Vilnius University Scientists Join Forces Internationally to Achieve Innovation in the Treatment of Kidney Disease in Children
In November 2024, a team of pediatric nephrology researchers from the Faculty of Medicine at Vilnius University (VU MF) launched the PRECISE project as part of the European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases (EJP RD) entitled, Biomarkers and Outcome PREdictors of pediatric nephrotiC syndrome: a genetic, transcriptomic and SEcretome multi-omics study.
The project aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome, a rare kidney disease, by identifying novel predictive biomarkers for more accurate care and more effective treatment. The project duration will be 2024–2027.
This project brings together experienced and active pediatric nephrologists and researchers from five countries – Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and Turkey.
The project's main hypothesis is to search for biomarkers from liquid biopsies (blood and urine) that will help us better understand the condition, disease progression, and treatment efficacy of patients with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Integrated research involving different molecular techniques will lead to discovering biomarkers that can be utilized in daily clinical practice. The project will provide valuable insights into how to forecast disease development more accurately and achieve bespoke treatment for individual patients. The project is led by Prof. Dr. Augustina Jankauskienė, Head of the Children’s Hospital at VU MF, who emphasized: “Nephrotic syndrome is a well-known disease that affects quite a large number of children in Lithuania, but many questions concerning the course of the disease and the best treatment for patients remain unanswered. This project opens up new opportunities to improve the treatment and care of children with this disease. Our aim is not only to generate scientific discoveries but also to help put this knowledge into practical solutions used in everyday clinical practice to ensure a better quality of life for young patients. Vilnius University is eager to contribute to this important research project, and we are confident that our team will achieve significant results by collaborating internationally.”
PRECISE will not only contribute to new knowledge of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome, but it will also lead to the discovery of practical tools for accurate diagnosis and individualized treatment. This is a significant step towards better care for children with rare kidney diseases worldwide.
Project coordinator: Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico (Italy)
Project partners
• Vilnius University (Lithuania)
• Università degli Studi di Milano (Italy)
• Heidelberg University Hospital (Germany)
• Cologne University Hospital (Germany)
• Medical University of Gdansk (Poland)
• University of Istanbul (Turkey)
This project is funded by the Research Council of Lithuania under Contract No S-EJP RD-24-2 as the EJP RD partner. The EJP RD initiative has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 825575.