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Renal medicine research

Birmingham has a large, multi-ethnic population, including some of the most deprived communities in the UK. The region within 50 miles of the centre of Birmingham comprises 10% of the UK population. Chronic kidney disease affects more than 10% of the adult population and the area has some of the highest rates of dialysis requirements in Europe.

The clinical service manages 1,040 patients on haemodialysis, including 200 people on home therapies. The unit manages 11 chronic dialysis units within the catchment area. It also provides renal services for a population of 1.7 million people and kidney transplantation for 150 people a year from a catchment area of 4.5 million.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) provides large and comprehensive secondary and tertiary care services across all areas of medicine. To support this the hospital has a large acute kidney injury and plasmapharesis programme, with a 25-station acute dialysis unit and 54 inpatient beds.

There is tight integration between clinical work and research, with a commitment to research across a range of areas and a growing portfolio of projects under the direction of faculty members. 

The renal research laboratories are based in the University of Birmingham's School of Immunity and Infection, which has a reputation for internationally competitive research. The group recently moved into new research laboratories which are within the newly built QEHB. There are close collaborations with a large number of research groups across the campus. 

The main current research areas are:

• immune mediated renal disease
• paraprotein related renal diseases
• chronic kidney disease (CKD) (including epidemiology)
• transplantation (immune and non-immune-mediated aspects)
• cardiovascular disease in CKD
• dialysis
• acute kidney injury