Identification and management of patients at risk – outcome and vascular events in peritoneal dialysis
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is an underused life saving renal replacement therapy for end-stage kidney disease. Nevertheless, PD patients remain at high risk for poor outcome, most notably excessive risk of cardiovascular disease. There is an unmet need for a risk-adjusted individualized PD approach. The IMPROVE-PD consortium provides 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in 11 partner institutes located in 7 different countries a state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary and intersectoral pan- European training programme including input from academic, clinical and industrial stakeholders. Network-wide and local training activities, individual research projects, intersectoral secondments and short laboratory visits will provide key generic skills and will prepare ESRs for future roles as highly skilled researchers in Europe. Well-phenotyped patient cohorts, and novel experimental models and techniques will be exploited by the ESRs, mentored by an excellent supervisory team, to improve future management of the PD patient at risk. This joint effort encourages productive collaboration between industrial and academic sectors though integrated projects and shared goals. Key findings will be communicated to a broad range of stakeholders through state of the art methods. IMPROVE-PD will give rise to a new generation of experts in PD with outstanding interdisciplinary research skills, intersectoral understanding and with perspective to pursue their careers in this scientific and industrial field. It will enable timely identification of the PD patient at high risk for adverse outcome, develop understanding of underlying pathomechanisms, and within an iterative process between research groups foster the development of innovative approaches to individualized treatment by targeting revealed pathomechanisms. Through these approaches, the ITN will achieve refinement of PD fluids, PD therapy and cardiovascular risk reduction.