Who funds kidney disease research?

We count 108 funded kidney disease projects, active between 2020 and 2032, from 6 funders. The most came from EU · ERC (34 projects), EU · MSCA (18 projects) and Wellcome (11 projects). The median award is $2.1M, across the 102 of 108 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

108

Funders

6

Median award

$2.1M

Open calls now

6

Top funders of kidney disease research

Projects whose title or summary mentions kidney disease. Median award: of the projects that list an amount, in US dollars; “—” when fewer than 3 do.

Open kidney disease funding calls

6 open calls mention kidney disease today.

• Limited Competition for the Continuation of the Caring for OutPatiEnts after Acute Kidney Injury (COPE-AKI) Clinical Centers (U01 Clinical Trial Required)
  National Institutes of HealthNot specifiedDeadline: November 6, 2026 ·
• Single Source for the Continuation of the Caring for OutPatiEnts after Acute Kidney Injury (COPE-AKI) Scientific and Data Research Center (U01 Clinical Trial Required)
  National Institutes of HealthNot specifiedDeadline: November 9, 2026 ·
• Institutional Network Award for Promoting Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Research Training (U2C - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  National Institutes of HealthUp to $2,100,000Deadline: May 26, 2028 ·
• Priority HIV/AIDS Research within the Mission of NIDDK (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
  National Institutes of HealthNot specifiedDeadline: November 5, 2027 ·
  Real odds: About 1 in 8 funded (13% · NIH R01-equivalent grants, all NIH institutes, FY2025)
• Stimulating Hematology Investigation: New Endeavors (SHINE) (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  National Institutes of HealthNot specifiedDeadline: January 6, 2028 ·
  Real odds: About 1 in 8 funded (13% · NIH R01-equivalent grants, all NIH institutes, FY2025)
• Limited Competition: Small Grant Program for NIDDK K01/K08/K23/K25 Recipients (R03 Clinical Trial Optional)
  National Institutes of HealthUp to $75,000Deadline: January 7, 2028 ·

Real odds

• About 1 in 8 funded · 13% · NIH R01-equivalent grants, all NIH institutes, FY2025 · NIH Data Book, report 29

Published success rates for the programs behind the open calls above: the share of applications the funder funded, program-wide, not for this topic.

Funded kidney disease projects

A sample, latest start first, at most three per program.

• How patterned cell biology shapes renal function and host health
  Wellcome · £2,410,941 · ends 2032
• Investigating how neutrophil-derived oxidised mitochondrial DNA impairs B-cell differentiation via mitochondrial and lipid metabolism in lupus.
  Wellcome · £1,221,282 · ends 2031
• Examining pathways of PFAS exposure and their impacts on hyperlipidemia in a rural community impacted by land spreading
  NIH · NIEHS · $3,343,688 · ends 2030
• WNK-SPAK signaling in the Distal Nephron
  NIH · NIDDK · $3,301,901 · ends 2030
• Elucidating monocyte-specific disease mechanisms in systemic lupus erythematosus
  Wellcome · £893,097 · ends 2030
• Molecular mechanisms of fatty acid uptake and trafficking in renal tubule epithelial cells
  NSF · BIO · $985,378 · ends 2030
• Preclinical Translation of Kidney, Heart, and Lung Xenotransplantation
  NIH · NIAID · $3,394,420 · ends 2030
• Harnessing the glucose lowering actions of a-melanocyte stimulatory hormone as a potential new adjunctive therapy for people with type 2 diabetes
  UKRI · MRC · £1,426,333 · ends 2030
• Neighborhood and individual environmental risk factors in early life and -omics biomarkers for kidney function trajectories across childhood and adulthood
  NIH · NIEHS · $3,796,422 · ends 2030
• AI-SEED-RCC - using generative AI to Spatially map Evolution, Environment, and Drug responses to Renal Cell Carcinoma
  UKRI · MRC · £2,280,900 · ends 2029

How we count

Funded projects come from public award records (NIH RePORTER, NSF, EU CORDIS, UKRI Gateway to Research, Wellcome, the Gates Foundation, DOE, NASA and USDA NIFA) whose title or summary matches “kidney or renal”. NIH lists each budget year separately; one project counts once. Amounts are as the funder lists them; medians use only projects that list one, in US dollars. Open calls and forecasts are from our listings of October 28, 2026. A project can mention a topic without being mainly about it, so treat the counts as a guide to who funds the area.