Federal Grant Award Summary

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute received a $796,742 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), effective February 6, 2026, with a completion date of December 31, 2029. This research initiative focuses on developing and validating a urinary peptidomics-based biomarker panel to identify patients with spina bifida who face elevated risk of chronic kidney disease progression due to neurogenic bladder dysfunction. The project leverages institutional resources including the hospital's proteomics core laboratory, an established urine biobank containing 800 historical samples linked to videourodynamic study outcomes, and an existing machine learning algorithm for risk stratification.

The primary deliverable involves identifying and validating a panel of urinary peptide markers capable of discriminating high-risk urodynamic patterns associated with upper urinary tract deterioration. Specific Aim 1 will optimize and refine the peptide panel using samples with known videourodynamic outcomes as ground truth, followed by validation in an independent test cohort. Specific Aim 2 will assess the predictive power of urinary peptide markers by tracking their changes in patients whose urodynamic status either remained stable or progressed to high-risk status. The ultimate goal is to provide clinicians with a non-invasive biomarker-based alternative to traditional videourodynamic studies for identifying which patients require more intensive monitoring and intervention to prevent chronic kidney disease.