Following our disappointing but necessary decision to cancel our March 2020 interviews due to the impact of the pandemic on the charity, we were delighted to reinstate fellowship interviews in March 2021 for shortlisted candidates who still wished to be considered for a fellowship. Six mid-level fellowship applicants were interviewed.

The panel recommended three fellowship awards: two training fellowships and one intermediate fellowship. This decision was subsequently endorsed by our Board of Trustees. One training fellowship was awarded as a Stoneygate Fellowship and received partnership funding with Health Education Improvement Wales, Wales Clinical Academic Track (WCAF) scheme.

• Total awarded: £520,678
• Success rate (Fellowships): 8.6%

Details of the awards made:

Dr Elizabeth Wan, University college London
£281,424.20 over 36 months
Title: Genetic and Phenomic Aspects of SLC12A3 Biology in Health and Disease
Lay title: The Kidney Salt Transporter SLC12A3 in health and disease

Dr Richard Naylor, University of Manchester
£209,254.80 over 36 months
Title: Elucidating the mechanisms by which extracellular matrix contributes to kidney cystogenesis
Lay title: How do kidney cysts form?

Dr Farah Latif, Cardiff University
Farah’s work is funded by a Fellowship award in partnership with The Stoneygate Trust for £30,000 and supported by a £172,836 contribution from the Wales Clinical Academic Track programme from Health Education and Improvement Wales over 36 months
Title: Cytokine immune regulation in cytomegalovirus-infected kidney transplant patients
Lay title: Understanding how the coordination of immune responses to cytomegalovirus influences the health of kidney transplant recipients

We are delighted to announce the results of our Stoneygate Trust and Kidney Research UK grants round.

The allocation of this funding followed our improved governance through a two stage process followed by scientific and lay peer review of full applications.

We received 51 Expressions of Interest and following strategic panel assessment 27 invitations were made for full applications and 22 were received.

The themes for this round were:

• Make dialysis more tolerable and effective
• Extend the life of a transplant and make it easier to live with.
• Make monitoring less invasive, kinder, and less dependent on hospital visits
• Develop and expand the use of medical technology to achieve earlier diagnosis and better patient management

Following discussion, the recommendation was to make four awards (three project and one innovation). This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our Board of Trustees.

• Total awarded: £730,732
• Overall success rate: 18.19%

Details of the awards made:

Research project awards:

Dr Maria Kaisar, University of Oxford
£237,626.00 over 36 months
Title: Assessing Donor kidneys and MonitorIng transplant REcipients (ADMIRE)
Lay title: Improving kidney testing so transplants last for longer

Professor Nick Selby, University of Nottingham
£234,154.96 over 24 months
Title: Development and validation of an algorithm for real-time prediction of intradialytic hypotension using continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring (The dialysis monitoring for decision support study – DIAMONDS)

Dr Kate Bramham, King’s College Hospital
£209,040.76 over 24 months
Title: Health Inequalities in kiDney Disease, mEeting the urgent Need to identify early disease in high-risk communities: A feasibility study of home albuminuria testing in people with high Blood Pressure (HIDDEN-BP)

Dr Neeraj (Bean) Dhaun, University of Edinburgh
£197,629.18 over 36 months
Title: Potential utility of the eye as a biomarker of kidney injury
Lay title: The eye as a window to the kidney

Innovation awards:

Dr Ben Reynolds, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow
£49,910 over 12 months
Title: Development of a virtual reality-based tool for theoretical and practical training in dialysis modalities for patients, families, and staff
Lay title: Developing a virtual reality application for teaching and experiencing dialysis

Dr Tim Bowen, Cardiff University
£48,281 over 10 months
Title: Development of a novel electrochemical biosensor for the rapid and non-invasive detection of microRNA biomarkers of delayed graft function
Lay title: Rapid electrical detection of kidney transplant problems using a simple urine test

We are delighted to announce the results of this delayed 2019/20 competition.

We received 15 applications (ten project and five innovation) and of those ten applications were discussed at the panel meeting on 27 January 2020. This was our last competitions which followed our one stage process of full applications.  The allocation of this funding followed the charity’s normal governance of open call and robust peer review.

Applications were requested on paediatric renal research covering one or more of:

Clinical research focusing on:

• the diagnosis, natural history, epidemiology or treatment of children who have diseases of the kidney or urinary tract;
• the prenatal origins of childhood kidney or urinary tract diseases;
• the impact on adult health of kidney or urinary tract diseases with an onset in childhood or the prenatal period.

Laboratory research seeking to understand:

• the causes of, and find new treatments for, childhood kidney and/or urinary tract diseases;
• how the kidney and/or urinary tract normally forms, grows and matures before and after birth.

Following discussion, the recommendation was to make six awards. This recommendation was held over into our next financial year and then subsequently endorsed by our Board of Trustees. Awards were made in June 2020.

• Total awarded: £592,294
• Overall success rate: 40.0%

Details of the awards made:

Dr Rukshana Shroff, University College London
£39,969.38 over 24 months
Title: Dialysis catheter malfunction - a novel clinical and bioengineering approach
Lay title: Identifying and overcoming problems with dialysis lines in children

Dr Louise Oni, University of Liverpool
£196,694.80 over 24 months
Title: Whole glycan analysis of IgA to determine its role in the renal phenotype of childhood IgA vasculitis
Lay title: Early markers of kidney damage in IgA vasculitis

Dr Neil Roberts, University of Manchester
£142,187.12 over 24 months
Title: The pathophysiology of a congenital bladder disease.
Lay title: Towards understanding the causes of a devastating bladder disease

Professor David Long, University College London Institute of Child Health
£39,997.74 over 12 months
Title: Cell catcher: developing a new method for cell isolation and preservation from urine samples of Bardet-Biedl Syndrome patients
Lay title: Developing a new non-invasive method of obtaining urine-derived renal cells

Professor William Newman, University of Manchester
£136,253.00 over 24 months
Title: Genetic basis of congenital bladder and lower urinary tract disorders
Lay title: Genetics of bladder disorders

Dr Gavin Welsh, University of Bristol
£37,192.00 over 6 months
Title: Using Degradomics to understand the pathogenesis of nephrotic syndrome and identify novel biomarkers to stratify patients
Lay title: Using novel method to look at protein modifications in patients with nephrotic syndrome and help define new targets for treatment and predict disease progression