Kiryluk Lab - Columbia University

The Promise of Precision Medicine
The National Institutes of Health defines precision medicine as a new way of treating and preventing disease, which takes into account our genes, our environment, and our lifestyles. Precision medicine will help doctors and researchers better predict which treatment and prevention steps will work on which groups of people. It is different from a one-size-fits-all approach, which does not consider the differences between patients.

The Importance of Kidney Health
Your kidneys are important to your health. They remove waste from your body and help to keep your blood pressure normal. But your kidneys are at risk for chronic disease and acute injury. Chronic kidney disease is often called the “silent disease” because it has no symptoms in its early stages. It can go undetected until it is very advanced. We need breakthroughs to prevent and treat kidney injury and disease.

What is KPMP?

The Kidney Precision Medicine Project (KPMP) studies each participant’s unique kidney disease to revolutionize the way we diagnose and treat kidney disease. KPMP is a national program bringing patients and researchers together. It is paid for by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Drs. Krzysztof Kiryluk, Andy Bomback and Jonathan Barasch lead the KPMP efforts at Columbia University, which is one of the six recruitment sites for KPMP.

Goals of KPMP at Columbia:

Identify new treatments for kidney disease.
Ethically collect kidney biopsies from participants with acute kidney injury.
Create a kidney tissue atlas.
Deﬁne disease subgroups.

What is a Kidney Tissue Atlas?

The Kidney Tissue Atlas is a set of maps that will give researchers, patients, and caregivers important information about the inner workings of the kidney. The Atlas will help us understand different types of kidney disease.

What is a Subgroup?

Not all kidney injuries should be treated the same. Right now, we only have a few diagnoses for kidney injuries, but we believe there could be hundreds more. That would mean hundreds of treatment options. Before we can figure out what those treatments are, we have to discover all the different kinds of the disease and group them together for more study.

Who Can Join?

If you have acute kidney injury, you can join the KPMP research study. We need people from all walks of life, races, and age groups to give us the most accurate and complete kidney information. By joining, you will help transform the future of kidney health.

What Do I Do Once I've Enrolled?

KPMP is a study that can last up to 10 years. You will receive a stipend for your time. In order to participate, you must do the following:

Have a kidney biopsy.
Collect samples like blood and urine.
Talk to the study team two to three times a year. Sometimes this will be in-person and other times over the phone.

What Happens to My Kidney Samples?

The kidney samples will go to the KPMP research sites where scientists will study them. Any extra tissue will be stored in a central location, to be shared only with other researchers. Important biopsy results that could affect your treatment will be returned to you.

How Does KPMP Protect My Data?

KPMP takes data security and privacy very seriously. We take many steps to keep your medical data safe at every stage of the study. Your personal information will never be shared. Only approved research teams can see your data and samples. Data that is shared will be anonymized.

For more information, please visit www.kpmp.org