Partners and Sponsors

Funding for the study was provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Foundation for Preventive Medicine of the Board of Trustees for Home Dialysis and Kidney Transplantation (KfH).

Project funding period:

BMBF 2009 – 12/2016

KfH 2009 – 03/2019

Industry Partners

The study is/was supported by the following industry partners:

Hyperkalemia

Identification and characterization of risk factors for hyperkalemia

Association of potassium levels with clinical outcomes 2 and 4 years after enrollment

Genetic Analyses

As part of this collaboration, genetic sequencing and analysis are performed to identify genetic factors associated with the risk of developing chronic kidney disease and with variations in disease progression. A portion of these analyses is carried out at Freiburg University Medical Center.

Identification and Clinical Validation of Biomarkers

The objective of this research project is to gain a better understanding of the pathomechanisms driving the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) by investigating selected biomarkers. This knowledge will be used to identify biomarkers with the potential to enhance diagnostic accuracy, prognostic evaluation, and, where applicable, treatment monitoring in patients at different stages of CKD.

Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS)

The objective of this research is to identify genetic variants that contribute to the onset and progression of kidney diseases and to the development of associated comorbidities, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. Such variants may improve our understanding of the underlying pathomechanisms and serve as indicators of disease progression risk.

Within the framework of a comprehensive research collaboration with Evotec, multiple analytical platforms are utilized to gain deeper molecular insights into patient samples. These platforms integrate high-throughput proteomic and transcriptomic technologies with advanced data analysis approaches. Furthermore, Evotec provides support for the study infrastructure.

A risk calculator for predicting cardiovascular events was developed in collaboration with Fresenius. Furthermore, Fresenius Medical Care supports the study infrastructure.

The objective of this research project is to gain deeper insights into the pathomechanisms underlying the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the development of cardiovascular complications by investigating selected biomarkers.

  • Amgen: Support of the Study Infrastructure
  • Dicerna: Research on the Role of Oxalate Levels in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease
  • Takeda: Iron Parameters in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease
  • Vifor: Iron Parameters in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease
  • Travere: Studies investigating the clinical course of two specific glomerular diseases, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and IgA nephropathy. These projects are carried out in collaboration with Aachen University Hospital.

This page is currently being updated

International Partners and Consortia

The GCKD-Study is aimed at achieving broad comprehension of disease progresssion and gaining further knowledge in cooperation with other international cohort projects in renal populations.
Existing collaborations comprise:

The inclusion criteria and the structure of these studies are similar. Especially, the definitions of disease entities, the diagnoses and the endpoints have been designed along the lines of the CRIC-study to achieve comparability and allow pooled analyses with increased statistical power, and open the possibilities of comparing risk factors and disease progression in different racial, cultural and ethnical backgrounds.