David Koch Jr. Foundation Kidney Health Innovation Seed Grant Awards

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The David Koch Jr. Foundation Kidney Health Innovation Seed Grant awards mechanism aims to accelerate transformative discoveries in pediatric kidney disease, glomerular disease, and the adolescent to adult transition for individuals with kidney disease. This initiative seeks to leverage Stanford’s exceptional expertise and scientific ecosystem to foster interdisciplinary projects across disciplines such as immunology, genetics, computational biology and psychology - ultimately impacting health outcomes for children and young adults with kidney disease.

An interdisciplinary approach is strongly encouraged for this initiative where at least two of the lead investigators bring expertise from different disciplines to the project. Single-PI applications will be considered if the scientific rationale is compelling. Proposals should clearly demonstrate the potential for the research to generate robust preliminary data or novel directions that will lead to further funding from external agencies.

The Seed Grants provide up to $300,000 total over two years in funding to support a wide range of scientific approaches with the potential to advance research in kidney disease. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

Translational and personalized medicine research to improve diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes in immune-mediated or genetic kidney diseases.
Development and testing of novel therapies to accelerate access to more effective treatments and curative approaches.
Data-driven and computational research to identify treatment targets, predict response, and personalize care strategies.
Research to improve the health and well-being of children and young adults with glomerular disease, including advances in diagnosis, treatment, and long-term outcomes.
Research on the transition from pediatric to adult health care in order to improve the quality of care and health outcomes during and after the transition.

Priority will be given to research proposals with maternal and child health relevance.

Schedule A Consultation

Dr. Sophia Giang is available for 45-minute consultations on Mondays before 1 PM and Thursdays after 1 PM. To schedule an appointment, please contact Erlynn Dela Cruz at EDelaCruz@stanford.edu.

Information Session

We encourage applicants to attend the following sessions to learn more about resources available at Stanford and beyond:

Pediatric Grand Rounds: Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at 8:00 AM at the Center for Academic Medicine Grand Rounds Room with Dr. Matthias Kretzler, MD, University of Michigan, PI of NEPTUNE

Interactive Learning Session: Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM at the Center for Academic Medicine Grand Rounds Room, featuring:
- Dr. Matthias Kretzler, MD, PI of NEPTUNE
- Dr. Alan Schroeder, MD, Clinical Professor, Pediatrics and Stanford PI for PEDSnet
- Dr. Vivek Charu, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology and of Medicine (Quantitative Sciences) and PI of the Stanford pediatric and adult kidney biobank.
- Dr. Richard Lafayette, MD, Professor, Medicine; Director, Stanford Glomerular Disease Center, Stanford Site PI of NEPTUNE and CureGN
- o Dr. Sophia Giang, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Stanford Site Co-I of NEPTUNE and CureGN

Please register for the Interactive Learning Session at 9:00 AM following Pediatric Grand Rounds.

Funding Details

Total seed funding award is up to $300,000 total over two years. Applicants may request support for personnel (undergraduate or graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research assistants, associates, or faculty) and research-related expenses.

For full details, please refer to the FY26 RFA.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants must hold a Stanford appointment at the rank of Instructor and above, including those in the University Tenure Line (UTL), Research (NTL-Research), or University Medical Line (UML), and Clinician Educator (CE) line. Visiting scholars are not eligible to serve as PI or Co-PI, though they may participate as collaborators and sub-investigators. Applications may include co-investigators from other research organizations.

NIH Network Ancillary Study Proposal Opportunities

Proposals for ancillary studies to NIH kidney disease networks must be approved by the network in advance and a letter of support included in the MCHRI grant application.

The NIH-funded Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network (NEPTUNE) observational study includes children and adults with minimal change disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and membranous nephropathy, and was established to investigate underlying disease mechanisms, elucidate pathogenesis, and identify therapeutic targets for clinical trials. NEPTUNE welcomes and encourages internal and external investigators to use the clinical data, histopathology data, biosamples, whole slide images, and derived data sets from NEPTUNE for their own research. Investigators can also access NEPTUNE sites to collect new data or biospecimens, or perform observational or interventional studies. Information on NEPTUNE’s Ancillary Studies Program can be found here. The Program requires applications for ancillary studies at last 3 months in advance. The NEPTUNE Stanford Site PI is Dr. Richard Lafayette and the Co-I is Dr. Sophia Giang.

Cure Glomerulonephropathy (CureGN) is a multi-center, international consortium of children and adults with minimal change disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, membranous nephropathy or IgA nephropathy/vasculitis. The Consortium welcomes use of its data, biosamples, renal biopsy whole slide images, and infrastructure for investigator-initiated research. Additional guidance and instructions for CureGN Ancillary Studies are available here. The Ancillary Studies Program requires applications for ancillary studies at last 3 months in advance. Investigators can also access CureGN data to develop preliminary data in support of grant applications. The CureGN Stanford Site PI is is Dr. Richard Lafayette and the Co-I is Dr. Sophia Giang.