Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Award Program Application
The deadline to apply is Thursday, November 20, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. EST.
Purpose
The mission of the KidneyCure Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Program is to attract PhD students to nephrology as a research area in the early stages of their careers.
Doctoral students interested in clinical or basic science may submit a proposal that examines any aspect of the entire spectrum of kidney biology and disease.
2026 Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Application Instructions
Eligibility
Please note that the eligibility criteria have been updated.
KidneyCure invites applications from individuals whose personal backgrounds or life experiences may contribute valuable perspectives to nephrology, particularly those who have encountered barriers to entry in the field. A maximum of two applications per sponsor/mentor/principal investigator will be accepted during any given application cycle.
Pre-doctoral KidneyCure fellowships are available to non-US Citizens so long as they are working in North or Central America, or the Caribbean during the grant term.
To apply for the KidneyCure Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Program, a candidate:
- Must be a current graduate student in an accredited doctoral (PhD) program and have passed their qualifying exam by the time of application submission, if applicable.
- Might not be enrolled in a double degree program (e.g., MD/PhD, MSTP…)
- May not hold an MD, PhD, DO, DVM, or equivalent terminal degree.
- Must propose a research topic that is kidney-directed.
- Must complete research under the direction and mentorship of a primary sponsor who is performing kidney research.
- Must be an active member of ASN (Membership Type: Student) when the application cycle closes on Thursday, November 20, 2025. Membership must be noted in an applicant's biosketch. ASN provides free membership to students and PhD candidates. The sponsor and all co-sponsors of the candidate must also be active members of ASN when the application cycle closes on Thursday, November 20, 2025, and their membership status must be noted in their biosketch.
- Can hold other external grant support but cannot have support totaling more than the National Institutes of Health guidelines for pre-doctoral students, including KidneyCure funds, at the time of the award activation (July 1, 2026). However, a candidate's institution may supplement the support provided by KidneyCure.
- Must commit a minimum of 75% time to research during the fellowship period.
- Must have a sponsor who demonstrates sufficient funding to support the proposed study of the mentee throughout the fellowship period.
- Must not exceed the maximum number of two applications from a single sponsor/mentor/principal investigator during any given application cycle.
Contact
Please contact KidneyCure with any questions at grants@asn-online.org.