28 November 2007

NUS and KDF to find solution for kidney disease

Research into finding a long-term solution to kidney disease will be getting a boost from the KDF-NUS Kidney Research Fund. Established at NUS in November, 2007, the Fund will support research projects in this area at the University. Dr Gordon Ku, Chairman, of the Kidney Dialysis Foundation (KDF) said that they have just received a firm commitment of $900,000 for the Fund, to be dispensed over three years.

FIGHTING KIDNEY DISEASE: Dr Gordon Ku (left) and Prof John Wong at the announcement of the establishment of the KDF-NUS Kidney Research Fund.

The first project to be supported by the Fund is targeted at diabetes, the most common cause of kidney failure in Singapore which has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world at 9 per cent. Led by leading transplant surgeon Prof Sir Roy Calne, Emeritus Professor at Cambridge University and Alumni Association Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, the research team will work on gene therapy to help patients regulate the level of sugar in the blood due to a lack of insulin which is normally produced by beta cells in the pancreas.

The co-investigators of the project are Prof Lee Chuen Neng, Head, Department of Surgery, NUS and Chief of Department of Surgery at National University Hospital (NUH); Prof Lee Kok Onn, Department of Medicine, NUS who is also Head, Division of Endocrinology at NUH and Dr Gan Shu Uin, Research Fellow, Department of Surgery, NUS.

Said Prof John Wong, Dean, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS: "KDF has a long history of helping Singaporeans afflicted with kidney failure, which is a chronic and debilitating disease. We are honoured to work with KDF to develop novel therapeutic strategies to fight this disease. Despite the significant funding from the Singapore Government, there is still a need for disease-oriented charities to provide seed funding for promising research proposals. These projects generate pilot research data, which can then be used as the basis for large-scale funding from national agencies. In this way, we can harness the power of the public and the Government to develop solutions for problems that our community faces."