David Koch Jr.
More than 35 million people in the United States live with kidney disease, which severely impacts quality of life. Now, thanks to a generous $15 million gift from the David Koch Jr. Foundation, Stanford Medicine has launched the Kidney Health Innovation Program to advance research, enhance clinical care, and transform kidney health for children and young adults—with lifelong benefit.
“There has never been a more promising time to redefine the future for children with kidney disease,” says Mary Leonard, MD, MSCE, the Arline and Pete Harman Professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Stanford
School of Medicine.
The gift established the David Koch Jr. Foundation Kidney Health Innovation Awards, overseen by the Maternal and Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI) at Stanford and a world-class external scientific advisory board. The inaugural grant recipients will be announced by MCHRI this spring and include Stanford faculty with expertise in disciplines like nephrology, immunology, pathology, artificial intelligence, and genetics. The grantees will convene in the fall for a research symposium with other experts to share their findings and spark cross-disciplinary teamwork.
Their research has the potential to improve how doctors understand and treat kidney disease, shifting it from a lifelong hardship to a condition that can be addressed and potentially solved.
Thank you, David Koch Jr. Foundation, for helping shape the future of pediatric kidney research and care.