Jones Family Kidney Research Centre

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. Among those leading the charge were Mr. Agostino Monteduro, Dr. Kevin Burns, Dr. David Levine, Dr. Richard Hébert and Dr. Christopher Kennedy.

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 2002, the Kidney Research Centre 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. 

Over the more than 25 years since its launch, the Centre's growth has been made possible by the sustained generosity and commitment of the community. We thank the Jones Family Foundation, Serata Italiana Gala, the Jindal Family Foundation, the Sam Karkache golf tournament, the Lorna J. Wood Foundation and countless individual donors and grateful patients, whose ongoing support allowed the Centre to expand its research capacity, attract leading scientists and clinician researchers, and train successive generations of kidney research trainees.