Pump Priming Research Awards
Below are the names of recipients together with a brief description of their research projects. Each project will last approximately 12 months at the end of which the recipient will write a report on their research and the outcome. These reports will be available on our website as soon as they become available.
2024
Hussain Abbas
Uninterrupted blood flow during liver transplantation
Many livers are not used for transplantation due to the risk of injury following the reintroduction of oxygenated blood at the point of transplantation. A new technique to collect and transplant livers without interrupting their blood supply eliminates this risk of injury. Unfortunately, this approach has only been used in cases where the donor and recipient are in the same hospital with a non-portable machine. This severely limits the usage of this innovative technique. We will test
this approach using a portable machine perfusion device to allow expansion of its use for many more liver transplants worldwide.
Isobel Bowring
Understanding Donor Age and Kidney Health
Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for people with end-stage kidney disease, but long-term success depends on organ quality. This research will study how donor age and cause of death (brain death or circulatory death) influence the presence of senescent cells, which are damaged cells that contribute to aging. These cells may harm kidney function after transplantation. The findings could lead to better matching of organs and new treatments to improve transplant success,
benefiting both the short-term recovery and the long-term health of transplant recipients.
Christopher Bricogne
Skin patch detecting lung transplant rejection
Lung transplant rejection often goes undetected until significant damage has occurred. We will investigate whether transplanting a small skin patch from the same donor could provide earlier warning signs. Since changes in the skin are visible, they may help signal problems before lung function declines. Our research will
compare immune responses in both locations to determine if skin changes reliably predict lung rejection. If successful, this approach will transform how doctors monitor transplants, catching rejection at its earliest stage when treatment is most effective.
Kazuyuki Gyoten
Improving partial liver preservation on NMP
Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP), a technology to preserve donor livers outside the body, is widely used to evaluate and recondition the whole liver before transplantation. However, the current system may provide excessive oxygen for a partial liver graft. Too much oxygen can harm the liver by triggering a damaging process known as the reactive oxygen response. Our research aims to improve the partial liver preservation on NMP by regulating the oxygen supply. If
successful, this research will enhance the success of partial liver transplants, ultimately saving the lives of patients waiting for liver transplantation.
Hisashi Hashimoto
Enhancing cell therapy in transplantation
Organ transplantation significantly enhances patients’ quality of life by eliminating the need for alternative treatments like dialysis, which require lengthy sessions and frequent hospital visits. However, transplantation relies on toxic immunosuppressive drugs to prevent organ rejection.
Our research focuses on reducing dependence on these drugs by leveraging the body's own regulatory T cells (Tregs), which help suppress unwanted immune responses. We are identifying natural compounds in patients that boost Tregs after transplantation. Since these compounds occur naturally in humans, they could be easily integrated into medical practice, promoting better long-term health for transplant patients without heavy reliance on drugs.
Quan Yao Ho
Universal, programmable regulatory T cell therapy
More than 7,500 people in the United Kingdom are waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant and more than 100,000 patients live with an organ transplant. Unfortunately, medications to prevent transplant rejection have serious and life-threatening side effects. Current regulatory T cell therapies can reduce these medications safely but may be difficult to manufacture, only work in certain groups of patients with specific tissue typing mismatches with their donors and cannot be given for deceased donor organ transplantation. We aim to generate Tregs that can be directed specifically to the transplant and overcome these challenges.
Adam McNee
Targeted B cell therapy for Transplantation
Immunosuppressive drugs have transformed millions of lives, enabling organ transplants worldwide. However, these non-specific drugs harbor severe side-effects including life-threatening infection and cancer. New therapies making use of the recipients own cells, such as regulatory B cells (Bregs), which can control the immune system, may provide an alternative and more effective option with a reduced risk profile to patients. We will use new technology to create Breg cell therapies that are very specific to transplanted organs. Such therapies could exert greater suppression but in a targeted process which could improve transplant outcomes and minimise harm to transplant recipients.
Hatem Sadik
Investigating liver injury after gradual rewarming
Traditionally, livers are preserved in ice between retrieval from a donor and implantation into a recipient. However, normothermic machine perfusion is now being used in some cases to preserve livers more safely by circulating body temperature blood and nutrients through the liver after initial transportation in ice. I have developed a technique to improve current clinical machine perfusion techniques by slowly rewarming the liver to body temperature. In this study, I will investigate how this new gradual rewarming technique effects liver energy stores and scientific markers of inflammation and injury that are linked to worse liver transplant outcomes.
Sushma Shankar
Understanding the immunology of Uterus Transplantation
1 in 500 women are diagnosed with absolute uterine factor infertility (AUFI) —absence or loss of function of a uterus from birth or after lifesaving treatments including those for cancer. Uterus transplantation (UTx) is the sole treatment for AUFI, to enable women to bear their own children. The Oxford Transplant team together with Imperial Gynaecologists, were the first to perform a successful uterus transplant in the UK, in 2023, enabling a transformative treatment for women with AUFI in the UK. We aim to understand the unique immunology that occurs during UTx pregnancies, to ultimately improve live birth rates in a setting where pregnancy loss is greater than double that of a natural pregnancy.
Rebecca Vaughan
Investigating metabolic and protease dysregulation associated with ischaemia in kidney cells
Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for end-stage kidney disease. However, kidneys obtained from circulatory death (DCD) donors often experience suboptimal early and long-term outcomes. DCD kidneys are subjected to prolonged periods of poor oxygenation (ischaemia) which can cause significant kidney injury and limits their function. Previously our group has demonstrated that ischemia in DCD kidneys disrupts cellular energy production and alters enzymatic activity, contributing to cell injury. The aim of this study is to further investigate enzymatic changes in kidney cells under ischemic conditions, with a focus on identifying strategies to minimize injury and improve transplant outcomes.
2023
Amy Cross
Defining the histopathological features of subclinical and acute cellular rejection in liver transplantation using single
cell in situ spatial profiling
Liver transplantation is a life-saving treatment for liver failure. Lifelong immunosuppression poses a significant challenge by increasing the risk of cancer, infection, and cardiovascular disease. The liver allows for minimizing immunosuppression without risking graft loss, and 30% of patients can discontinue treatment. Most eligible recipients with normal liver function have subclinical injury in their transplants, and the implications of this for immunosuppression management are
unclear. This project will define subclinical rejection by advanced analysis of cell types and cellular interactions. Understanding subclinical rejection, its relationship with patient characteristics and immunosuppression withdrawal is important for patient care relying on histological analysis.
Fungai Dengu and Sadik Hatem
Exploration of the role of circulating Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) and their removal during porcine
abdominal normothermic regional perfusion: a pilot study
The paucity of donor livers of acceptable quality, results in many people dying or become too unwell to receive a life-saving transplant whilst on the waiting-list. The use of new technologies during organ donation can improve the quality of higher-risk livers and reduce complications associated with traditional preservation
strategies. Normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) is one such application, that is increasingly being adopted and is associated with improved outcomes. However, little is known about how inflammatory NRP is, or whether the additional integration of a filter/column to remove molecules that may drive injury/inflammation,
could further improve the quality of donor livers
Mohamed Elzawahry
Development of a Normothermic Machine Perfusion (NMP) model for preservation of pancreas grafts prior to transplantation
Diabetes can lead severe to complications including blindness, kidney failure, amputation and heart disease which can significantly shorten life. PTx is an effective treatment for patients with the most severe complications of Diabetes, however many donor pancreases are not transplanted.
My aim is to develop and test a new method of preserving pancreases using a device that pumps fluid and oxygen through the organ prior to transplantation. This research has the potential of increasing the number of patients who can benefit from PTx and improving the safety profile of this treatment.
John Fallon and Richard Dumbill
Understanding a new kidney preservation method
Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for patients with severe, permanent kidney failure. However, there are not enough kidneys available to treat all the patients needing a transplant. This has resulted in long waiting lists. Normothermic kidney perfusion is a new technology for preserving kidneys outside the body, before they are used for transplant. We have recently completed a clinical trial showing this is a safe technique. We would like to use samples from this trial to improve and better understand the technology, by developing treatments and tests for the kidney whilst it is kept outside the body.
Kazuyuki Gyoten
The regeneration of small liver grafts
A living donor liver transplant (LDLT) is a significant option for end-stage liver disease patients in a global shortage of donor livers. However, LDLT has a dilemma: smaller grafts are necessary for donor safety, but larger ones for recipient survival. Therefore, we aim to regenerate small livers preserved with normothermic
machine perfusion (NMP) by administering hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Between Groups HGF and control, we will assess regeneration of partial pig livers preserved with NMP by measuring graft size, blood, and liver samples. This research will increase the safety and potential of LDLT.
Sadik Hatem
Improving liver quality before transplantation
A lack of available donor livers mean that many people die waiting for a life-saving liver transplant. Traditionally, livers are preserved in ice between retrieval from a donor and implantation into a recipient, however normothermic machine perfusion is now being used in some cases to preserve livers more safely by circulating body-temperature blood and nutrients through the liver after initial transportation in ice. I will test whether circulating cold oxygen-rich fluid through the liver and then gradually warming up the liver before normothermic machine perfusion, can improve the quality of livers for transplantation.
Sadik Hatem and Hussain Abbas
Improving liver regeneration before transplantation
One third of donor livers offered for transplant are declined due to concerns about organ quality.
Recently, normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) has been used to preserve livers more safely. This circulates body temperature blood and nutrients through the liver, improving preservation, but also providing a platform for treating the organ.
Studies have shown that enzyme blocking drugs, matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors (MMPi), reduce transplant-related liver damage by 70%.
We will test this approach further and if successful, this technique will be used to treat human livers before transplantation, improving the quality and availability of livers.
Patrick Jull
Regulatory B cell therapy in transplantation
Last year, over 100,000 lives were transformed through transplantation worldwide. However, rejection of a transplanted organ by the recipient’s immune system can limit survival, and immunosuppression given to prevent rejection can result in life-threatening side-effects such as cancer or infection. New therapies using the recipient’s own immune cells can be harnessed to improve long-term survival. We will evaluate regulatory B cells (Bregs) isolated from the blood of kidney transplant recipients, to determine whether Bregs can be used as an innovative cellular therapy to improve long-term patient outcomes.
Oliver McCallion
Preventing transplant rejection: ‘off-the-shelf’ cell therapy
Last year, over 100,000 people received an organ transplant. Transplantation can cure people of fatal diseases, but the medications required to prevent rejection increase patient risk of infection, cancer, and heart disease. Our group is investigating a new treatment—using a patient’s own white blood cells—to reduce the amount of immunosuppression needed following transplantation in a clinical trial. Here, I aim to use cutting edge gene editing technologies to make a more potent regulatory cell therapy that can be used ‘off-the-shelf’, thereby potentially realising the benefit of regulatory cell therapies for many more patients. For final report click here
Sarah Short
Exploring new treatments for skin-containing transplants
Skin-containing transplants, such as hand and face transplants, can significantly improve the quality of life for patients who have experienced severe tissue loss due to accident or disease. These transplants can restore both appearance and function, providing significant benefit in a patient’s journey to regaining independence and confidence after injury.
The primary challenge of these transplants is the high risk of rejection, which occurs when the recipient immune’s system attacks the graft, often despite taking drugs to control this response. Rejection of the graft can reduce its function, eventually leading the graft to fail, requiring further surgery, distress, and medical costs. New treatments to prevent the rejection of these transplants could reduce the rates of rejection experienced by patients, improving their overall wellbeing, and potentially reducing health system expenditure. In this study I will explore a newly defined cell type present within the skin which has a key role in promoting skin inflammation, determining whether it is active in the process of skin rejection and identifying methods to control its activity.
Charlotte Yates
Machine perfusion of bowel transplant
Many conditions can cause a person’s bowel to fail. Although transplantation of the intestine is funded by the NHS, it is only suitable in a limited number of patients because of the complexity and complications of the procedure.
Our aim is to supply the donor bowel with oxygen and essential nutrients while outside the body, maintaining it in a functioning state. This will improve the quality of the transplant organ and allow more time to undertake the complex transplant operation. This will improve the success and allow more patients to benefit from this procedure.
2022
Hussain Abbas
Novel biomarkers for ex-situ liver preservation. The success of liver transplantation is critically limited by the availability of suitable donor organs. A third of donated livers in the United Kingdom are declined for transplants due to presence of excess fat within the liver cells, making them high-risk to transplant. Preserving livers outside the body on a machine provides opportunity to test high-risk livers prior to transplant. Apart from conventional liver function tests, FGF-21 is a liver specific biomarker associated with metabolic stress and liver fat content. Such a test could help guide liver specific interventions during NMP and increase the number of safe and successful transplants.
Lente Lerink
Finding reasons why kidneys fail. Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for end stage kidney disease, however, waiting-lists are long with >5,000
patients in the UK alone! Unfortunately, many donor kidneys are discarded due to clinical uncertainty. Better insight in the processes of donor kidney and graft viability is of utmost importance to prolong graft survival. One of the crucial processes is ‘cell death’. In this study, we will perform an in-depth investigation of cell death to identify new therapeutic targets. This new knowledge may increase organ utilisation, improve transplant outcomes, and increase recipients’ health, avoiding a return to dialysis. For full report click here
Letizio lo Faro
Improve kidney quality by protecting mitochondria. Donor organ shortages in kidney transplant mean that patients wait a long time before receiving a kidney (over 4,000 patients currently on the waiting list, with an average wait time of 2-3 years in UK). To address this, less ideal organs are transplanted, however these might not function well due to damage to their cells. Mitochondria are small cellular organelles responsible for making energy and are particularly affected by injury during organ transplant. We want to identify how these parts of the kidney cells are injured, so that we can devise therapeutic strategies to protect them
and improve the quality of the kidneys that are transplanted, transplanting more organs that last long.
Sadr ul Shaheed
Does donor liver have an off switch? Proteins are a source of important and essential nutrients, used by the body to grow, maintain, and replace tissues throughout life. Molecular functions of proteins are switched "on" or "off" by phosphorylation: addition of a phosphate (PO4) group to a protein. In humans, protein phosphorylation is probably the most important regulatory event. Therefore, a balance in protein phosphorylation is important for human health, and over or
under expression can lead to several diseases. Sometimes solid organs like the Kiver do not work properly after transplant because the protein phosphorylation switch has malfunctioned in the donated organ. Therefore, it is essential to understand this mechanism to improve the outcomes after transplantation. For full report click here
2021
Hussain Abbas
Global assessment of liver function during normothermic machine perfusion in high-risk donor livers
Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) provides the opportunity to assess liver function outside the body prior to transplantation. Current tests only provide an idea of liver injury which may not represent the entire liver. A novel test (Maximal Liver Capacity, LiMAx) has been used to determine liver capacity in patients undergoing liver surgery and transplant in order to predict outcomes. This is particularly relevant for high-risk livers (those with excess fat within liver cells) that are associated with poor post-transplant outcomes. We will investigate if LiMAx could be useful in providing a global assessment of such livers for transplantation during NMP. For full report click here
Mohammed Elzawahry
Using machine preservation to improve pancreas transplantation (PTx).
Diabetes results from insufficient insulin production by the pancreas. It leads to complications including blindness, kidney failure, amputation and heart disease which can significantly shorten life.
Pancreas transplantation can be an effective treatment option in diabetic patients with the most severe complications, however many donor pancreases are not used due to concerns about their quality. My aim is to test pancreases using a device that pumps fluid and oxygen
through the organ prior to transplantation. This research has the potential of increasing the number of patients who can benefit from PTx and improving the safety profile of this treatment.
Richard Dumbill and John Mulvey
Temperature manipulation during kidney preservation
Over 7000 patients in the UK begin regular dialysis each year due to kidney failure. A kidney transplant is usually preferable to dialysis as it offers significant benefit with respect to quality of life, and life expectancy. Prior to transplant, kidneys are usually stored on ice then transplanted as soon as possible. Normothermic machine perfusion is a novel method for preserving kidneys prior to transplantation that offers substantial potential benefits. This study looks at how best to rewarm kidneys ahead of transplantation to minimise damage and aims to closely examine the effects of temperature and oxygen availability on kidney metabolism.
Alexander Sagar
Prolonging Liver Preservation at Body Temperature
Transplantation remains the main treatment for liver failure. There are 11,000 people with liver transplants in the UK. Unfortunately, 12% of patients on the waiting list either die, or are de-listed due to deterioration, whilst awaiting transplantation. Although traditionally organs have been stored on ice, storage at body temperature with a continuous supply of nutrients enables organ recovery during preservation. This increases the proportion of organs that can be transplanted. This proposal would extend the body-temperature preservation period from hours to days. This will improve organ assessment to maximise utilisation and facilitate treatments that enhance graft function prior to implantation. For full report click here
Rachel Thomas
Novel technique to improve donor kidneys?
Demand for kidney transplants exceeds supply so research aims to improve the quality of marginal deceased kidneys. Normothermic Regional Perfusion (NRP) is a novel retrieval technique used in two UK centres with a proven positive impact on donor livers. The consequences for NRP kidneys are less well established but may provide better quality organs and therefore, improve outcomes for the 5000 patients on the transplant waiting list. This innovative research will investigate whether NRP impacts on kidney tissue and, if there is evidence of an improved appearance, this could recommend expansion of NRP programmes. For full report click here
2020
Syed Hussain Abbas
The utility of hand-held near infrared micro-spectrometry in predicting the severity of steatosis in human livers procured from deceased donors.
The success of liver transplantation is limited by waiting list deaths of up to 20%. Donor shortages necessitate the need to optimise high-risk fatty organs. However, current methods of estimating the liver fat content are not well validated. The utility of technology based on spectrometry will enable greater identification donor fatty livers with more than 30% fat. These organs may benefit from organ preservation outside the body on a machine with delivery of defatting agents due to their high risk. Identification and optimisation of such organs will reduce discard rates and improve post-transplant outcomes. For full report click here
Matthew Bottomley
Circulating Monocytes as a Predictor of Cancer Risk in Long-Term Renal Transplant Recipients.
Up to a quarter of kidney transplant patients develop cancer within twenty years of transplant. Cancer after transplant may progress more rapidly and have poorer outcomes compared with cancer in non-transplant patients.
We previously identified a marker in a type of white blood cell (‘monocyte’) which is associated with increased future risk of developing cancer in kidney transplant recipients. We will study this in more depth to understand how its presence is associated with elevated cancer risk.
Better understanding of risk factors behind post-transplant cancer marker may identify new interventions to predict and prevent cancer in transplant patients. For full report click here
Tamsyn Clark
Isolated liver chemoperfusion: For cancer and beyond
For every 100 patients whose bowel cancer has spread to the liver, only 14 will be alive five years after their diagnosis. Treatment options for these patients are limited and cause distressing side effects including nausea, tiredness and hair loss. For full report click here
Richard Dumbill
Effect of the age of blood in ex-vivo normothermic machine perfusion.
Blood donations are stored for up to 35 days before being used for transfusion (for severe anaemia), or to preserve organs ahead of transplantation. Blood stored for longer periods of time may be a less effective treatment than blood stored for short periods of time. We plan to investigate whether older blood can provide enough oxygen to tissues by measuring tissue oxygenation in kidneys perfused with blood of various ages. This will help us understand which units of blood can be used for preserving organs for transplantation, for treating patients with anaemia, and how to prevent stored blood deteriorating. For full report click here
Georg Ebeling
Improving the Outcomes after Liver Transplantation
Liver transplantation is the only definitive treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease. Ongoing shortages of donor organs
result in accepting livers from older or multimorbid donors, which is associated with poorer outcomes. Therefore, marginal livers can
be isolated and preserved on a perfusion machine, which provides nutrients and oxygen at body temperature, resulting in improved
liver function. We aim to take advantage of this technique and to simultaneously deliver drugs such as nucleic acids prior to
transplantation. This will probably lead to reduced organ damage, subsequently resulting in less complications and reduced treatment
costs for the NHS
Fungai Dengu and Sotiris Masoridis
Therapeutic applications of Extracellular vesicles (EVs) in normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) of livers: towards targeted immune modulation and organ reconditioning.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-sized ‘bubbles’ released by cells and carry ‘cargo’ such as proteins and genetic code, enabling communication between cells and the regulation of immune responses. Due to their stability and the ability to select which cargo to load them with, their potential as a therapeutic agent is enormous. Translation to patients has been hindered by an inability to get them where they need to act (donor organ) without being taken up in other sites. This study will explore the uptake and distribution of EVs delivered directly to isolated donor livers during machine perfusion. For final report click here
Etohan Ann Ogbemudia
Laboratory biomarkers to aid the diagnosis of pancreatitis and rejection in Pancreas Transplantation.
Pancreas transplantation (PT) is an established operation to treat type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. During the period of organ retrieval, pancreases are without a blood supply - this phenomenon is called ischemia. Ischemia predisposes pancreases to have pancreatitis and this can cause significant complications including an increased risk of rejection.
Currently, there are no reliable investigations to diagnose pancreatitis or rejection until it is too late.
We have identified some well-known blood tests successfully used in other conditions that we suspect could be diagnostic biomarkers. These tests would be vital to alert clinicians to provide necessary early interventions. to prolong the lifespan of PT. For full report click here
Sushma Shankar
Analysis of longitudinal immunity in SARS-CoV-2-convalescent patients with a renal transplant or haemodialysis.
66000 patients with end stage renal failure (ESRF) in the UK require renal replacement therapy (RRT) such as renal
transplantation or haemodialysis, to survive. However, ESRF and haemodialysis result in immune compromise whilst transplant
recipients need immunosuppression, leaving these patients vulnerable to severe infection and ineffective vaccination. Such
patients have an increased risk of death from COVID-19 compared to the general population. This work aims to determine
whether RRT patients who recover from COVID-19, develop sustained immune responses which offer protection from future reinfection.
Such findings may also inform vaccine strategies in these patients. Final report click here
2019
S H Abbas
Clinical Research Fellow in Transplantation
The impact of normothermic machine perfusion and defatting on Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF) expression in human steatotic livers
HIF expression during normothermic machine perfusion
The success of liver transplantation is limited by waiting list deaths of up to 20%. Donor shortages necessitate the need to optimise high-risk fatty organs. This can be achieved by organ preservation outside the body (normothermic machine perfusion) and delivery of defatting agents. Such organs are vulnerable to low oxygen levels resulting in activation of hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) which have may have an acute protective effect. The research on HIF expression during normothermic machine perfusion in context of therapeutic defatting interventions is needed understand their expression, acute protective mechanisms and subsequent influence on post-transplant outcomes. For full report click here
J Branchereau
Researcher
Pancreas Perfusion Programme: Comparison of hypothermic preservation methods in donor pancreases
Pancreas Perfusion Program: a way to improve the donor pancreas during storage
Diabetes impacts the lives of 415 million people worldwide and is predicted to rise to 642 million by 2040. Pancreatic transplantation saves the lives of human patients suffering incontrollable and debilitating diabetes on a daily basis. There remains a shortage of donor organs which has created a driving pressure to achieve an optimal approach for organ preservation in the organs utilized for transplantation. Following cooling of organs in ice, introducing machine perfusion with oxygen could improve transplantation success rates. This study concludes the final step before this method of perfusion is introduced in human transplantation. For full report click here
F Dengu
Clinical Research Fellow and DPhil Candidate
Determining the capacity of therapeutic cells delivered during normothermic perfusion of the liver to engraft within donor organs
Tracking cellular therapies given during NMP
Immunosuppression after transplantation is associated with a substantial personal and societal burden owing to their toxic effects which include cancer, infections and renal failure, as well as the high financial costs. Cellular therapies offer hope for minimization of these medications but often fail to reach the target organ when given systemically. Giving these new therapies during NMP may be a solution, however crucial work on the feasibility of delivering these cells is urgently required. We propose to label and track cells that are delivered during NMP to determine their capacity for engraftment within the target organ. For full report click here
F M Elgilani
Clinical Research Fellow
Safety and efficacy of Tofacitinib in ameliorating ischaemia reperfusion injury and allograft pancreatitis in solid organ transplantation – a pilot study
Medication to reduce transplant pancreatitis
40-50% of patients who have a pancreas transplant can develop an inflammatory life threatening condition called pancreatitis. This condition makes patients stay in hospital longer and remain more unwell. It also reduces graft survival. To prevent this complication, we want to use an anti inflammatory therapy, blocking a key molecular switch that drives the inflammation. We will be using a medication called Tofacitinib which has been used in patients with autoimmune inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis. We believe we will be able to dampen the effect, which will improve patient's outcome and graft survival. For gull report click here
2018
Matthew Brook
NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer
Assessment of cell therapy in Transplantation
Approximately 5,000 patients received a kidney transplant in the UK last year and are required to take life-long anti-rejection medications. These are highly effective but have significant side effects.
We are using natural cells from the blood called Tregs, expand in number in the laboratory, to protect a kidney transplant from rejection and reduce the need for anti-rejection medications.
This ground-breaking study aims to discover whether, following Treg infusion into the kidney transplant recipients, we can identify these cells within the kidney transplant itself and prove that they are working to prevent rejection. Full report click here
Ann Ogbemudia
Research and Clinical Fellow in Transplantation
Islets in skin to treat diabetes
Diabetes Mellitus is a condition where a person’s body loses the ability to adjust their blood sugar putting them at risk of strokes, heart attacks, kidney failure, blindness, limb amputations or premature death.
There are currently 3.7million sufferers in the UK and that figure is rising exponentially.
We promise to take human islet cells that naturally regulate blood sugar from deceased donor pancreas where they reside and incorporate them in small pieces of skin which when transplanted would function as a pancreas. This procedure is easily performed, monitored and removed if necessary in this superficial position in the recipient’s forearm. For full report click here
Fungai Dengu
Clinical Research Fellow in Transplant Surgery
Profiling the Liver during machine profusion
Donated livers can now be preserved on a machine that pumps blood and oxygen, medicines and nutrients through it at normal body temperature as opposed to storage ‘on-ice’ which is harmful to the organ, especially in marginal donor organs.
Clinical trials have shown excellent results with this new technology. Using samples collected from these studies, we will investigate what happens to immune cells within the liver during preservation with the machine and explore how we may be able to exploit this knowledge of the immune environment to deliver novel immune treatments that can improve patient outcomes. For full report click here
2017
Katarzyna Dagmara Bera
NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow (Core Training) in General Surgery, ST2
Brain death duration in deceased organ donors
Kidney transplantation provides the ideal treatment for end-stage renal failure and worldwide the demand for organs by far
exceeds the available organ pool. It is thus important to optimise the long-term function and survival of donated kidneys from
deceased donors. This project is designed to characterise changes in the donor’s blood during brain death over time aiming to
understand the systemic stress affecting the kidney before procurement. We want to understand whether any serum biomarkers
can help us to predict which organs will have a good or poor outcome, and identify novel treatment targets to prevent further
injury or initiate repair prior to transplantation. For full report click here