Each year at the World Congress of Nephrology, Kidney International® and the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) are proud to recognize outstanding early-career researchers from around the world. The KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Awards honor original contributions that drive innovation and impact in nephrology.
Four awards are presented:
- Two in basic or translational science
- Two in clinical science
Eligibility criteria
To be considered for the award, applicants must:
- Be an early-career researcher (less than 7 years post-MD/PhD or post-nephrology/transplant fellowship)
- Be the first author of an eligible article in Kidney International®:
- Original Article,
- Nephrologists Sans Frontières, or
- Policy Forum
- Submit a 500-word expression of interest highlighting the significance of the work and outlining key findings
- Provide a letter of recommendation from their research mentor
- ISN membership is not mandatory at the time of application, however strongly encouraged before the application deadline
Selection process
- Submissions are reviewed by the Kidney International® Editorial Team
- Papers are assessed based on:
- Originality and novelty of the research
- Methodological rigor
- Clinical or translational relevance
- Overall quality of the manuscript
- The selection process values diversity and inclusivity, reflecting the global nephrology community
Awards and recognition
- Each awardee receives $500 USD
- Winners are announced at the World Congress of Nephrology
If you have questions, please contact the ISN awards coordinator.
View past awardees
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Basic Science | Mariell Rivedal | Glomerular transcriptomics predicts long term outcome and identifies therapeutic strategies for patients with assumed benign IgA nephropathy |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Basic Science | Valeryia Kuzmuk | A small molecule chaperone rescues keratin-8 mediated trafficking of misfolded podocin to correct genetic Nephrotic Syndrome |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Clinical Science | Becky Mingyao Ma | Developing a genetic testing panel for evaluation of morbidities in kidney transplant recipients |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Clinical Science | Roy Zhang | Assessment of biological organ age using molecular pathology in pre-transplant kidney biopsies |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Basic Science | Stefan Haug | Multi-omic analysis of human kidney tissue identified medulla-specific gene expression patterns |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Basic Science | Wenbin Liu | Single cell landscape of parietal epithelial cells in healthy and diseased states |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Clinical Science | Derek Ng | Development of an adaptive clinical web-based prediction tool for kidney replacement therapy in children with chronic kidney disease |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Clinical Science | Laura Lucientes-Continente | Complement alternative pathway determines disease susceptibility and severity in ANCA-associated vasculitis |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Basic Science | Jia Fu | The single-cell landscape of kidney immune cells reveals transcriptional heterogeneity in early diabetic kidney disease |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Basic Science | Keiichi Kaneko | Lineage tracing analysis defines erythropoietin-producing cells as a distinct subpopulation of resident fibroblasts with unique behaviors |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Clinical Science | Anthony Batte | Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin is elevated in children with acute kidney injury and sickle cell anemia, and predicts mortality |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Clinical Science | Jan Klocke | Urinary single-cell sequencing captures kidney injury and repair processes in human acute kidney injury |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Basic Science | Idris Boudhabhay | Complement activation is a crucial driver of acute kidney injury in rhabdomyolysis |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Basic Science | Jihyun Yang | Intestinal microbiota controls acute kidney injury severity by immune modulation |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Clinical Science | Megumi Oshima | Insights from CREDENCE trial indicate an acute drop in estimated glomerular filtration rate during treatment with canagliflozin with implications for clinical practice |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Clinical Science | Naoka Murakami | A multi-center study on safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer patients with kidney transplant |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Basic Science | Qi Cao | Regulatory innate lymphoid cells suppress innate immunity and reduce renal ischemia/reperfusion injury |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Basic Science | Sho Hasegawa | Comprehensive three-dimensional analysis (CUBIC-kidney) visualizes abnormal renal sympathetic nerves after ischemia/reperfusion injury |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Clinical Science | Eric Olinger | Clinical and genetic spectra of autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney disease due to mutations in UMOD and MUC1 |
| KI-ISN Early Career Researcher Award: Clinical Science | Madhav C. Menon | Genome-wide non-HLA donor-recipient survival via early allograft fibrosis |