Award Winning Research
Our Research
Photo Wall
Our Research
We are dedicated to improving the understanding of kidney disease, its causes, treatment and management through funding research, with confidence that it can build on the advances and scientific breakthroughs that have been made by researchers - many of them supported by the Charity - during the past forty years. We continue to recognise the importance of training and research to which we allocate 75% of our charitable income.
Research Strategy
Kidney Research UK is dedicated to improving the understanding of kidney disease, its causes, prevention and treatment. The Charity’s main research objective is to support a wide range of projects by UK scientists, through a combination of open response-mode calls and commissioned research in strategically important areas.
We believe that understanding basic mechanisms of kidney disease through high-quality research is important for developing novel treatments and for prevention. The spectrum of studies we support ranges from molecular investigation of how molecules, genes and cells work through to clinical trials and health services research, relating to kidney disease, dialysis and transplantation.
All the research we fund is peer-reviewed, and only the best science is supported, within the available funding limits. The Charity endorses the AMRC position that animals should only be used for research if it is essential and there is no alternative.
The Charity recognises that training of basic and clinical scientists is an essential investment for the future of kidney health in the UK. We award training fellowships to clinicians to support their career development and the Charity also seeks to provide support for young scientists to undertake a PhD, undergo postdoctoral training, or through senior fellowships to establish themselves as independent researchers.
Clinical trials provide the evidence on which to base treatment decisions. Providing funding for large-scale trials is very costly and is currently beyond the scope of the Charity alone. However, we are able to support smaller pilot studies, and to work in partnership with other research funders, professional associations and the pharmaceutical industry to support larger-scale clinical trials.
In areas where a strategic need is identified by the Charity and the renal community, we aim to support specific research projects and broader initiatives. These are often undertaken in partnership with other organisations. Such projects and initiatives are most likely to take the form of commissioned research, that looks to inform health policy and/or show significant impact on the health and well being of people at risk of, or already identified with, kidney disease.
Research Objectives
We wish to support research that is relevant to the understanding of the kidneys and urinary tract system and the disease processes affecting them. There is a particular desire to support work leading to improved management, treatment and prevention of kidney disease and it's complications.
