Building the next generation of kidney researchers through community and collaboration

For Cal Robinson, a paediatric nephrologist and Scientist-Track Investigator at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), a simple question at a recent meeting captured the power of bringing together researchers from different disciplines. 

Researchers were discussing the results of a clinical trial in adults when an adult nephrologist asked why teenagers or children weren’t included.  

“In that moment, I thought, 'we’ve won.' We’ve gotten people thinking about this,” recalls Robinson, a member of the Child Health Evaluative Sciences research program. “If they hadn’t met me and other paediatric nephrologists, they might never have had that thought.” 

The meeting was part of the Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training (KRESCENT) program, which brings together emerging kidney researchers from across Canada.

For Robinson, the exchange reflected one of the program’s greatest strengths: creating opportunities for researchers to learn from one another, challenge assumptions and broaden the questions being asked in kidney research. 

Focused training and world-class graduates  

This September marked the 21st year of KRESCENT, a partnership between Canada’s leading kidney research and funding organizations. The program was created to strengthen kidney research in Canada by training clinician-scientists and researchers and fostering greater collaboration across the kidney research community. 

Dr. Mathieu Lemaire, a paediatric nephrologist and Scientist, Cell & Systems Biology at SickKids, is both a former KRESCENT trainee and its present-day director.  

“KRESCENT is very focused, very deep. We’re not just training people for three years; we’re building the skills, mentorship and networks they need to become independent researchers and contribute to the field for decades,” says Lemaire.  

Since its launch, 103 researchers have completed KRESCENT training — many doing so twice, in different streams — with most gaining academic and leadership positions in kidney research across Canada.

Nearly all (98 per cent) of these trainees have gone on to receive funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) as principal investigators, notes Lemaire. Collectively, KRESCENT trainees have authored more than 5,800 scientific publications and won 137 research awards.  

KRESCENT invests in trainees over three years, providing salary support, mentorship and diverse learning opportunities. Unlike typical nephrology fellowships, the program purposefully recruits trainees from a range of backgrounds, including biomedical science, clinical medicine and allied health disciplines meet twice a year to review grants, learn from experts, and build relationships with peers from different institutions and areas of kidney research.

The experience helps trainees develop skills that extend beyond traditional graduate or clinical training, including leadership, collaboration, and navigating a career as an independent researcher. 

“KRESCENT recognizes the gap that exists between what you can learn through a graduate-level master’s or PhD program and the skills needed to succeed as a clinician-scientist,” notes Robinson. 

Forging a national kidney research community 

Relationships built through KRESCENT are designed to extend beyond individual careers and help establish a connected community of kidney scientists with different backgrounds and areas of strength.  

For Dr. Norman Rosenblum, a paediatric nephrologist and Senior Scientist who helped shape KRESCENT in its early years, building those connections is essential. 

“Capacity development is about building communities of individuals focused on research; we need these communities in order to push forward towards the advances needed to support kidney health and prevent and combat kidney diseases,” says Rosenblum, a member of the SickKids Developmental, Stem Cell & Cancer Biology program.  

By connecting researchers with expertise spanning health policy, basic science and clinical care, KRESCENT helps create a community that can tackle complex kidney health challenges from multiple perspectives. 

For Lemaire, research training programs like KRESCENT are critical in a field where significant challenges in health care remain. Kidney disease affects one in 10 Canadians and is projected to impact more than 6.2 million people in Canada by 2050. Thousands of Canadians are also waiting for a kidney transplant, underscoring the need for continued research and new approaches to prevention, diagnosis and treatment. 

“There is still so much we need to understand about kidney disease, and so much more we need to do for patients,” says Lemaire. “That’s why investing in the next generation of researchers is so important.” 

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KRESCENT is funded and supported by The Kidney Foundation of Canada, Canadian Society of Nephrology and Canadian Institutes of Health Research.