The first offered a clear glimpse into how this unique kidney research resource is already speeding up discovery and enabling previously unfeasible research. Hosted by Kidney Research UK, the session brought together researchers from academia and industry to demonstrate how NURTuRE’s combination of linked healthcare data and fully consented biological samples can unlock new insights into kidney disease.
What is NURTuRE and why does it matter?
Dr Gaia Cantelli, Director of data science and NURTuRE at Kidney Research UK, introduced NURTuRE as a shared research infrastructure built to support the global kidney research community.
NURTuRE brings together securely linked, up-to-date clinical information from national health records; high-quality biological samples such as blood and urine; and detailed molecular and “multiomic” data that shed light on how kidney diseases develop.
Gaia described NURTuRE as “research infrastructure” – allowing innovative scientific journeys to happen faster and more efficiently. With data linkage, multiomics, sample collection already in place, researchers can focus their time and funding on answering important scientific questions.
NURTuRE is open for applications from academic and industry researchers worldwide, with new kidney disease cohorts being added and designed to be fully interoperable.
Using urine biomarkers to predict kidney disease progression
Professor Donald Fraser from Cardiff University showed how NURTuRE can directly support cutting-edge discovery, drawing on the example of biomarkers – measurable signals in the body that give clues about health and disease.
His team focuses on microRNAs, which are very small molecules that help control how genes behave. These molecules can be detected in urine, making them especially attractive.
By analysing urine samples from people with chronic kidney disease, including diabetic kidney disease, the researchers identified distinct microRNA patterns linked to how quickly kidney function declines.
These findings were validated using samples and data from the NURTuRE-CKD cohort. A small group of microRNAs was shown to improve prediction of disease progression when added to standard clinical tests, such as protein measurement in urine.
This work highlights how NURTuRE enables discoveries to be tested and confirmed in large, well-characterised patient populations—an essential step towards developing new diagnostic tools.
Understanding scarring and risk in chronic kidney disease
Dr Solveig Groen from Nordic Bioscience presented work focusing on fibrosis – the scarring process that drives kidney damage. Her team studies blood and urine biomarkers that reflect how the kidney’s tissue is being formed or broken down.
Using thousands of samples from NURTuRE-CKD, the team showed that specific collagen-related biomarkers were strongly associated with faster kidney function loss and higher risk of kidney failure and death. These results closely matched findings from other international cohorts, demonstrating both their robustness and NURTuRE’s value as a large-scale validation platform.
Looking ahead with NURTuRE
Together, the talks showed NURTuRE as a shared, growing asset that lowers barriers, enables collaboration, and accelerates discovery. As new cohorts and data types are added, NURTuRE will continue to support research that improves understanding, prediction, and treatment of kidney disease.
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