Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects millions worldwide and represents a major driver of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Despite advances in understanding disease mechanisms, clinical management of CKD still relies heavily on broad indicators such as serum creatinine and proteinuria, which lack the specificity to capture disease heterogeneity or predict individual patient outcomes. Precision medicine seeks to overcome these limitations by identifying and applying biomarkers that reflect underlying molecular pathways, predict disease progression, and inform tailored therapeutic strategies.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive condition that affects nearly 10% of the global population, yet its diagnosis and management remain largely dependent on non-specific markers such as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria. While useful at a population level, these measures fail to capture the underlying molecular heterogeneity of CKD, leading to late diagnoses, poor prediction of disease progression, and limited ability to guide individualized therapy. As a result, many patients progress to end-stage renal disease despite standard interventions, while others are exposed to therapies that may be ineffective or even harmful.

This topic focuses on the discovery, validation, and clinical translation of biomarkers that can advance precision medicine approaches in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The scope includes:

Types of Biomarkers – Genetic, epigenetic, proteomic, metabolomic, and imaging biomarkers, as well as urinary and circulating molecular markers relevant to CKD.

Applications – Early detection of CKD, differentiation of disease subtypes, prediction of progression risk, monitoring of therapeutic responses, and patient stratification for clinical trials.

We welcome studies that link biomarker signatures to defined cellular states and histopathological lesions—using single-cell/spatial omics, multiplex imaging, and digital pathology—to mechanistically connect molecular pathways with tissue-level pathology and clinical outcomes.

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Biomarkers for precision medicine in chronic kidney diseases