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 (published in the current year) 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 and their papers are presented by the KI Editorial Team.
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 |