Monika Gjorgijeva Ducros, Hjelt Grant Holder 2025, University of Geneva. Background Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a serious complication of diabetes characterized by progressive renal dysfunction due to chronic hyperglycemia. AI showed upregulation of endoplasmic reticulum metallopeptidase 1 (ERMP1), a mediator of ER stress, in renal samples from patients with DKD. Collectively, the data suggest a protective role for ERMP1 in DKD. We aim to elucidate the interplay between renal cells with or without ERMP1 in vivo. We will use kidney-specific ERMP1 knockout mice fed either standard diet or a diabetogenic diet to induce DKD. Around 403.000 patients per year are diagnosed with renal carcinomas worldwide. Renal carcinomas are promoted by several factors such as obesity/diabetes, chronic kidney disease, smoking, toxin exposure, genetic predispositions and high blood pressure. This diverse array of risk factors leads to very strong differences in terms of tumor morphology, mutational profile and metabolic status and testifies for the need to deepen our understanding of the pathological processes involved in this disease in order to develop novel therapeutic approaches to fight renal cancer. Dr Gjorgjieva’s research aims therefore at deciphering the different molecular mechanisms involved in the incidence and progression of renal cancer . She is working on the development of an in vivo model of renal carcinoma that better mimics the pathology observed in humans and might open new therapeutic avenues.

Isabella Artner, Hjelt Grant Holder 2025, Lund University. Transcriptional regulation of human islet development and function

Sevda Gheibi, Hjelt Grant Holder 2025, Lund University. ACSL1 and β-Cell Function: A Novel Pathway in the Pathophysiology of Type 2 Diabetes