Head: prof. dr. Hans de Fijter
Lab of Nephrology
In clinical practice, many diseases remain challenging to diagnose correctly, therefore the nephrology department is continuously looking for ways to improve diagnosis by replacing or supporting invasive methods with reliable minimally invasive biomarkers. In nephrology, kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease; however, the gold standard for diagnosis still is a needle biopsy. Therefore, in this research line, we search for sensitive, non-invasive markers that allow for the detection of acute rejection in an early stage.
Patients with chronic kidney diseases or living with a kidney graft are at risk for opportunistic infectious such as CMV and BKV but also for a more serious course of COVID19. We therefore perform clinical research into mapping risk factors for the development of these infections and seroresponse after infection/vaccination. Besides, we search for preventive strategies to minimize the infection risk and improve clinical outcome.
In a third research line, we investigate how the incidence of post-transplant diabetes (PTDM) can be decreased. PTDM is a condition that occurs in 10-30% of the patients after kidney transplantation and is associated with an increased morbidity and mortality.
Finally, we perform epidemiological research in collaboration with the European Renal Association registry, aimed at quantifying and optimizing the survival benefit with transplantation versus dialysis.
Gastprofessoren
Bezoldigde postdoc onderzoekers
Onbezoldigde postdoc onderzoekers
Onbezoldigd medewerker
PhD studenten
Emeriti
Abramowicz Daniel
Couttenye Marie
Verpooten Gert