An Ambizione grant to find out how kidney diseases and cancer connect
Dr Monika Gjorgjieva, junior lecturer in the Department of Cell Physiology and Metabolism of the Faculty of Medicine of the UNIGE, obtained an Ambizione grant for her research. SNSF Ambizione grants are highly competitive fundings allowing young researchers to conduct, manage and lead an independent project at a Swiss higher education institution.
After a PhD on liver and kidney diseases in 2018, Dr Monika Gjorgjieva moved to the UNIGE as a postdoctoral fellow to work on hepatic steatosis and cancer within the Department of Cell Physiology and Metabolism. Since 2022, as a junior lecturer, she develops new axes of research on kidney disease and cancer.
Dr Gjorgjieva's Ambizione project aims to uncover the link between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the most common form of kidney cancer. CKD, which affects over 10% of adults globally, is often linked to obesity and diabetes, leading to kidney damage and increasing the risk of RCC. Despite this connection, the precise molecular mechanisms that tie these conditions together remain unclear. Dr. Gjorgjieva's research seeks to identify these pathways, with the goal of discovering new therapeutic targets and enhancing treatment options for patients facing both CKD and RCC.
