The Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Award Program application is currently closed.

Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Award Program Application

The deadline to apply is Wednesday, December 6, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. EST.

Purpose

The goal of the KidneyCure Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Program is to fund PhD students to conduct original, meritorious research projects. This program will foster early career-stage PhD students, under the direction of a sponsor, who are highly motivated to make contributions to the understanding of kidney biology and disease.

Eligibility

Doctoral students may submit a proposal that examines any aspect of the entire spectrum of kidney biology and disease. KidneyCure especially encourages applications from women and those who are underrepresented in medicine (as defined by the Association of American Medical Colleges). A maximum of two applications per sponsor/mentor/principal investigator will be accepted during any given application cycle.

To apply for a KidneyCure Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, a candidate:

1. Must be a current graduate student in an accredited doctoral (PhD) program, and have passed his or her qualifying exam, if applicable. A 12-month extension will be considered per childbirth during the candidate's doctoral training. Women, men, and those who adopt are eligible for the extension. The candidate must still be a current graduate student at the time of award activation. To be considered for an extension, please email grants@asn-online.org.
2. May not hold an MD, PhD, DO, or equivalent terminal degree.
3. Must propose a research topic that is kidney-directed.
4. Must complete research under the direction and mentorship of a sponsor.
5. Must be a member of ASN at the time of the fellowship application (Membership type:Student). The sponsor of the candidate must also be an ASN member at the time of the fellowship application.
6. Can hold other external grant support, but cannot have support totaling more than the National Institutes of Health guidelines for doctoral students, including KidneyCure funds, at the time of the award activation. However, a candidate's institution may supplement the support provided by ASN.
7. Must be working in North or Central America during the fellowship period.
8. Must commit a miniumum of 75% time to research during the fellowship period.
9. Must have a mentor who demonstrates sufficient funding to support the proposed study of the mentee throughout the fellowship period.
10. Must not exceed the maximum number of two applications from a single sponsor/mentor/principal investigator during any given application cycle.

Extension Requests

KidneyCure will accept extension requests on a case-by-case basis to be applied to the eligibility window during a candidate's doctoral training period. Applicants must submit supporting documentation for requests, which can include family care responsibilities, medical concerns, disability, natural disasters, and active-duty military service.

An automatic 12-month extension will be applied per childbirth during the candidate's doctoral training. All parents, including those who adopt, are eligible for this particular extension.

To be submit an extension request, please email grants@asn-online.org.

Funding and Stipulations

The KidneyCure Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Program provides each nephrology pre-doctoral fellow with $30,000 per year for up to two years, to begin on July 1 of the award year. Funds must be used only for salary support. Funds cannot be used for fringe benefits, project costs, travel expenses, or overhead costs.

Each recipient must submit a progress and financial report by May 1 of the first year. Second year funding is contingent on a satisfactory progress report. A final progress and financial report must be submitted at the end of the second year.

In addition, the recipient will attend the ASN Annual Meeting in both years as part of the ASN Kidney STARS program; in the second year the recipient will submit an abstract for presentation at ASN Kidney Week.

Application

A complete application must contain the following documents:

1. Contact information and project title.
2. Applicant's Biosketch (using a KidneyCure provided modified NIH biosketch format).
3. Sponsor's Biosketch (using a KidneyCure provided modified NIH biosketch format).
4. Research Plan (using KidneyCure provided template).
5. Letter of support from sponsor; optional second letter of support from potential collaborator.
6. Letter from institution providing proof that the applicant has permission to submit the application.
7. Two additional letters of support (submitted blindly).
Please refer to the application instructions before logging in as the application has changed.

Contact

Please contact KidneyCure with any questions at grants@asn-online.org.