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Funding Opportunities

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.
 

An important note regarding KRESCENT applications

The KRESCENT program has moved to an on-line application system. All forms, guidelines and procedures can be found on the ProposalCentral website. To apply, create a profile if you don’t already have one, search for “KRESCENT” or “kidney”, and then complete and submit either the KRESCENT Post-Doctoral Fellowship or New Investigator Award application.

The KRESCENT program is open once a year.  It is expected that 50% of the salary or stipend will be contributed by the applicant host institution.

  • KRESCENT Summer Studentship Program
    The KRESCENT program Summer Studentship award is awarded to undergraduate students or medical school students who identify as black or Indigenous and provides salary support to complete a summer student position in an approved Canadian kidney research laboratory.

    The main objective of the award is to create opportunity and support students from historically underrepresented groups to experience research in a culturally safe environment, while building their experience and exploring kidney research.
     
    In order to apply, please see award guidelines and application form below.
     
    Anticipated Competition Timelines:
    Application Opens:  February 21, 2024
    Full Application Deadline:  March 20, 2024
    Anticipated Date for Notice of Award:  April 12, 2024
    Funding Start Date:  May 2024 or when start date aligns for the student (awards may be from 12-16 weeks in length)

    *These timelines are estimates and subject to change.
     
    Resources
    KRESCENT Summer Studentship Guidelines
    Application Process
    Application Form
    List of Participating Labs
  • New Investigator Award
    The KRESCENT program New Investigator Award is awarded to researchers (within three years of their first faculty appointment) who have clearly demonstrated excellence during their pre-doctoral and post-doctoral training in kidney disease and provides salary support for up to three years of the faculty appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor or equivalent at a Canadian University. The purpose of this award is to support the recipient in becoming established as a fully independent investigator in the field of kidney disease.

    Applications for this award must be initiated by the university or institution where the candidate will conduct the proposed research. The university or institution is expected to guarantee the applicant appropriate academic rank and to provide adequate space and facilities for the investigator’s research, commensurate with the status of the awardee in terms of experience and level of support by the program. The annual stipend is $ 70,000 (MD) or $65,000 (Ph.D.) for three years. The program also offers to match up to $25,000 of infrastructure support (lab start-up costs and staff).

    Anticipated Competition Timelines*  
    Application Platform Opens:  January 15, 2024
    Registration Deadline:  N/A
    Full Application Deadline:  February 20, 2024
    Anticipated Date for Notice of Award:  May 2024 
    Funding Start Date:  July 2024
    *These timelines are estimates and subject to change.

    Resources 
    KRESCENT New Investigator Award Policies 
    Policy on Indirect Costs of Research 
    Best Practices for Writing a Plain Language Abstract
  • Post-Doctoral Fellowships
    A KRESCENT program post-doctoral fellowship is an “in-training” award intended for applicants with a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree. The objective is to attract and foster young investigators to initiate and/or continue their training in kidney research. The annual stipend is $65,000 (MD) or $55,000 (Ph.D.) for two to three years.

    Candidates with more than four years of post-Ph.D. training by the competition deadline are not eligible. Applicants with a MD degree must hold license in Canada and be enrolled in a program leading to certification in Canada at the time of applying for this award.

    Anticipated Competition Timelines*  
    Application Platform Opens:  January 15, 2024
    Registration Deadline:  N/A
    Full Application Deadline:  February 20, 2024
    Anticipated Date for Notice of Award:  May 2024 
    Funding Start Date:  July 2024
    *These timelines are estimates and subject to change.

    Resources 
    KRESCENT Post-Doctoral Fellowship Policies
    Policy on Indirect Costs of Research  
    Best Practices for Writing a Plain Language Abstract 
  • Allied Health Doctoral Award
    Through the KRESCENT program, the Kidney Foundation offers a limited number of fellowships that fund full-time academic study and preparation for research at the doctoral level. The objective of this program is to promote and enhance the development of allied health professionals in Canada in the field of nephrology and/or organ donation. Fellowships are awarded for amounts up to $35,000/year for a maximum of three years and can be held in Canada or abroad.

    Note that application must be submitted to the Allied Health Competition by November 1. On an annual basis, the highest scoring candidate (score in the excellent category) in this competition will be nominated for a KRESCENT Doctoral award.