NN&I - June 2010

Clinical Subscribe to our free eNewsletter at www.nephronline.comJune 2010 Nephrology News & Issues 23 Nephrotic syndrome focus of NEPTUNE projectEditor's note: The NephCure Founda-tion is spearheading the NEPTUNE Project, a five-year, $10.25 million re-search endeavor that is bringing togeth-er a network of investigators from the United States and Canada to study nephrotic syndromethe diagnoses and the treatment coursesand identify a detailed molecular analyses that may lead to a cure. The foundation has committed $2 mil-lion and other resources to the proj-ect, which is headquartered at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Matthias Kretzler, MD, the principal investigator for the Neptune Project, answered some questions on the project posed by the Nephcure Foundation. What is NEPTUNE? Kretzler: The Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network is a multidisciplinary five-year collaboration that brings together 15 North American research institutions with patient support groups to better understand the glo-merular diseases, including Focal Segmental Glomeruloscelosis (FSGS), Membranous Nephropathy (MN) and Minimal Change Disease (MCD). What are the objectives of NEPTUNE? Kretzler: There are five main objectives: 1. Establish a collaborative, integrat-ed, cost-effective infrastructure to con- duct research on FSGS, MN, and MCD. 2. Perform long-term observational studies on patients who have just been identified as having these diseases. 3. Include the greater research community on a set of related studies that will examine the unique patient information 4. Create a training program for young researchers to prepare them for applying the research findings of glomerular disease. 5. Collaborate with NIH and NephCure to create a web-based exchange platform for lay people, phy-sicians, and scientists. Why partner with NephCure? Kretzler: Part of the agreement with NIH is that each network partners with a patient advocacy group and The NEPTUNE research team and NephCure prepared for this application for sev-eral years, including an initial study to prove that the aims of NEPTUNE were realistic. NephCure was instrumental in bringing this together, providing ini-tial funding and utilizing its advocacy efforts to make this happen. Clinical_NNI0610_5.indd 23 5/14/10 2:53:50 PM