Jones Family Kidney Research Centre
Established in 2000, the Jones Family Kidney Research Centre is Canada’s first research facility devoted exclusively to investigating diseases that attack the kidney.
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Overview
The Jones Family Kidney Research Centre (JFKRC) is affiliated with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital. JFKRC 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.
The 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.
About kidney disease
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.
Our history
In the late 1990s, a coalition of kidney patients, advocacy groups, scientists, and Ottawa area nephrologists built a groundswell of pressure calling for a dedicated kidney research facility in Ottawa. Their advocacy paid off and in 2000 the Kidney Research Centre was established as Canada's first research facility devoted exclusively to the study of kidney disease and kidney biology. In 2026, in recognition of their incredible ongoing support, The Ottawa Hospital proudly renamed the Kidney Research Centre as the Jones Family Kidney Research Centre.
Funding
Research at the JFKRC 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, JFKRC receives support from corporate sponsors and relies on dedicated and motivated individuals, including grateful patients, who volunteer to organize fundraising events for the JFKRC, with support from The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
Contact
Jennifer Brownrigg, JFKRC Administrative Coordinator