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21 COMMERCIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 DECEMBER 2018 LifeCycle Foundation boosts kidney research programme at University of Malta LIFECYCLE (Malta) Founda- tion donated €25,000 to the Uni- versity's Research, Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT) to further the specialised medi- cal programme in kidney re- search at the University of Malta (UM). The money was initially received by LifeCycle as part of the 2018 title sponsorship by Foster Clark Products Ltd. LifeCycle Founder Alan Curry, in the presence of Foster Clark's Brand Manager for Africa, Adri- an Bonello, presented the mon- ey to the University Rector and Research Trust (RIDT) Chair- man Professor Alfred Vella. In the past four years LifeCycle Foundation has donated a total of €120,000 towards the kidney research project. Alan Curry said: "As part of the LifeCycle Foundation's mission, we started supporting medi- cal research in kidney disease in 2014. For the past 19 years, we have been raising money through our yearly LifeCycle Challenge to help and provide better care for patients suffering from kidney disease. This year we are pledging another sum of €25,000, thanks to Foster Clark, to further the LifeCycle research programme." Adrian Bonello noted that Foster Clark is particularly pleased that their company is supporting the kidney research programme at the University of Malta. He said: "When Life- Cycle Foundation approached us with their idea, we imme- diately realised that this will result in a tangible financial support which we have offered for two consecutive years. We augur that the on-going kidney research will be of benefit to fu- ture generations." Alex Felice together with a team of scientists, namely lead researcher Valerie Said Conti and Esther Zammit are current- ly investigating what causes chil- dren to be born with congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT). These anomalies, which arise from de- fects in kidney development be- fore birth and are the common- est cause of end-stage kidney disease in children, are thought to result from an interplay be- tween genetic factors and envi- ronmental hits which influence the developmental pathways. The researchers have estab- lished a high-quality kidney dis- ease biobank at the University of Malta where biological samples from families of children with CAKUT are now stored. They have looked at potential risk fac- tors during pregnancy and have performed ultrasound studies on the first-degree relatives. It was determined that 3 of 26 (11.5%) individuals had a renal anomaly which compares well with a family history of 10% re- ported in the literature. Using Next Generation Se- quencing, a modern technol- ogy which allows the human genome to be sequenced rapidly and in great detail, the research- ers at UM have identified a num- ber of variations in the genomes which play a part in develop- ment. Since CAKUT is classified as a rare disease and the number of individuals studied by any re- search group is small, the data will contribute to the larger pool with the aim to develop preven- tive measures and individualised therapy in the future. Felice said: "We shall be able to look into fundamental physi- ological mechanisms of kidney development and explore in greater depth the effect of these and perhaps other gene vari- ations in children and adults. The new kidney biobank gives us and the Maltese families the opportunity to join large re- search programs with collabo- rators from other countries." Professor Vella said: "We are grateful for LifeCycle Founda- tion who have helped us to pre- pare the essential groundwork for renal research in Malta. With today's donation, we shall be able to sustain our invest- ment in furthering kidney dis- ease research." Employees of MAPFRE Malta volunteer at Inspire Foundation EMPLOYEES of MAPFRE Malta spend some time helping out Inspire Foundation during their latest event which forms part of the volunteering programme. During the event, employees helped out in some maintenance work of the park, in preparation for a Christmas Fair to be held in De- cember, in order to generate funds for the Foundation. Tasks involved painting works, weeding and re- moval of grass and general cleaning. Inspire Foundation helps children and adults with physical and intel- lectual disabilities reach their full potential. The foundation offers education- al, therapeutic and leisure services at no cost or at a heavily subsidised rate, with the aim of helping these individuals live a high quality of life with a sense of achievement, whatever the disability. Inspire al- so works tirelessly to promote the rights of people with disability and to raise awareness about the impor- tance of inclusion. MAPFRE are regular support- ers of Inspire Foundation, helping them out through financial and volunteering support throughout the year. In addition, Fundacion MAPFRE sponsors the running costs of the Multi-Sensory Thea- tres, a service being used by over 400 children and adults with a dis- ability. The MSR rooms were built purposely to help treat children and adults with Sensory Processing Dis- order (SDP) - a condition in which an individual's sensory signals do not get organised into appropriate responses, making everyday activi- ties a challenge to perform. "Inspire does a sterling job with- in the community, helping people with a disability achieve their full potential. We are proud to be regu- lar supporters," Norman Mifsud, Chief Officer of HR at MAPFRE MSV Life said.