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Clinical Scientist in Nephrology Fellowship

American Kidney Fund

The American Kidney Fund is committed to improving kidney care through clinical research. Jumpstart your career in academic nephrology and help advance prevention and outcomes research through our Clinical Scientist in Nephrology Fellowship.

Program structure

A Clinical Scientist in Nephrology Fellowship may be granted yearly based on program funding. The maximum duration of each fellowship is two years. The second year of funding is not automatic and is dependent on approval of the first year's progress report. The maximum level of funding is $90,000 per year and shall be used principally to support the candidate and his/her career development.

Grant funding

The maximum level of funding of $90,000 per year shall be used principally to support the candidate and his or her career development. This sum is expected to cover the individual fellow's salary (not to exceed $65,000) as well as training-related expenses.

Application details

The 2026-2027 Clinical Scientist in Nephrology (CSN) Fellowship Application is now available. The deadline for applications is January 5, 2026.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Direct Relevance to Kidney Disease, CKD, Dialysis, or Transplantation

Successful projects must address issues central to kidney health: CKD progression, dialysis care, transplant access/outcomes, patient support, equity in kidney care, prevention strategies, quality-of-life in renal disease, etc.

Whether it’s clinical research, community-based interventions, patient education, access/improvement schemes, or quality-of-care studies — the kidney disease focus must be explicit and central.

Predictor: Clear kidney-disease relevance is essential.

2. Patient-Centered Impact & Practical Benefit — Not Just Academic Interest

AKF-serving proposals often emphasize tangible benefit for patients: improved access to care, cost-reduction, better treatment adherence, improved quality of life, reduced complications, better transplant outcomes, or broader access for underserved populations.

For community or outreach-type grants: real-world implementation, patient education, support services, equity, and sustainable benefit matter more than purely scholarly output.

Predictor: Projects with clear, immediate or medium-term patient/community benefit tend to be prioritized.

3. Feasible, Realistic Scope & Well-Defined Deliverables

Given that some grants or support programs may have limited budget or be targeted toward patient support or modest community interventions — proposals should have a well-scoped plan with achievable aims, realistic budget, and clear deliverables.

Over-ambitious proposals that require extensive resources, long-term longitudinal follow-up with high costs, or large-scale trials may be less competitive under AKF’s typical grant/support paradigm.

Predictor: Focused, feasible, realistically scoped projects with clear deliverables tend to do better.

4. Equity, Access, and Outreach — Focus on Underserved or Vulnerable Populations

Kidney disease disproportionately affects certain socioeconomic and racial/ethnic groups, and ensuring equity in access, treatment, prevention — likely aligns well with AKF’s mission.

Proposals aiming to reduce disparities in kidney care access, support low-income patients, enhance outreach/education, or address social determinants of health are likely seen favorably.

Predictor: Emphasis on equity, inclusion, underserved populations, and access broadens impact and aligns with foundation values.

5. Institutional / Clinical Capacity & Collaboration with Care Providers

For clinical, community, or patient-care projects: presence of collaborating dialysis centers, transplant centers, nephrology clinics, social-support agencies, or community health orgs increases feasibility.

Infrastructure to deliver care, monitor outcomes, track patients — vital for meaningful results or support implementation.

Predictor: Demonstrated partnerships, institutional support, and care-provider collaborations increase competitiveness.

6. Emphasis on Quality-of-Life, Cost-Effectiveness, and Sustainability — Not Just Biological / Lab-Based Research

While fundamental biology is important, AKF appears especially suited to support applied, translational, or patient-support interventions: cost-effectiveness, quality-of-life improvement, access schemes, social support, adherence, and outcomes research.

Projects demonstrating potential long-term sustainability (e.g., community-based programs, scalable interventions, cost-savings) likely resonate more with the foundation’s goals.

Predictor: Practical, cost-conscious, sustainable interventions with real-world relevance stand out.

7. Clear Justification, Transparent Budget, and Ethical / Patient-Centred Design

Ethical care, patient-consent, data privacy, transparency in patient-support or intervention programs must be assured.

Budgets should be realistic, clearly justified, and reflect actual needs — avoid over-estimations or inflated costs, especially for patient-support or community-based grants.

For patient-care support applications: clear documentation of patient need, eligibility criteria, means-testing, and accountability.

Predictor: Clear, ethical, transparent, well-justified proposals are more likely to be accepted.

🎯 What This Means — If You’re Applying to AKF

If you plan to submit a proposal (research, community intervention, patient support program) to AKF:

Make sure your project is directly focused on kidney disease or renal care.

Design your intervention or research so that it delivers tangible benefit for patients or communities (access, outcomes, support, prevention), not just academic insight.

Keep the scope realistic and feasible, especially if funding is limited.

If possible, focus on underserved or vulnerable populations, equity of access, or programs that reduce disparities.

Build collaborations with care providers or community organizations, and ensure your infrastructure for patient delivery or follow-up is sound.

Emphasize quality of life, cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and patient-centered outcomes.

Ensure clear, honest, transparent budget and plan, with ethical oversight, patient consent/data protection (if relevant), and deliverables.

Specialties

Nephrology

Eligibility Requirements

Acceptable candidates for the Clinical Scientist in Nephrology Fellowship are individuals who:

Are qualified to sit for the American Board of Internal Medicine or Pediatrics
Have completed a residency in internal medicine or pediatrics
Are in the process of completing or have completed at least one year of training in clinical nephrology in an accredited U.S. program
Can demonstrate an aptitude for and a commitment to developing special expertise in an area of knowledge applicable to clinical nephrology
Intend to pursue a professional career with emphasis on independent research, and the provision of care to patients with kidney diseases, preferably within the confines of an academic medical center where they will be exposed to continued learning and teaching
Can secure the support of their training program in the pursuit of these goals
Can commit to timely communication with AKF including but not limited to prompt responses to AKF's requests for progress reports during the Fellowship

Eligible Countries:

United States

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: American Kidney Fund

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852

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