Rachel Engen, MD, assistant professor, Division of Nephrology, recently secured a three-year grant in the amount of $621,000 for an investigator-initiated, industry-funded, multicenter study looking at torque teno virus (TTV) as a biomarker of immunosuppression level after pediatric kidney transplant. Engen will partner with grant funder Eurofins-Viracor and the North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies (NAPRTCS) to recruit up to 20 centers for the study, with an overall goal of recruiting 165 patients. The study aims to improve assessment of overall immune status and better balance the risks of rejection and infection after transplant. The project began last month and will run until mid-May 2028. Engen serves as the medical director for pediatric kidney transplantation at American Family Children’s Hospital and is the nephrology prenatal consultant for the UW Health Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center.