At-home guided exercise program for people awaiting a kidney transplant
Official title: Virtually Supervised Exercise for Kidney Transplant Candidates
Funded at Palo Alto Veterans Instit for Research · NIH-11167635 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A home-based, video-supervised exercise program to help people waiting for a kidney transplant stay stronger and more mobile.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Palo Alto Veterans Instit for Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Palo Alto, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2022 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $457,640 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK133509-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11167635 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults listed for kidney transplant (including those on dialysis) who are medically cleared to exercise and can use video/phone technology are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who are medically unstable, cannot safely perform physical activity, or lack access to or ability to use remote video technology may not benefit from this program.
What this research studies
You would be offered a home exercise program delivered by live video where an instructor guides your sessions, checks your form, and keeps you accountable. The program includes tailored strength and balance exercises, scheduled remote coaching sessions, activity tracking, and reminders to help you stick with it. Periodic physical tests and short questionnaires would measure your walking, balance, and daily function over time. The team will compare this virtual-supervision approach with usual care or less-supervised home programs to see which helps people remain fit while waiting and recover better after transplant.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help people waiting for a kidney transplant maintain or rebuild strength and mobility, potentially improving recovery after transplant and avoiding waitlist removal.
How similar studies have gone: Supervised exercise programs have previously improved strength and function but prior home-based programs often had low adherence, making virtual supervision a promising but still emerging approach.
Where this research is happening
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Palo Alto Veterans Instit for Research
Palo Alto, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Liu, Christine Kee — Palo Alto Veterans Instit for Research
- Study coordinator: Liu, Christine Kee
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Microbial clues to diagnose and predict infections in kidney transplant patients
A patient-focused project will look for microbial biomarkers in stool, blood, and urine to help doctors predict and diagnose infections in people who have had a kidney transplant.
-
Immunological mechanisms behind treatment-resistant kidney transplant rejection
This grant explores why certain kidney transplant rejections don’t respond to standard treatments and what immune cells in the graft are driving that resistance.
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Complement-Bound Exosomes and Kidney Transplant Immunity
This project studies how kidney transplant injury and rejection happen after surgery and whether blocking certain immune pathways during organ preservation could improve transplant outcomes.
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Blood vessel signals predicting heart problems after kidney transplant
This project studies blood markers and tissue patterns after kidney transplants to identify which patients are at highest risk of cardiovascular problems.
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Understanding how BK virus links infection to kidney transplant rejection
This project looks at how BK polyomavirus reactivation affects kidney transplant patients and aims to use pre-transplant T cell information to tailor immunosuppression and monitoring.
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Characterization of a LILRB3 SNP cluster and its link to kidney transplant outcomes
A study in kidney transplant recipients looks at genetic factors that may be tied to higher risk of graft failure.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.