Stubendorff wins René Küss Prize for original work on renal transplantation

The Board of the EAU Section of Transplantation Urology (ESTU) was pleased to award the first René Küss Prize for original work on renal transplantation. The recipient was Dr. Beatrice Stubbendorff (DE), for her research on the timely detection of rejection through the identification of new biomarkers in the urine.

In his speech, Dr. Markus Giessing (DE) remarked that with this prize the Board seeks to “motivate young scientists to keep doing original research in the field of renal transplantation”. The winning work, presented during the Annual EAU Conference as an abstract titled Urine protein profiling identified alpha-1-microglobulin and haptoglobin as biomarkers for early diagnosis of acute allograft rejection following kidney transplantation, involved identifying differences in the urine protein profile of patients who presented rejection. This allowed for establishing a protein profile in samples collected postoperatively. The proteins Alpha-1-Microglobulin and Haptoglobin were quantified and cut-off values measured for use as a diagnostic tool. This is an advance in the early detection of transplant rejection, where time is of the essence to save kidney function.

The prize was awarded during the Meeting of the EAU Section of Transplantation Urology (ESTU), in cooperation with ESUT and ERUS. According to the ESTU Board, the work done by Dr. Stubendorff and her team stood out from other abstracts on renal transplantation: “the research is unique and promising, the work group was very eager and collaboration intense.” Dr. Stubendorff received the prize from the hands of Ms. Sophie Morello-Küss , daughter of René Küss. “I am moved and full of gratitude for this manner of honouring the memory of my father”, she said.

The René Küss Prize will be awarded annually, with the winner providing a René Küss award presentation at the ESTU section meeting of the following year.