Virtually supervised exercise program for people waiting for a kidney transplant
Official title: Virtually Supervised Exercise for Kidney Transplant Candidates
Funded at Palo Alto Veterans Instit for Research · NIH-11400620 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project offers a home-based, virtually supervised exercise program to help people on the kidney transplant waitlist keep and rebuild muscle and stay 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) | $141,649 |
| NIH project number | 3R01DK133509-04S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11400620 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults on the kidney transplant waitlist, including those receiving dialysis who are experiencing muscle loss or trouble with walking, balance, or getting up from a chair.
✕Less likely to help
People who are already very active, are not on a transplant waitlist, or who have medical contraindications to exercise (for example unstable heart disease) may not benefit from or be eligible for this program.
What this research studies
I would do guided exercise sessions at home that are supervised remotely by an instructor to help me stick with the program despite dialysis schedules. The program focuses on improving muscle strength, walking, balance, and everyday function that often decline while waiting for a transplant. Remote supervision adds accountability to boost adherence compared with past home programs that were hard to follow. The research team will deliver the exercises and track progress so they can see whether the virtual format keeps people active and functioning better before transplant.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could help waitlisted patients preserve or regain strength and mobility, lower the chance of waitlist removal, and improve recovery after transplant.
How similar studies have gone: Previous home-based exercise efforts often had low adherence, while supervised programs have improved adherence in related patient groups, so applying virtual supervision is a promising but still-developing approach.
Where this research is happening
-
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.
-
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.