Kidney Research Centre

Kidney disease is a national health-care problem with potentially devastating consequences for patients and their families.

Most kidney diseases are characterized by their relentless progression to kidney failure and, unfortunately, there are few treatments that reliably halt this course. The number of Canadians being treated for kidney failure has tripled over the past two decades and experts are predicting a growing epidemic of chronic kidney disease in Canada.

Established in 2000, the Kidney Research Centre (KRC) is Canada’s first research facility devoted exclusively to investigating diseases that attack the kidney. It is affiliated with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital. KRC scientists and clinician researchers are taking a lead role nationally in developing new strategies to improve detection and treatment of renal disease. They are also committed to training the next generation of kidney research leaders, including graduate students and research fellows from Canada and around the world.

In 2002, the KRC was awarded a grant of $8.6 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Innovation Trust to construct and equip a new 15,000 square foot facility. In 2007, the Centre officially opened in a new building at the University of Ottawa’s Smyth Road Campus, connected to the General Campus of The Ottawa Hospital. The new facility includes updated research laboratories, a cell culture facility and room for eight scientists. It is one of the largest kidney research centres in North America.

Research at the KRC is funded by the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the nephrologists at The Ottawa Hospital, peer-reviewed grant funds from national health-care agencies (including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Kidney Foundation of Canada, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. In addition, KRC receives support from corporate sponsors and relies on dedicated and motivated individuals, including grateful patients, who volunteer to organize fundraising events for the KRC, with support from The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.