Transition to a low-carbon future requires technologies based on critical metals and sustainable energy production. Geological systems associated with convergent plate boundaries host considerable amounts of mineral resources and significant geothermal energy potential, both controlled by super-hot (>350C) fluids at depth. The development of supercritical geothermal resources is a global challenge that cannot be solved by a single country alone. The SCAR project will bring together leading research groups in metallogenesis and mineral extraction (British Geological Survey and Mexican Gold Corp) and geothermal systems (Autonomous University of Mexico, University of Michoacana and the Italian National Research Council) to evaluate the inter-dependency between super-hot fluids, mobilisation and distribution of critical metals (Te, Bi and In) and heat flow. We propose a collaboration focussed on the Tatatila-Las Minas Cu-Au deposit (in the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt) which can provide data essential for modelling the potential and efficiency of simultaneous extraction of metals and energy from super-hot geothermal systems. A UK-Mexico collaboration aligns well with UK Government initiatives of setting up new partnerships to boost sustainable economies. Dr Alicja Lacinska, lead proposer of SCAR, is a New Investigator whose ambition is to forge new international partnerships to deliver high quality crosscutting science in anticipation of future large-scale metallogenic-geothermal initiatives worldwide.

The Kidney Research UK 2013 patient survey identified 'prevention of kidney disease' and 'cause of specific kidney diseases' as the second and third priority for renal research after 'finding a cure for kidney disease'. This fellowship focus demonstrably aligns with these priorities. Work I have recently completed using data of 1.4 million adults in England showed that being overweight and obese is a key cause of kidney disease in the UK. Tracking these people for 7 years, nearly 1-in-100 developed permanent serious kidney damage and 1-in-1000 required dialysis or a kidney transplant. Compared to lean people, those who were overweight were at moderately increased risk of permanent serious kidney damage (their risk was increased by about 30- 40%), but risk was doubled among those who were moderately obese (ie, those who had a body-mass index [BMI] between 30-35 kg/m2) and was tripled among those with severe obesity (BMI above 35kg/m2). Diabetes is a common cause of serious kidney damage in the UK and worldwide, and is one of the mechanisms by which obesity may cause permanent kidney damage. Nevertheless, this study found that excess weight increased the risk of kidney damage by a similar amount in people with or without diabetes, and also in people who had 'well-controlled' blood pressure. Taking into account how common overweight and obesity are in the UK, these data suggested that at least one-third of all permanent serious kidney damage in adults in the UK could be due to being overweight or obese, and that despite modern treatments for diabetes and raised blood pressure, obesity remains a major cause of serious kidney disease. My overall research aim is therefore to study by how much being overweight or obese and deposition of fat in the abdomen (ie, central obesity) increase the risk of developing temporary, permanent and/or progressive kidney damage across a wide range of populations, and then explore the potential causal mechanisms. This will be done using some of the world's largest population studies which have measured people's weight and body fat and collected blood for genetics, then followed them for many years to see if and how kidney problems develop. The following steps in the research process are necessary: 1. Completing the identifying and confirming of people who develop new kidney disease in over 1 million people assessed and then followed in 3 large population studies (China-Kadoorie Biobank, UK Biobank and the Mexico City Prospective Study). 2. Assessing how body weight and central obesity predict the risk of developing different kidney diseases. 3. Confirming adiposity is a causal risk factor for kidney disease, and then focusing on potential mechanisms, where there is some controversy. This work will include use of novel gene-based computational methods in the studies. Long-term, these studies will be capable of relating how different types of obesity and kidney disease affect risk of other diseases thought to be associated with both conditions, including heart disease, infection and cancer. Key applications and benefits of this fellowship, beyond personal development and the formation of a new research program focused on obesity, diabetes and kidney disease, include providing: 1. Extending the expertise of a kidney doctor who already has knowledge of how to design and conduct large trials, and providing him with the ability to use specialist genetic analyses to test whether risk factors for kidney disease represent a probable cause, rather than an association with kidney disease. This ensures future clinical trials will test the best questions; 2. Defining reliable kidney outcomes for UK Biobank, China-Kadoorie Biobank and Mexico City Prospective Study users; 3. Providing new and major opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry to test whether biological pathways may reduce or increase risk of kidney diseases.