Nursing research awards

Nurse working on a computer in the dialysis unit with patients in the background and Kidney Research UK hoodie on the back of chair

Nurses play a vital role in renal research, bringing unique insights and expertise from their frontline experiences.

In partnership with Alder Hey Children’s Kidney Fund, Northern Counties Kidney Research and ANNUK, we are providing dedicated funding and support to help renal nurses develop their research skills and lead research projects.

This initiative is now in its second year, building on the success of 2024 to further strengthen the capacity for renal nursing research across the UK.

With our new strategic focus, we particularly welcome applications that explore the link between kidney disease and cancer.

The programme is open to all UK-based nurses working in renal medicine.

Supporting the crucial role of nurses in renal research

We are committed to increasing the number of nurses contributing to research in kidney disease by:

Offering research awards tailored to renal nurses at different stages of their research career, including both career development and project grants
Signposting support for those not yet ready to apply for research funding but who may be considering it in the future.

Nurses in the early stages of project development can access mentorship through the Association of Nephrology Nurses UK (ANN UK). This initiative is designed to provide a supportive space for those considering an application to the Kidney Research UK Nursing Research Awards. Through the ANN UK Research Community of Practice (RCOP), nurses can receive guidance on areas such as project development, networking, and the grant application process. These sessions are open to kidney care nurses interested in applying for current or future grant rounds, as well as exploring other funding opportunities.

We are seeking applications that align with our research priorities:

Does your proposal align to our research priorities?

Following the findings from our report into the health economics of kidney disease the need to support high-quality, innovative research in this area has never been clearer. 

We are looking for research proposals aligned to our areas of interest that align with our overarching goals of prevent, protect and treat, and we intend to make at least one award in each area. Within your application, we will ask how your proposal aligns with these.

Transforming treatments

We will find ways to make kidney transplants last longer, dialysis more tolerable, reduce the burden of treatment and monitoring, and improve quality of life for people living with kidney disease. We will harness and develop technology to enable people to take control of their kidney health.

We are particularly interested in receiving grant applications that address these themes:

Bringing kidney treatment closer to home: This could relate to novel technologies that improve dialysis or digital technologies that help reduce the number of visits to healthcare professionals.

Change conversations: This could relate to shared decision making and education

Improve treatment access and equity: Making sure everyone gets the treatment they need regardless of location or background

Address complications associated with renal replacement therapies: This could relate to co-occurring conditions or complications of renal replacement therapy.

Multiple health conditions

We will investigate how kidney disease is linked to other multiple long-term conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, obesity and liver disease. Under the holistic area of cardiovascular, renal and metabolic conditions, we would welcome applications to better understand the interplay between these conditions. With a focus on cardiovascular disease and kidney disease to reveal the pathways linking these conditions, and improvements in prevention and earlier detection of kidney disease and subsequent management of multiple long-term conditions.

We are keen receive applications for grants that address our recently published research recommendations in diabetic kidney disease which was created jointly with Diabetes UK and Breakthrough type 1 diabetes with focuses on understanding causal mechanisms, improving prevention and diagnosis, addressing health inequalities, improving care and supporting self-management, for patients and their carers.

Health equalities

We will highlight the inequalities of kidney disease; we will investigate why some groups of people are more at risk of kidney disease, and progress to kidney failure much faster. We will press for greater diversity in kidney research, so that discoveries benefit everyone.

We are keen to receive proposals that address kidney health inequalities, particularly those research evidence gaps that have emerged from the Time to Act: A new review of kidney health inequalities report launched in July 2024.

Mental health

Kidneys and cancer

We welcome grant applications addressing kidneys and cancer.

We are particularly interested in receiving applications that address the following overarching priorities:

reducing the number of people developing kidney cancer

prevent kidney damage due to cancer treatment

reducing the risk of cancer due to treatment of kidney disease

We are interested in projects that will improve the earlier detection, diagnosis and treatment of kidney cancers, reduce nephrotoxicity caused by chemotherapy, and investigate cancers associated with immunotherapy and post-transplant immunosuppression (such as skin cancer and lymphoma)

Types of grants available

Research project grants: funds stand-alone research projects that will advance our knowledge in kidney disease

Grant available: up to £250,000
Funding period: maximum of three years, may be spread over a two or three-year period.

Start-up grants: funds stand-alone research studies to investigate innovative new hypotheses around kidney disease that lack any significant existing research evidence.

Grant available: up to £40,000
Funding period: maximum of two years, may be spread over a one or two-year period.

Clinical PhD fellowship: to support nurses to specialise in renal research

Salary (capped at Band 8a), PhD fees and consumables
Annual consumables allowance: £15,000
Funding period: maximum of three years (part time available)

Master of research (Mres) grants: to help nurses engage with research early in their careers and build confidence and skills in research methods.

Opens for application: 23 July 2025 - single stage application only
Closes for application: 27 August 2025
Grant available: up to £25,000 (including consumables) and Mres fees
Funding period: maximum of two years, may be spread over a one or two-year period.

Expression of interest information

Information of eligibility, grant regulations and conditions, and opening and closing dates for submissions.

We are pleased to invite expressions of interest from teams or individuals whose proposals directly address our immediate research priorities, and who seek initial or further support to establish their research career.

We are keen to encourage applications from new investigators who have not previously held competitively awarded project or start-up funding as a principal investigator.

Please note that expression of interest (EOI) applications will not be eligible for submission under the following conditions:

The lead applicant already holds three or more concurrent active Kidney Research UK awards, excluding PhD studentships and start-up awards
The lead applicant has submitted an EOI for any other grant type within the past twelve months
EOI or full applications cannot be resubmitted in the immediately following grant round after an initial submission.

We recommend that applicants review these criteria carefully before preparing an application. If you’re unsure about your eligibility, please contact the research team at Grants@kidneyresearchuk.org

All submissions to this call will be subject to expert review involving members of our scientific and clinical experts committee and experts by experience committee, including external reviewers. Information about the expert review process.

All applicants must be resident in the United Kingdom and the research must take place in a UK establishment.

Successful applicants will be invited to submit a full application in due course. This invitation is no guarantee of funding which will be competitively awarded. Only applications invited to the second stage will be considered.

We welcome pre-submission enquiries. You can find more information about our grants in our regulations and conditions.

Opens for expression of interest: 26 May 2025

Closes: 25 June 2025

Mres: opens 23 July 2025 / closes 27 August 2025

Apply now