RESEARCH CAPABILITIES Technology Overview A key focus of Nephrogenix is the development of technologies enabling therapeutic use of adult or embryonic stem cells in the functional restoration or replacement of damaged or diseased tissues in the kidney It has long been assumed that kidney development ceased at birth with no prospect of regeneration of new functional units. Over the past five years stem cell biology has questioned similar assumptions about other organs. For example, we now know that the brain contains neural stem cells which can indeed change into many cell types. We are developing technologies to enable the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells so that they adopt a renal progenitor fate. It is the goal of Nephrogenix to potentially administer these renal stem cells to patients with or at risk of end stage renal disease (ESRD). It is envisaged that glomerular and tubulo-interstitial damage in the ESRD kidney can be repaired by the administration of embryonic stem cell-derived or patient-derived renal progenitor cells. Nephrogenix has identified a number of cell surface markers that will aid in the isolation of these renal progenitor cells. Novel cell surface markers are being used to isolate putative renal stem cells or purify renal progenitors from differentiating embryonal stem cells. We are also working towards the identification of novel renal progenitor cell markers and growth factors to assist in the identification, isolation and / or reactivation of renal stem cells and their role in kidney development. The power of our approach to these scientific and commercial goals lies in our interdisciplinary application of molecular genetics, bioinformatics and stem cell biology, which is directed and driven by clinical need. Nephrogenix has access to considerable, diverse expertise that together represent a formidable intellectual power through the Renal Regeneration Consortium , the R&D engine of Nephrogenix. This consortium consists of 12 Principle Investigators together with contributors and researchers numbering over 50. These include 4 broad areas, Stem Cell Biology, Renal Research, Tissue Engineering and Genomics & Computational Biology. Stem Cell Biology Human embyronic stem cell biology (Martin Pera and Andrew Laslett) Induction of embryonic stem cells to mesoderm (Andrew Perkins) Murine stem cell molecular biology (Georgina Caruana) Mouse models for mapping cell lineage (David Hume) Renal Research Renal disease and repair (Sharon Ricardo) Kidney anatomy, sterology and development (John Bertram) Renal physiology in mice (Warwick Anderson and Michelle Kett) The molecular basis of kidney development and disease (Melissa Little) Genomics & Computational Biology Microarray-based expression profiling of developmental and cellular processes, including urogenital development and angiogenesis (Sean Grimmond) Tissue Engineering Bioengineering, particularly in the field of artificial vasculature and smooth muscle biology (Julie and Gordon Campbell)