Our Impact

Our Impact

In line with its aim of enhancing kidney research capacity in Canada, the KRESCENT program is focused on the recruitment and training of those who will subsequently assume leadership roles in kidney research. It provides salary support to post-doctoral fellows, new investigators and allied health scholars, as well as career development and mentorship.

Since its inception in 2005, the impact of the KRESCENT program has been significant:

• Almost $1 million invested in research in 2018 alone
• A high success rate (79%) of obtaining continued grant funding from the CIHR amongst new investigators, with 90% of trainees reporting that KRESCENT has contributed significantly to their success in obtaining CIHR funding
• The creation of 72 training positions in 7 provinces
• 76% of post-doctoral fellows received academic appointments at the Assistant Professor level within 8 months of completing training
• Important contributions to the creation of scientific knowledge and development of new methodologies
• An increase in the overall impact of kidney research as a percentage of all health research in Canada, outperforming other countries internationally, (comparing 2000 to 2005 and 2009 to 2014 data)
• Increased productivity, multi-authored papers, impact and collaborations, (including international collaborations), amongst investigators receiving KRESCENT training and support when compared with non-funded applicants

Areas of research that received new funding from the KRESCENT program in 2018 include the following:

• Kidney biology
• Organ donation
• Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
• Dialysis
• Diabetes

The impact of the KRESCENT program is a testimony to the leadership of the individuals, organizations and companies committed to reducing the burden of kidney disease throughout Canada, and the Kidney Foundation – together with the CSN – have committed to supporting KRESCENT through 2021 and potentially beyond.