| | |  | | NEWSLETTER ::: NO. 15 ::: DEC 2017 | | BETWEEN THE CLINIC AND THE LAB: INTERVIEW WITH JUNIOR GRANT AWARDEE JOHAN LORENZEN | | Johan Lorenzen, recipient of a Junior Grant from the NCCR Kidney.CH, opens up about the challenges of pursuing research in the lab while working as a physician in a hospital. | The 37-year old German-born nephrologist studied Medicine at the Hanover Medical School (MHH) in Germany. After his doctorate degree, he acquired his first experiences as a group leader, at the Institute of Molecular and Translational Therapeutic Strategies in Hanover. In November 2016, he moved to Zurich, taking a position at the Nephrology division of the city’s University Hospital. Shortly after, he got in touch with researchers from the NCCR Kidney.CH. In February 2017, he received the aforementioned Junior Grant, which will strengthen his research within the group of Professor Ruedi Wuethrich at the University of Zurich.
YOUR TIME IN HANOVER WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL FOR YOU. WHY DID YOU MOVE TO ZURICH?
With the completion of my residency and specialisation in Nephrology in 2016, it was time to move on and establish myself independently at another institution. I was delighted when the opportunity arose to further my career by moving to the University of Zurich.
HOW DOES YOUR TYPICAL WORK WEEK LOOK LIKE?
Professor Wuethrich, Director of the Nephrology division of the University Hospital Zurich, offers me outstanding infrastructure and protected time for research. Overall, I work in the laboratory on Mondays and Tuesdays, spending the remainder of the week at the hospital.
IS IT AN ADVANTAGE OR A DISADVANTAGE FOR A RESEARCHER TO BE PART OF THE DAILY ROUTINE OF A CLINIC?
Probably both. I myself see it as an advantage, since I also want to improve my clinical skills. In addition, if you see patients on a regular basis it’s much easier to base one’s research on the questions that are relevant for patient care. At the same time though, working at the hospital reduces valuable research time. Since research is very competitive, the amount of time spent on science is pivotal.
WHAT ARE YOUR RESEARCH INTERESTS?
Only few patients that need a kidney transplant will receive an organ from a donor. Kidney injury in clinical settings such as open-heart surgery, severe blood loss, or even a kidney transplant itself may result in the need for a transplant. Therapies aimed at reducing this type of injury are associated with significantly improved short- and long-term organ survival. Our group is interested in the mechanisms of kidney injury and how these events are mediated by non-coding RNAs. Only 1–2 per cent of the human genome is transcribed into messenger RNA. The remaining majority of RNA transcripts are so called non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which are separated into long ncRNAs (lncRNAs; ≥200 nucleotides) and small ncRNAs (≤200 nucleotides). We want to identify novel non-coding RNAs in different mouse models of kidney injury.
We aim to modulate pathological noncoding RNA expression by RNA therapeutics, which enables specific targeting of non-coding RNAs and thus modulation of pathological signalling pathways in vivo. In addition, non-coding RNAs are released into the blood and urine in patients. Thus, circulating non-coding RNAs may serve as a non-invasive tool with which to detect and monitor disease activity.
HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN YOUR JUNIOR GRANT RESEARCH PROJECT TO A POTENTIAL PATIENT?
In my Junior Grant, we are investigating a certain noncoding RNA that does not lead to the formation of a protein. Normally, this RNA is highly present during the development of kidneys, but almost absent during adult life. We discovered that this particular RNA is reactivated in the context of acute kidney injury in mice. It is known that several embryonic signalling pathways, which are highly important during the development of the kidneys, are reactivated during kidney injury. They most likely repair the organ. We aim to elucidate the distinct role of this non-coding RNA and also to modulate its expression in vivo, so that it may aid in the repair of ischemic kidneys.
WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT DO YOU RECEIVE AND HOW IMPORTANT IS THE JUNIOR GRANT FROM THE NCCR KIDNEY.CH FOR YOUR WORK?
We have three grants running in the laboratory. I received the Else Kröner-Fresenius Memorial scholarship in Germany in 2015, which I was able to transfer to Zurich. Malte Kölling, a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory, was recently awarded the Nephro-physician Scientist grant by the NCCR Kidney.CH. The recent Junior Grant from the NCCR was fundamentally important to me in initiating my research group at the University of Zurich. I am very grateful that I received this grant after just having moved here. It enabled me to hire a PhD student, almost immediately after my start in Zurich. And it allows me to interconnect and collaborate with other scientists interested in kidney research all over Switzerland. | | | Johan Lorenzen: recipient of a Junior Grant from the NCCR Kidney.CH. Since November 2016, he is nephrologist at the University Hospital Zurich and junior PI at the Institut of Physiology at the University of Zurich. |
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| | | | Kidney - Control of Homeostasis | | is a Swiss research initiative, headquartered at University of Zurich, which brings together leading specialists in experimental and clinical nephrology and physiology from the universities of Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, and Zurich, and corresponding university hospitals. |
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