2026 Medical Student Research Grants

Eligibility Requirements

This grant is designed for medical students who meet the following requirements:

• Student must have completed at least one year of medical school and be continuously enrolled in medical school for the following year.
• Student must be conducting research project at an accredited institution in Illinois.
• Student must be mentored on research project by a primary investigator on the project.
• Student must work on research project at least 20 hours per week for a minimum of 8 weeks, between the dates of May 1 and September 1, 2026.
• Research project must be aimed at increasing the understanding of kidney, urologic and transplantation-related diseases, and improve the clinical management and treatment or cure of these diseases.

Deliverables Timeline

Medical students seeking and receiving NKFI funds must meet certain deadlines to fulfill requirements of this grant.  Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and all applicants will receive a notification by April 10, 2026.    

• Completed Application and Letter of Recommendation Due:February 27, 2026. 
• Final Notification of Award: April 10, 2026
• Funds Disseminated: June 1, 2026
  Institutional Review Board approval letter is required before any funds will be disseminated.
• Confirmation of Completion of Hours Due: September 1, 2026
  Research Mentor must sign Completion Form. If the student hasn’t completed required number of hours, the student will be required to return all funds to the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois.
• Student’s Final Report Due: September 8, 2026
  Final report must be completed by this date; otherwise, the student will be required to return all funds to the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois.

Reporting Requirements

Students who receive funding through this grant program will be required to submit a report by September 8, 2026 to research@nkfi.org. This final report should be non-technical in nature and written for a lay audience. The report should not exceed 1,000 words, and should include:

• A brief overview of the research conducted
• Information on the student’s role in the research
• A brief overview of information the student gleaned from participating in the research
• Information about how participation in the research project added to the student’s interest in the subject matter

Secondarily, students who receive funding through this grant program must agree to attend the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois’ 2025 Citywide Grand Rounds program in Fall 2026. More information about the program will be provided by August 1, 2026.  

Directions

As you prepare your application for funding from the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, please read these instructions carefully.

Two separate components are required to apply for National Kidney Foundation of Illinois (NKFI) funding:

• Student application
• Recommendation letter from the research mentor/primary investigator

Your application will be evaluated by several members of the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois Research Committee. Unfortunately, NKFI staff and committee members are not available to provide feedback or suggestions for any applications.

An emailed submission of your application is due to research@nkfi.org by 5 p.m. on the day of the deadline.

This is a grant for mentored research projects. As such, the primary investigator on your research project must complete a letter of recommendation on university letterhead and email it to research@nkfi.org by 5 p.m. on the day of the deadline. The recommendation letter should include a statement of commitment from the primary investigator to act in a mentorship role for the applicant.

Application materials submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

Only emailed submissions of applications, and only one submission per person, are accepted. Stipends offered are a maximum of $3,000, without possibility of increase over that amount. The $3,000 is to be considered a stipend for the student’s living and other expenses during the research. If the student does not complete the required number of hours, the student will be required to return all funds.  

NOTE: If more than one student in a given faculty member’s research group is applying for NFKI funds to work on a closely related project, each student must complete his or her own application addressing both the project as a whole and their individual contribution to that work. If both students will be working on the same project, each application must make this clear and describe the individual applicant’s role in the project. You may not submit identical or near identical applications.

Applicants will be notified by email regarding the status of their applications. Notification for Student Research Grants will be sent by April 10, 2026. It is the responsibility of the applicant to notify his/her institution of any NKFI award.

Applicant Information

Project Information

Biohazards/Human Subjects/Animal Subjects/Radiation

Safety Training

Some research environments require certain safety training courses. If you are unsure of the safety training required by your lab, please consult your faculty mentor/primary investigator.

Assurance Statement

NOTE: This section is required for your application to be considered. It must be signed by the medical student applying for funds.

I hereby certify: (1) that the information submitted within the application, and during the award period, is true, complete, and accurate to the best of my knowledge; (2) that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or claims may subject me to criminal, civil, or administrative penalties; and (3) that I agree to accept responsibility for the scientific conduct of the project and to provide the required progress reports if a grant is awarded as a result of this application.

Appendix

NOTE: This section is not required.

You may add 1 page of additional information only if you feel it is relevant to your application. Please be aware that you may not continue your answers from previous sections of this application in this section; if you do so, it will be removed from your application. Your answers to previous questions must fit within the limits of the boxes provided.

If you add an appendix, you MUST title it “[Last Name], [First Name] Appendix”. If your appendix is not labeled according to these directions, we cannot guarantee that it will be evaluated with your application.