Kevin Marchbank is Professor of Complement Biology at Newcastle University and Head of research in Autoimmune kidney diseases at the National Renal Complement Therapeutic Centre, RVI, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

From June to September 2025 Professor Marchbank undertook a research sabbatical to the Children’s Medical Research Institute in Sydney, Australia as a Visiting Professor attending the laboratory of Professor Ian Alexander and Associate Professor Grant Logan https://www.cmrijeansforgenes.org.au/research/research-teams/gene-therapy

The Northern Counties Kidney Research Fund were delighted to support some of the travel costs for Professor Marchbank to make the long trip down under.

The research sabbatical was very much a two-way street with the team at CMRI teaching Prof Marchbank all the tricks of the trade surrounding AAV mediated gene therapy while Professor Marchbank taught them the dark arts of complement assays.  The team have submitted an abstract on the work achieved during the sabbatical to the British Society for Immunology congress held in Liverpool, December 2025.

The work continues with joint publications and grants planned. Prof Marchbank hopes to use the new skills to underpin an UKRI MRC application in IgA Nephropathy and a small pump prime grant from the NCKRF to develop a totally novel therapy for rare kidney diseases – watch this space!