Latest awards
Find out the results of our latest grants rounds and what we're funding.
Visit our research grants page to find out about our current funding calls.
We are delighted to announce the results of our second hybrid research grants round. We invited predominantly research project and start-up applications as we drive forward our Research Strategy with a focus on transforming treatments in dialysis and transplant, and paediatric renal research. We also welcomed applications for fellowships and studentships to continue to support younger researchers in their kidney research career.
In this round we secured additional funding via partnerships with the Stoneygate Trust, the Kidney Fund and Kidney Wales.
The allocation of funding followed our established governance, through a two-stage application process, followed by scientific and lay peer review of full applications.
We received 67 expressions of interest and following strategic panel assessment 53 were invited for full applications. Of those, twenty-five research projects were discussed, and four Start-up projects were scored at the first panel meeting on 16 March. At the second panel meeting on 23 March, seven interviews were held, and five PhD Studentships were scored.
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make 24 awards:
- 1 x Allied Health Professional Fellowship
- 1 x Senior Fellowships
- 1 x Training Fellowship
- 5 x PhD Studentships
- 12 x Research project grants
- 4 x Start-up grants
This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our Board of Trustees. These awards were made in March and May 2023.
- Total awarded: £3.1M
- Overall success rate: 45%
Details of the awards made:
Kidney Research UK – Stoneygate Research Awards:
Research project:
Dr Maria Kaisar, University of Oxford
£244k over 36 months
Title: REnal Degradomics – Examining kidney extracellular matrices to better assess and repair donor kidneys (REDEEM)
Dr Colin Crump, University of Cambridge
£179k over 24 months
Title: Organoid models for assessment of novel therapeutics against BK polyomavirus
Dr Anna Winterbottom, St James's University Hospital
£48k over 18 months
Title: The role of peer support in improving adjustment to dialysis and transplantation
Professor Maria Grazia De Angelis, University of Edinburgh
£181k over 24 months
Title: REdefining haemoDIALysis with data-driven materials innovation: towards miniaturization and the wearable artificial kidney (REDIAL)
Dr Bang Zheng, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
£81k over 12 months
Title: Kidney-related adverse events associated with intravitreal VEGF-inhibitor use: a national cohort study
Start-Up:
Dr Sadr Shaheed, University of Oxford
£31k over 24 months
Title: Permissive or hostile recipient environments? Proteomic and metabolomic profiles of recipients of kidney donor pairs with contrasting outcomes.
Dr Stephen Knight, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Glasgow
£40k over 12 months
Title: Development of a point of care urine test to identify rejection in renal transplant patients: a pilot feasibility study
Fellowship:
Mr Bruno Mafrici, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
£211k over 60 months
Title: Re-examining nutrition in dialysis patients: nutritional losses and the role of supplementation
Paediatric Research Project, Start-up Awards and PhD Studentship:
Research project:
Professor Jennifer Southgate, University of York
£170k over 24 months
Title: Development of decellularised human cadaveric urinary tract for the management of complex bladder problems in children
Dr Louise Oni, University of Liverpool
£203k over 36 months
Title: A systematic evaluation of urine biomarkers in IgA vasculitis (HSP) to define biological thresholds and stratification for treatment (The SISTA study)
Start-Up:
Dr Lucy Plumb, University of Bristol
£39k over 12 months
Title: Investigating inequalities in access to paediatric kidney transplantation.
Dr Samantha Hayward, University of Bristol
£31k over 16 months
Title: A novel tool for predicting disease course and treatment response in Nephrotic Syndrome
PhD Studentship:
Dr Mattia Francesco Maria Gerli, Royal Free Hospital and UCL Medical School
£89k over 36 months
Title: Engineering primary kidney organoids from the human amniotic fluid to model renal development and disease
Kidney Research UK Awards
Research project:
Dr Rebecca Foster, University of Bristol
£211k over 36 months
Title: Adiponectin receptor agonists prevent the development of kidney disease through protection of the glomerular endothelial glycocalyx
Dr Richard Unwin, University of Manchester
£218k over 24 months
Title: Therapeutic monitoring by measuring the mouse complementome
Professor Smeeta Sinha, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust
£27k over 24 months
Title: Calciphylaxis: a qualitative study of patient experiences
Dr Bryan Conway, University of Edinburgh
£219k over 24 months
Title: Investigating mechanisms of injury and repair in the human kidney at the single cell level
Professor Matthew A Bailey, University of Edinburgh
£153k over 24 months
Title: Developing Retinal Imaging in Mice as a Tool for Understanding Microvascular Health in Kidney Disease
Fellowships:
Dr Andrew Chetwynd, University of Liverpool
£304k over 60 months
Title: Glycan profiling of immunoglobulin-complement immune complexes in IgA mediated glomerulonephritis: The GlyCAN study
Dr Tanya Smith, Cardiff University
£100k over 24 months
Title: What’s so special about the female kidney? Using single nuclear RNA sequencing to understand proximal tubular cell heterogeneity
PhD Studentships:
Dr Stephen Walsh, University College London (UCL)
£91k over 36 months
Title: Culture of segment specific renal tubular cells from whole urine for phenotyping, diagnosis and therapy testing.
Dr Mark Dockrell, St Helier Hospital
£87k over 42 months
Title: An investigation of anti-fibrotic cellular mechanisms of SGLT-2 inhibitors in human renal epithelial and glomerular endothelial cells; identification of a novel therapeutic target
Dr David Wellsted, University of Hertfordshire
£82k over 36 months
Title: Development and validation of a measure of treatment burden for people receiving dialysis treatment
Professor Daniel Gale, University College London (UCL)
£91k over 36 months
Title: Identifying genetic modifiers of Alport syndrome in large datasets
We are delighted to announce the results of our first hybrid research grants round of 2022. We invited predominantly fellowship and studentship applications to give as many new researchers as possible the opportunity to start or take the next step in their kidney research career. We also welcomed applications for research project and start-up awards to support researchers who required support to take their research idea forward.
In this round we secured additional funding in the form of an extremely generous gift of £500,000 from the Thompson Family Charitable Trust, a partnership with Kidney Wales to support two PhD Studentships, and a partnership with Kidney Research Yorkshire to support two research projects.
The themes were in line with the charity’s research strategy, and the allocation of funding continued our improved governance, through a two-stage application process, followed by scientific and lay peer review of full applications.
We received 59 expressions of interest and following strategic panel assessment 53 were invited for full applications. Of those, thirteen research projects were discussed, and three Start-up projects were scored at the first panel meeting on 27 September. At the second panel meeting on 13 October, ten interviews were held, and thirteen PhD Studentships were scored.
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make 14 awards:
- 1 Allied Health Professional Fellowship
- 1 Intermediate fellowship
- 2 Senior fellowships
- 1 Training fellowship
- 5 PhD studentships
- 4 Research project grants
- 1 Start-up grant
This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our board of trustees. These awards were made in November 2022.
- Total awarded: £2.504M
- Overall success rate: 26%
Details of the awards made:
Fellowships:
Dr Stuart Stewart, University of Manchester
£250k over 36 months
Title: Quantifying the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Kidney Failure Risk Equation on CKD Care and Outcomes
Dr Killian Donovan, University of Oxford
£252k over 36 months
Title: Genetic influences on the progression of chronic kidney disease
Dr Katie Mylonas, University of Edinburgh
£316k over 36 months
Title: Targeting senescent cells in kidney disease, heart disease and diabetes
Dr Abigail Lay, University of Manchester
£253k over 36 months
Title: Defining the causal, mechanistic, role of altered DNA methylation in diabetic kidney disease
Dr Barbara Tanos, Brunel University
£336k over 36 months
Title: Investigating the role of cilia in polycystic kidney disease
PhD Studentships
Dr Stephen McAdoo, Imperial College London
£87k over 36 months
Title: Peptide immunotherapy for immune-mediated kidney disease
Professor Kourosh Saeb-Parsy, University of Cambridge
£94k over 42 months
Title: Human renal tubular organoids for polycystic kidney disease modelling and drug screening
Dr Claudio Capelli, University College London
£81k over 36 months
Title: Innovating central venous lines to improve haemodialysis in children: a multidisciplinary, data-driven approach to understand current problems, design and test novel solutions
Dr Soma Meran, Cardiff University
£75k over 36 months
Title: Investigating novel mechanisms that drive cardiovascular disease in kidney patients: the relationship between systemic inflammation, alterations in Hyaluronan matrix and vascular calcification in arteries.
Professor Ian Humphreys, Cardiff University
£75k over 36 months
Title: Investigating nutritional amino acid regulation of antiviral immunity in kidney transplant patients
Research projects
Dr Donald Ward, University of Manchester
£245k over 36 months
Title: Calcium-sensing receptor as the phosphate sensor in secondary hyperparathyroidism
Professor Andrew MacDonald, University of Leeds
£233k over 36 months
Title: Why is CFTR required for the multiplication of BK polyomavirus in kidney cells?
Professor Colin A Johnson, University of Leeds
£246k over 36 months
Title: Developing splice-switching oligonucleotides as therapeutics for CEP290-related renal ciliopathies in organoid models
Professor Steven Sacks, Kings College London
£190k over 24 months
Title: A novel approach to protecting transplanted kidneys
Start-ups
Dr Jessica Kepple, University of Oxford
£39k over 24 months
Title: Investigating the role of TMEM260 in renal development and disease
We are delighted to announce that thanks to the enormous generosity of Laurence Isaacson’s legacy gift we have been able to fund some additional research. Laurence was an ambassador for our Making Every Kidney Count Campaign and was tireless in his support for the charity. He was specifically interested in improving the outcomes for people who need a kidney transplant.
The Laurence Isaacson MSc/PhD Awards was an open call to the research community for three studentship or fellowship grants of up to £90,000 in translational kidney transplant research.
The allocation of funding continued our improved governance with a scientific and lay peer review of the applications. We received 4 applications in total, all of which were discussed at the panel meeting on 28 June.
Following discussion, there was a recommendation to make three awards all of which were subsequently endorsed by our Board of Trustees. These awards were made in August 2022.
- Total awarded: £ 232,488
- Overall success rate: 75%
Details of the awards made:
PhD Studentship awards:
Mr John Asher, University of Glasgow
£71,088 over 36 months
Title: Viability Assessment and Normothermic Machine Perfusion - Development of clinical and laboratory techniques to improve assessment of kidneys on ex-vivo normothermic perfusion to enable evaluation of marginal kidneys for transplantation
Professor Patricia Murray, University of Liverpool
£71,400 over 36 months
Title: Improving the viability of transplanted kidneys using a regenerative cell therapy
Professor Stephen Marks, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust
£90,000 over 42 months
Title: Identification of new transplant kidney injury indicators to aid personalised use of immunity suppressing medicines in children
We are delighted to announce that thanks to the enormous generosity of the Solomon family we have been able to fund some additional research.
The Lady Judith Solomon Award was an open call to the research community for awards of up to £150,000 for research projects to drive improvements in dialysis in one of the following areas:
- Making dialysis kinder and more tolerable
- Improving outcomes for dialysis patients
- Reducing the fear and anxiety associated with dialysis.
The allocation of funding continued our improved governance with a scientific and lay peer review of the applications. We received 8 applications in total, all of which were discussed at the panel meeting on 28 June.
- Total awarded: £254,845
- Overall success rate: 25%
Details of the awards made:
Research project awards:
Dr Ben Reynolds, Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow
£149,637 over 24 months
Title: Further development of a head-mounted unit Virtual Reality application to incorporate training for patients, families, and staff in home haemodialysis
Dr Yongmann Chung, University of Warwick
£105,208 over 36 months
Title: Novel fistula health monitoring for dialysis patients
We are delighted to announce that thanks to the enormous generosity of the Sutherland Family we have been able to fund an additional PhD Studentship.
The Sutherland Family PhD Award was a call for PhD studentship applications up to £90,000, in paediatric kidney disease for researchers affiliated with Great Ormond Street Hospital.
The allocation of funding continued our improved governance with a scientific and lay peer review of the applications. We received 3 applications in total, all of which were discussed at the panel meeting on 28 June.
Following discussion, the recommendation was to grant one award, which was subsequently endorsed by our board of trustees and the award was made in August 2022.
- Total awarded: £90,000
- Overall success rate: 33%
Details of the awards made:
PhD Studentship awards:
Professor David Long, University College London (UCL)
£90,000 over 42 months
Title: Supporting vital blood vessel research for children with kidney disease
In partnership with the PKD Charity we delighted to hold our first dedicated Polycystic Kidney Disease grants round this year, and to now announce the results of our joint competition.
The allocation of this funding followed our normal two-stage governance process and included representatives from the PKD Charity.
We received 14 expressions of interest (9 project, 3 innovation and 2 PhD studentships) and following strategic panel assessment 10 invitations were made for full applications (8 project, 1 innovation and 1 PhD Studentship) and of those, 5 applications (4 project and 1 PhD Studentship), were discussed at the panel meeting on Thursday 10th February 2022.
The theme for this round sought applications that would address one of the top priorities form the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership for Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) and applications that addressed similar priorities in Auto Recessive PKD (ARPKD).
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make 3 awards (2 project and 1 PhD Studentship). This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by both our Board of Trustees and the Trustees of the PKD Charity. These awards were made in March 2022.
- Total awarded: £537,376
- Overall success rate: 30%
Details of the awards made:
Research project awards:
Professor Colin Anfimov Johnson, University of Leeds
£223,237.49 over 36 months
Title: Pre-clinical testing of ROCK2 inhibition as a new therapeutic treatment for cystic kidney diseases
Lay title: Pre-clinical testing of ROCK2 inhibition as a new therapeutic treatment for cystic kidney diseases
Professor Albert Ong, University of Sheffield
£230,164.00 over 36 months
Title: Cytoskeletal dysregulation as a key driver of cyst initiation in ADPKD: identifying novel therapeutic targets and pathways
Lay title: Do changes in the actin skeleton lead to cyst formation in ADPKD?
PhD Studentship award
Dr Joe Cockburn, University of Leeds
£83,974.05 over 42 months
Title: Developing small molecule treatments and improved genetic counselling for ARPKD by understanding the molecular pathogenesis of PKHD1 mutations
Lay title: Developing treatments and improved genetic counselling for ARPKD
We are delighted to announce the results of the 2021/2022 Paediatric grants round competition.
The allocation of this funding continued our improved governance through a two-stage process, followed by scientific and lay peer review of full applications.
We were delighted that this round was made possible in this year by the generous support of The Stoneygate Trust and therefore any risk of being delayed whilst charity income recovered from the impact of the pandemic was averted.
We received 15 expressions of interest (10 project and 5 innovation) and following strategic panel assessment all were invited to full application. Nine applications (5 project and 4 innovation) were discussed at the panel meeting on Thursday 10 March 2022.
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make 5 awards (4 project and 1 innovation). This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our Board of Trustees. These awards were made in March 2022.
- Total awarded: £631,183
- Overall success rate: 33.33%
Details of the awards made:
Research project awards:
Professor David Long, UCL Institute of Child Health
£233,141.96 over 24 months
Title: Profiling and reversing the cellular and molecular changes to the childhood urinary tract caused by posterior urethral valves
Lay title: Studying and reversing bladder blockage in children to protect their kidneys
Professor Moin Saleem, University of Bristol
£109,894.19 over 24 months
Title: Applying Machine Learning To Nephrotic Syndrome Datasets From UK And Internationally, For Discovery Of Mechanistic Drivers Of Disease
Lay title: The use of computer aided learning programs on big datasets derived from blood and DNA of patients with Nephrotic Syndrome, to discover causes and predict response to treatments
Dr Pelagia Koufaki, Queen Margaret University
£121,602.89 over 24 months
Title: Co-design, development and evaluation of the KIDNEY BEAM-KIDS platform for paediatric kidney transplant recipients: a feasibility study
Lay title: The development and testing of the KIDNEY BEAM-KIDS digital platform for children after kidney transplantation
Professor Rukshana Shroff, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust
£129,592.81 over 24 months
Title: Development of effective resources for dietary phosphate education for children and young people with chronic kidney disease: hearing the patient voice
Lay title: Understanding the knowledge, challenges, and priorities of children with chronic kidney disease and their families in relation to dietary phosphate control in order to create improved educational material
Innovation awards
Dr Carl May, University of Bristol
£36,950.99 over 6 months
Title: Investigating PZ-128 as a novel treatment for nephrotic syndrome and diabetic nephropathy
Lay title: Investigating a new treatment for nephrotic syndrome and diabetic nephropathy using a novel drug already in clinical trials for the treatment of coronary artery disease.
We are delighted to announce the results of our fifth grants round in partnership with the Stoneygate Trust.
The allocation of this funding continued our improved governance through a two-stage process, followed by scientific and lay peer review of full applications.
We received 22 expressions of interest (17 project and 5 innovation) and following strategic panel assessment 12 invitations were made for full applications (7 project and 5 innovation) and of those 8 applications (5 project and 3 innovation) were discussed at the panel meeting on Friday 25th March 2022.
The theme for this round was focused on transforming treatments.
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make 3 awards (1 project and 2 innovation). This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our Board of Trustees. These awards were made in March 2022.
- Total awarded: £333,100
- Overall success rate: 25%
Details of the awards made:
Research project awards:
Professor Alan Salama, University College London (UCL)
£233,361.31 over 36 months
Title: Investigating the impact of kidney failure on B cell responses and manipulating them to improve vaccination efficacy and attenuate infections
Lay title: Understanding the impact of kidney failure on protective antibody responses after vaccination
Innovation awards
Dr Rhys Evans, University College London (UCL)
£49,984.69 over 24 months
Title: Investigating the impact of sodium on alloimmune responses in kidney transplant recipients
Lay title: Investigating how salt affects the immune system of kidney transplant recipients
Dr Bettina Wilm, University of Liverpool
£49,753.67 over 24 months
Title: Utilising point-of-care technology for the identification of haemolysis-induced Acute Kidney Injury following open surgery on the thoracoabdominal aorta.
Lay title: How well can a medical device measure levels of red blood cell damage after major blood vessel surgery, and how do these levels relate to kidney injury?
How to apply for a research grant
Applying for a grant can sometimes be confusing and difficult. We have tried to make our application process as easy as possible.
Follow our simple instructions on how to make your application, use our online grants management system and how to make your application as successful as possible.