Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grants - Institute/Initiative Community Support

To improve care for the one in ten people in Canada who suffer from kidney disease, research into how the kidneys are injured is needed more than ever to find new treatments. In Canada, there is a vibrant community of scientists who study how the kidney functions in health and what can cause kidney disease. These scientists also train the next generation of researchers who will one day care for the patients. To help with new discoveries, these researchers and their trainees need to present their work at scientific meetings, where all participants can exchange ideas, establish new collaborations, and nurture new talent. In addition, Canada's kidney researchers need to be able to conduct their scientific work in a way that will allow their findings to be built upon by their colleagues, as well as future scientists. Unfortunately, Canada currently lacks an appropriate platform that ensures precise and reproducible experiments are carried out in the same way, no matter where the work is performed. Such a platform would go a long way in making kidney disease research as reliable as possible and could help drive the discovery of new therapies more quickly. The opportunity to help Canadian researchers and the next generation to begin to address this need is the Canadian Kidney Discoveries Network meeting to be held in association with the Canadian Society of Nephrology Annual General Meeting in May 2026 in Québec City. The meeting is a recent initiative of the Canadian kidney research community that is designed specifically meet the needs of Canadian fundamental kidney researchers with a focus on inclusiveness, diversity, and equitable access. These principles would be supported economically by offsetting registration fees and offering travel awards for trainees to attend the meeting. The CIHR Planning and Dissemination Grant will help support a powerful national research community that works to improve kidney health of all Canadians.