2025 KRESCENT Post-Doctoral Fellowships

Eligibility

• Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents at the time of submission of their application.
• For Post-Doctoral Fellowships, applicants must apply through a university department or affiliated institution that has been accepted as suitable for research training by the KRESCENT program and provide a supervisor support letter which details both support of the applicant, and the proposed work plan.
• Awards for a Post-Doctoral Fellowship are tenable under the supervision of investigators holding an academic appointment and in areas of investigation where the research has direct relevance to kidney disease. The training program must include involvement in actual research, and not only courses in research methods. Applicants enrolled in programs oriented primarily toward professional specialty training are normally ineligible for the Post-Doctoral Fellowship.
• Candidates with more than four years of post-PhD research training by the competition deadline are not eligible to apply for this award, unless the candidate is an MD, who completed their PhD before or during their clinical training. Any interruption in a candidate’s post-PhD research training will be taken into account in determining eligibility.
• Applicants with a MD degree must hold license in Canada or be enrolled in a program leading to certification in Canada at the time of applying for this award. Applicants may propose a program of research leading to a Master’s or PhD degree; however, registration in a graduate program is not a requirement.
• Applications for training in clinical research will be considered only if it is clear from the application that they have adequate protected time to complete the research project. It is suggested that at least 80% of the applicant’s time and effort will be devoted to the research project(s) and clinical activities upon which the research project(s) is immediately dependent.
• Each application is considered to be a joint submission by the applicant and the proposed supervisor. The research plan should be written in full consultation and agreement between the supervisor and the applicant. The applicant must provide a supervisor letter confirming acceptance of the candidate and the proposed research plan.

KRESCENT is working towards broadening its scope on how research is described, valued and measured through the incorporation of supports and evaluation metrics which align with community values and Indigenous ways of being where applicable. The KRESCENT program strives to create a welcoming and culturally safe environment for all trainees.

The KRESCENT program will not fund more than two Fellowships per Supervisor at one time, i.e. if a Supervisor has an active trainee, only one further trainee can be funded or if a Supervisor has two active trainees in the program, no further trainees will be funded. 

Summary

Despite many scientific successes in kidney research over the last 45 years, Canadians are facing a growing epidemic of kidney disease due, in large part, to our aging population and the increasing number of people with comorbidities such as diabetes, a leading cause of kidney disease. Unfortunately, the dramatic rise in kidney disease has been accompanied by a relative decline in the number of well-trained kidney research scientists at academic centers in Canada. This is attributed to several factors, including the demands on clinician scientists to dedicate more time to the clinical care of patients, and a reduced opportunity for fundamental scientists to advance their careers. Another factor is limitations in opportunities for salary support of those dedicated to research in general including in the field of kidney disease

The Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training (KRESCENT) Program is a national training program launched in 2005. Originally a partnership between the Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFOC), The Canadian Society of Nephrology (CSN) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute for Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (CIHR-INMD), the program was developed with the recognition from the Canadian Research Community of the rising prevalence of kidney disease and the need to train and maintain an increased number of highly skilled kidney research scientists.

A KRESCENT program post-doctoral fellowship is an “in-training” award intended for applicants with a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree. The objective is to attract and foster late stage trainees to initiate and/or continue their training in kidney research.

Candidates with more than four years of post-Ph.D. training by the competition deadline are not eligible. Applicants with a MD or equivalent degree must hold license in Canada and be enrolled in a research program leading to certification in Canada at the time of applying for this award.

Applications for this award must be supported by the university or institution where the candidate will conduct the proposed research. The annual stipend is $65,000CAD (MD) or $55,000CAD (PhD) for two to three years. 50% of this stipend will be covered by the KRESCENT program, and 50% will be matched by the host institution.

Overhead

Indirect costs are not eligible.  

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at fellowships@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Applications to this program are through the online portal Proposal Central.

Resources 
KRESCENT Post-Doctoral Fellowship Policies
Policy on Indirect Costs of Research  
Best Practices for Writing a Plain Language Abstract