Markus Rinschen

Project title

Decoding metabolic communication in proteinuria

What is your project about?

Kidney disease is a major driver of cardiovascular complications and has recently been recognized as a global health priority. The presence of proteins in the urine, proteinuria, is often one of the first signs of kidney disease. My project asks whether proteinuria could be a metabolic disease. Using experimental models, I will map the metabolic consequences of proteinuria on different parts of the kidney in experimental models of disease. At the same time, I will try to design active interventions that interfere with proteinuric kidney disease. 

How did you become interested in your particular field of research?

It is well known that diet and lifestyle influence chronic disease, but we understand much less how metabolic processes ultimately lead to tissue decay. I became fascinated by the kidney because it continuously handles nutrients, proteins and waste products while performing an enormous amount of metabolic work. My previous research showed that kidney metabolism can actively influence disease progression and that dietary interventions can protect kidney tubules. This motivated me to investigate the metabolic mechanisms that drive proteinuric kidney disease in this project. 

What are the scientific challenges and perspectives in your project?

The main scientific challenge is the enormous complexity of the chemical space that governs cellular physiology. I have pioneered the use of mass spectrometry-based technologies to map this chemical space and to identify the functional switches that drive disease. Now that we have the tools to visualise these molecules, the next step is to understand how individual metabolites ultimately drive disease. My perspective is to move from description to mechanism: to test causality and to identify metabolic nodes that can be targeted therapeutically.

What is your estimate of the impact, which your project may have to society in the long term?

In the long term, my findings could support the development of new drugs, repurposed treatments or dietary strategies that slow disease progression and improve outcomes for people living with chronic kidney disease. At the same time, this is fundamental research: we map the effects of individual molecules and develop technologies to study the activity of the metabolome more systematically. These approaches will be applicable well beyond the kidney. Ultimately, a better understanding of how metabolites drive disease may open new avenues for prevention and therapeutics.

Which impact do you expect the Sapere Aude programme will have on your career as a researcher?

I feel very honoured to receive this recognition. Sapere Aude gives me the freedom to pursue an ambitious and unconventional hypothesis about the mechanisms driving proteinuric kidney disease. The programme will allow me to build an interdisciplinary team, strengthen international collaborations and develop new experimental approaches at the interface of kidney physiology, metabolism and nutrition. Most importantly, it gives me the independence and momentum to establish a distinctive research programme and strengthen my position as an independent investigator in the world.