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 Translational Accelerator Kidney Award grant round. Allocation of funding followed our established governance, through a two-stage application process, followed by scientific and patient and lay peer review of full applications.
We received 41 applications and, of those, 13 were discussed
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make six (6) awards totalling £0.65M.
This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our executive group. The awards were made in March 2026.
- Total awarded: £0.65M
- Overall success rate: 15%
Details of the awards made:
Dr. Peter Wing, University of Oxford
£120k over 12 months
Title: Therapeutic targeting of the cellular oxygen sensing pathway as a novel approach to suppress BK polyomavirus replication in the transplanted kidney.
Dr. Glenn Cooper, University of Manchester
£119k over 12 months
Title: i-CANnulate: Empowering Self-Cannulation Through Digital Health Innovation to Support Autonomy in Haemodialysis Management.
Prof. David Manlove, University of Glasgow
£116k over 15 months
Title: KEPsoft-UK: Developing New and Improved Algorithms for the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme
Prof. Vasilis Kosmoliaptsis, University of Cambridge
£115k over 15 months
Title: Microfluidic Antibody Affinity Profiling to improve immunological risk stratification in kidney transplantation
Dr. Wen Ding, University of Bristol
£89k over 12 months
Title: Development of an in vitro assay for prediction of kidney uptake and retention liability of radiopharmaceutical agents in drug discovery.
Prof. Gavin Pettigrew, University of Cambridge
£86k over 15 months
Title: PITHIA AI: Improving selection of deceased donor kidneys using artificial intelligence to grade severity of chronic injury on preimplantation renal biopsies
We are delighted to announce the results of our Main Hybrid grant round. We invited all grant types, including the opportunity for those looking to take the next step in their kidney research career as well as research project and start-up applications.
Allocation of funding followed our established governance, through a two-stage application process, followed by scientific and patient and lay peer review of full applications.
We received 67 applications and, of those, 17 research projects were discussed, 10 Fellowship candidates were interviewed, and 4 start up projects, 4 PhD Studentships (non-clinical) and 1 MRes applications were scored.
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make fifteen (15) awards totalling £3.08M. These comprise five (5) research projects, one (1) senior fellowship, three (3) training fellowships (clinical), two (2) PhD Studentships (non-clinical), one (1) Masters in Research (allied health professional) and three (3) start up awards.
This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our executive group. The awards were made in March 2026.
- Total awarded: £3.08M
- Overall success rate: 22%
Details of the awards made:
Research projects:
Prof. Andrew Macdonald, University of Leeds
£250k over 36 months
Title: Repurposing drugs to treat BK virus in kidney transplantation
Prof. Menna Clatworthy, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
£250k over 24 months
Title: Refining kidney disease diagnosis using spatial transcriptomics
Dr Anne-Catherine Raby, Cardiff University
£233k over 36 months
Title: Rescuing immune responses to infections and vaccination in immunosuppressed CKD patients
Dr Maria Prendecki, Imperial College London
£209k over 30 months
Title: Investigating the role of immune cell biomechanics in chronic kidney disease
Professor Neeraj Dhaun, University of Edinburgh
£249k over 36 months
Title: LRG1 as a mechanistic driver and therapeutic target in the transition from acute kidney injury to chronic kidney and cardiovascular disease
Senior fellowship:
Dr Simon Baker, University of York
£562k over 60 months
Title: Preventing harm from BK virus infections in the renal transplant community
Training fellowship (clinical):
Dr Robert Kimmitt, University of Exeter
£291k over 36 months
Title: PROTECT-Kidney: why do patients with kidney failure develop cognitive impairment?
Dr Richard Shemilt, University of Edinburgh
£297k over 30 months
Title: Defining renal and myocardial cellular dysfunction in ANCA-associated vasculitis using manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging: the MEMRI-Kidney studies
Dr Amy Needleman, University College London (UCL)
£367k over 36 months
Title: Investigating the role of Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) on immunity and kidney transplant outcomes
PhD studentship:
Professor Susan Francis, University of Nottingham
£104k over 42 months
Title: Harnessing Big Data in Multiparametric MRI: Advanced Computational Insights into Kidney and Multi-Organ Dysfunction
Dr. Ioannis Kourtzelis, University of York
£108k over 42 months
Title: Unravelling mechanisms regulating macrophage efferocytosis in kidney cancer
Masters in Research (allied health professional):
Miss Aisling Barrett (dietician), Northumbria University
£44k over 24 months
Healthcare Professional Practice MRes
Start ups:
Dr Kathleen Duffin, University of Edinburgh
£40k over 24 months
Developing an RNA therapy to protect kidneys from cisplatin toxicity
Dr Bryan Conway, University of Edinburgh
£40k over 24 months
Developing a tubular organoid model to screen anti-inflammatory therapies for kidney disease
Prof. Maarten Taal, University of Nottingham
£40k over 24 months
A feasibility randomised controlled trial exploring the effect of prebiotic supplementation on markers of protein-energy wasting in people receiving haemodialysis (the POWER study).
We are delighted to announce the results of our PKD grant round. We invited all grant types, including the opportunity for those looking to take the next step in their kidney research career as well as research project and start-up applications.
Allocation of funding followed our established governance, through a one-stage application process, followed by scientific and patient and lay peer review of full applications.
We received 12 applications and, of those, 3 research projects were discussed, 3 Fellowship candidates were interviewed, and 1 PhD Studentship (non-clinical) was scored.
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make five (5) awards totalling £812k. These comprise two (2) research projects, one (1) driver project, one (1) training fellowship (clinical), and one (1) PhD Studentship (non-clinical)
This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our executive group. The awards were made in March 2026.
- Total awarded: £812k
- Overall success rate: 42%
Details of the awards made:
Research projects
Professor Colin Johnson, University of Leeds
£224k over 30 months
Title: Repurposing of ROCK inhibitors as treatments for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD)
Dr Jennifer Chandler, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health
£99k over 12 months
Title: Evaluating gene therapy for childhood polycystic kidney disease in a 3D human cellular model
Driver projects
Dr Matthew Gittus, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
£19k over 12 months
Title: Characterising polycystic liver disease in the UK: Determinants of progressionand variation in care using the UK PLD registry
Training fellowship (clinical)
Dr Christopher Pieri, University College London
£345k over 36 months
Title: From variant to patient: translating national-scale PKD genomics into personalised diagnosis and prognosis in the NHS Genomic Medicine
PhD Studentship (non clinical)
Prof. David Long, University College London
£125k over 42 months
Title: Investigating how parental diet influences the severity of polycystic kidney disease
We are delighted to announce the results of our Prof. Michael Nicholson grant round. We invited all grant types, including the opportunity for those looking to take the next step in their kidney research career as well as research project and start-up applications.
Allocation of funding followed our established governance, through a one-stage application process, followed by scientific and patient and lay peer review of full applications.
We received 19 applications and, of those, 6 research projects were discussed, 3 Transplant Surgeon PhD’s were interviewed, and 3 start up projects and 3 PhD Studentships (non-clinical) applications were scored.
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make nine (9) awards totalling £1.447M. These comprise one (1) surgical trainee doctoral fellowship, three (3) PhD Studentships, three (3) research projects and, two (2) start-up awards.
This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our executive group. The awards were made in February 2026.
- Total awarded: £1.447M
- Overall success rate: 47%
Details of the awards made:
Surgical trainee doctoral fellowship:
Dr. Ho Lim Pak, University of Cambridge
£342k over 36 months
Title: Comprehensive profiling of HLA antibodies to improve immunological risk stratification in kidney transplantation
PhD studentships:
Professor Florian Hollfelder, University of Cambridge
£109k over 42 months
Title: Novel enzyme catalysts for transplantation medicine: 'universalizing' kidneys
Professor Mathew Reeves, University College London
£115k over 42 months
Title: A new approach to making vaccines that are cheaper and more effective at controlling dangerous infections in kidney transplant patients
Dr Laura Denby, University of Edinburgh
£111k over 42 months
Title: Creating a Transplant Kidney-On-A-Chip Model to understand how white blood cells induce rejection.
Research projects:
Dr. Daniyal Jafree, University College London
£248k over 36 months
Title: Artificial intelligence–guided discovery of lymphatic therapeutic targets in kidney transplantation
Mr Andrew Sutherland, University of Edinburgh
£249k over 24 months
Title: Kynurenine 3-mono-oxygenase (KMO) as therapeutic target in kidney transplantation
Professor David Manlove, University of Glasgow
£219k over 36 months
Title: KEPsoft-UK: New and Improved Algorithms for the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme
Start-ups:
Dr Bettina Wilm, University of Liverpool
£40k over 18 months
Title: Can cell therapies revive ischaemic kidneys? How to Help More Patients Get Transplants
Mr Rory Brown, University of Manchester
£14k over 18 months
Title: Understanding how high blood sugars and inflammation cause early failure of kidney-pancreas transplants, and identifying ways to help them last longer.
We are delighted to announce the results of our pharmacist and nurse grant round. We invited all grant types, including the opportunity for those looking to take the next step in their kidney research career as well as research project and start-up applications.
Allocation of funding followed our established governance, through a two-stage application process, followed by scientific and lay peer review of full applications. For our MRes awards a one-stage application process, followed by scientific and lay peer review was followed.
We received 19 applications and, of those, 2 research projects were discussed, and 3 start up projects and 5 MRes applications were scored.
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make six awards totalling £223k. These comprise three (3) start-up and three (3) MRes.
This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our executive group. The awards were made in January 2026.
- Total awarded: £0.22M
- Overall success rate: 32%
Details of the awards made:
Start-ups:
Mrs Rosemary Dempsey (pharmacist), University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
£40k over 18 months
Title: Pharmacy Professionals and the Paediatric-to-Adult Renal Transition: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Their Role and the Experiences of Patients, Parents, and Carers
Dr Louise Bracken (Pharmacist), Alder Hey Children’s Hospital
£38k over 12 months
Title: Using real-time medical record data to identify rates of nephrotoxin co-prescribing and associated Acute Kidney Injury in hospitalised children
Dr Emma Murphy (nurse), University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
£40k over 18 months
Title: Can Virtual Reality Simulation Reduce Symptoms in Dialysis Patients? A Prospective Feasibility Pilot Study
MRes awards:
Mrs Heather Roberts (nurse), Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
£32k over 24 months
Miss Hidaayo Dahir (nurse), University of Birmingham
£32k over 24 months
Mr Robert Frimgpong-Manso (nurse), Queen Mary University of London
£41k over 24 months
We are delighted to announce the results of our Alport Research Hub grant round. We invited research project applications.
Allocation of funding followed our established governance, through a one-stage application process, followed by scientific and lay peer review of full applications.
We received three applications which were discussed and scored at a panel meeting on 28 November. Following discussion, the recommendation was to make one award totalling £247k. These comprises one (1) research projects.
This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our executive group. The award was made in January 2026.
- Total awarded: £0.25M
- Overall success rate: 33%
Details of the awards made:
Research project:
Prof. Devin Peipert, University of Birmingham
£247k over 30 months
Title: Development And Initial Validation Of Patient- And Observer-Reported Outcomes For Hearing Loss In Alport Syndrome
We are delighted to announce the results of our paediatric and rare kidney diseases grant round. We invited all grant types, including the opportunity for those looking to take the next step in their kidney research career as well as research project and start-up applications.
Allocation of funding followed our established governance, through a one-stage application process, followed by scientific and lay peer review of full applications.
We received 22 applications and, of those, 9 research projects were discussed, and 4 Training Fellowships were interviewed. 7 start up projects and 2 PhD studentships were scored.
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make seven awards totalling £862k. These comprise three (3) research projects, one (1) start-up, two (2) PhD Studentships and one (1) Training Fellowship.
This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our board of trustees. These awards were made in November 2025.
- Total awarded: £0.86M
- Overall success rate: 32%
Details of the awards made:
Research project:
Prof. David Long, University College London
£208k over 24 months
Title: Inhibiting AMP-activated protein kinase to modulate Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease
Dr. Jessica McIlwhan, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
£9k over 36 months
Title: Does Steroid Toxicity cause AdRenal Suppression in children with idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome treated with corticosteroids? (STARS study)
Dr. Natalie Chandler, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust
£246k over 24 months
Title: Tailored Adaptive long Read GEne sequencing Technologies kidneys (TARGET-kidneys)
Start up:
Dr. Patrick Walsh and Dr Emily Bowen, University of Newcastle
£39k over 24 months
Title: Exploring vascular ribosomopathies in thrombotic microangiopathy
PhD Studentships:
Prof. Louise Oni, University of Liverpool
£8k over 36 months
Title: The KRUK Patient engagement and involvement PhD fellowship.
Prof. John Sayer, University of Newcastle
£109k over 42 months
Title: Nephronophthisis - novel treatments to STOP disease
Training fellowship:
Ms. Carolina Bebi, Great Ormond Street NHS Trust & Institute of Child Health, UCL
£243k over 24 months
Title: Modulating lymphatics via gene therapy in bladders affected by posterior urethral valves - can we prevent bladder and kidney damage?
We are delighted to announce the results of our second hybrid research grants round for 2024. We invited all grant types, including the opportunity for those looking to take the next step in their kidney research career as well as research project and start-up applications. The call focused on our three priorities in the charity’s research strategy: transforming treatments; multiple health conditions; and, health inequalities.
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 65 expressions of interest and following strategic panel assessment 45 were invited for full applications. We received 43 full applications and, of those, 11 research projects were discussed, and nine start up projects were scored at the first panel meeting on 3 February 2025. At the second panel meeting on 14 February 2025, seven interviews were held, and five PhD studentships were scored.
Following discussion, the recommendation was to make five awards:
- 1 x Intermediate fellowship
- 1 x PhD studentship
- 2 x Research project
- 1 x Start up
This recommendation was subsequently endorsed by our board of trustees. These awards were made in March 2025.
- Total awarded: £0.79M
- Overall success rate: 12%
Details of the awards made:
Research project:
Dr Katherine Bull, University of Oxford
£245k over 36 months
Title: Defining new targets for primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis with multimodal spatial and temporal renal phenotyping
Professor Manish Sinha, King’s College London
£154k over 24 months
Title: Arterial stiffness and hypertension in children and young people with chronic kidney disease
Fellowship:
Dr Irina Grigorieva, Cardiff University
£255k over 36 months
Title: Decoding renal stromal cell diversity to advance kidney health and recovery
PhD and start up awards:
Dr Peter Wing, University of Oxford
£100k over 36 months
Title: Manipulating the cellular oxygen sensing pathway as a novel approach to regulate BK polyomavirus replication in the transplanted kidney
Dr Melanie Chan, University of Manchester
£36k over 12 months
Title: A spatial transcriptomic map of urinary tract development
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.