University Medical Center Groningen

The University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands is coordinating the PRIME-CKD project and will therefore be responsible for e.g., monitoring the overall scientific progress and quality of the project. In addition, UMCG will be in the lead of several tasks including the validation of analytical/clinical biomarker aspects; development of response scores for SGLT2i and ERA which can then be used in a prospective trial; analyzing and interpretating study data and preparing dissemination of the prospective trial; and seeking advice on biomarkers developed within the project by the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) qualification of novel methodologies procedure.

People involved in Prime-CKD

Prof. Hiddo Lambers Heerspink

Prof. Hiddo Lambers Heerspink will act as project coordinator. He is a clinical pharmacologist and trialist with ample expertise in clinical trial design, biomarkers, and personalized medicine. He has a proven track record in the coordination of complex international research projects: he was co-leader of the IMI2 BEAt-DKD program and leads scientific steering committees of international trials such as the FIND-CKD and ALIGN trials. He is a renowned clinical trialist and was involved as principal investigator in the DAPA-CKD trial that led to the first drug registration for patients with CKD in two decades.

Jasper Stevens, PhD

Jasper Stevens, PhD will act as Executive Director for the PRIME-CKD project. He has a background in biology, pharmacology, and pharmacometrics and is an expert on the development of non-linear Population Approach Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic models.

Daphne Kuiper, PhD

Daphne Kuiper, PhD is an expert on implementation research and applied health research. She will support and guide efforts to guarantee successful clinical implementation of the results from the PRIME-CKD project.

Reinder Broekstra, PhD

Reinder Broekstra, PhD is an expert on ethical, legal, and social aspects (ELSA) of personalized medicine, in particular of applying innovative Information Communication Technologies (ICT). He is member of institutional, national, and international expert groups on ELSA of ICT and biomedical research. Additionally, he is affiliated with the Clinical Ethics and Law group of the University of Southampton/Oxford.

Ana Sauri Peris, PhD

Ana Sauri Peris, PhD is an experienced project manager who works as a project manager at UMCG Research BV. She is involved in the post-award project management of this EU project as well as other consultancy UMCG internal projects.

Erik Moedt is a PhD-candidate

Erik Moedt is a PhD-candidate with a background in pharmacy, focused on biomarkers for personalized medicine in patients with diabetes and CKD. In PRIME-CKD he will be mainly working on the clinical validation of the pharmacodynamic response biomarkers in completed trials (WP2) and in a prospective trial (WP3).

André de la Rambelje, PhD Candidate

André de la Rambelje, PhD Candidate is a bioinformatician at the University Medical Center Groningen. He has experience in analyzing multi-omics data. His research will focus on understanding the pathophysiological aspects of disease and drug mechanisms. In PRIME-CKD, he will be involved in the clinical validation of the pharmacodynamic response biomarkers in completed clinical trials (WP2).

Rémon Vos, PhD Candidate

Rémon Vos, PhD Candidate has a background in Biomedical Sciences and Clinical Chemistry and will use this experience as a researcher focusing on the clinical and analytical validation of the pharmacodynamic response biomarkers in CKD patients (WP1). Main focus of his thesis consists of the interest in the measurement of urinary proteins in clinical trials and clinical practice.