Early-Career Success: Dr. Mélina Richard Wins CHF 85,000 Grant
Dr. Mélina Richard, co-deputy head of the SinuesLab, has been awarded a grant of CHF 85,000 by the Gottfried and Julia Bangerter-Rhyner Foundation, less than six months after defending her doctoral thesis, at a very early stage of her scientific career.
Her project, PRIM-TxAIR (Precision Response Individualized Monitoring of Exhaled Biomarkers After Kidney Transplantation), which has already begun at the USB and UKBB, aims to revolutionize the way kidney transplant patients are monitored. By combining state-of-the-art mass spectrometry with advanced regression models, this research seeks to predict blood biomarker concentrations directly from exhaled air.
This innovative approach enables a non-invasive, patient-specific monitoring strategy, with the potential to detect early signs of transplant rejection or drug toxicity before clinical symptoms appear. By shifting from traditional blood sampling to exhaled breath analysis, the project aims to reduce the need for venipuncture by up to 50%, thereby significantly improving patient comfort and care.
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