Our research strategy
Leading transformation in kidney health
An estimated 7.2 million people in the UK are living with chronic kidney disease and rising. As the UK’s leading kidney research charity, we are responding by scaling up.
We will increase investment, harness new technologies, and drive progress. We will unite researchers and funders behind pressing challenges and remove barriers that slow scientific progress from reaching patients.
By accelerating discoveries and making them count, we will prevent kidney disease, protect kidney function, and transform treatments for kidney failure.
Our objectives.
We fund and facilitate high quality research to transform kidney health through the delivery of four objectives.
Understand
the drivers and mechanisms of kidney health and disease.
Prevent
more people from developing kidney disease.
Protect
those living with kidney disease from kidney failure.
Treat
We will transform treatments for people with kidney failure.
Dr David Crosby, chief research officer
Kidney disease is an overwhelmingly unmet need. Too often, progress lags behind other areas of health research. We want to change that – building on strong foundations to bring new treatments and diagnostics to patients faster.
With one in ten people in the UK now believed to be living with kidney disease, and dialysis demand predicted to grow exponentially, we know we need to move faster and work smarter. We need more firepower in kidney research, through new partnerships and investment in the large, ambitious projects that can deliver real impact for patients.
Leading transformation in kidney health
We remain committed to funding investigator driven research across the whole spectrum of kidney health and chronic kidney disease, from discovery science to health service research and implementation science.
But some areas of kidney health and disease are poorly served by current research efforts, and it is our job to drive focus and momentum where the need is greatest.
Four development areas:
We have selected four development areas which we will bring researchers together, work with partner organisations and launch targeted funding calls – alongside continuing to make general calls covering our core research agenda.
- Acute kidney injury
- Kidneys and cancer
- Kidney disease interaction with other long-term conditions and mental health
- Paediatric, rare and hereditary kidney disease
Research priorities to drive better outcomes
We bring together researchers, healthcare professionals and people affected kidney disease to identify where the biggest gaps are and what's important to the kidney patient community.
The outputs from these discussions - including reports and published papers - help shape our research priorities and are shared with the wider research community.
We’ll continue to bring people together to highlight gaps in research and inform where change is most needed.
Got a question? Get in touch.
For more information or if you'd like to discuss an idea, get in touch with our research operations team