based at Newcastle University, each trainee will spend significant periods working with carefully selected private sector partners and academics at another university in the NorthEast of England. This scheme will produce well qualified translational research scientists who will further our understanding of treatment modalities directed at the Prolongation of Organ Survival After Transplantation.