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sector_ico_Health_trans Human Health

Biomarkers in Transplantation

068TRA
  • Project Leaders: Paul Keown, Bruce McManus, Raymond Ng, Rob McMaster
  • Institutions: University of British Columbia (UBC)
  • Budget: $6522037
  • Program/Competition: Applied Genomics Programs
  • Genome Centre(s): Genome British Columbia
  • Status: Closed

After transplantation of a heart, kidney, or liver, the immune system may attack the foreign organ so patients are treated with immunosuppressant medication to prevent rejection. However, these drugs can make the patient susceptible to other diseases or damage the transplanted organ itself. Current methods for detecting rejection are either ineffective and inaccurate or highly invasive and risky, such as tissue biopsies. This project worked on the identification of candidate blood?based genomic and proteomic biomarkers that diagnose and/or predict allograft rejection as guidance for clinical decision?making and patient management. The project was successful in being awarded further funding from Genome BC and other partners to continue this work until 2014, in kidney and heart only, through the Genome BC Personalized Medicine Program.