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Awards & Bursaries

Our awards recognise exceptional contributions to kidney care, research and the work of the UK Renal Registry. Our bursaries support members to develop specialist skills, share their work and build collaborations in the UK and internationally.

Each award and bursary has its own purpose and eligibility criteria. Details of current opportunities and how to apply or nominate are provided below.

Lifetime Achievement Award

The UKKA Lifetime Achievement Award recognises an individual whose work across kidney care, research, education or leadership has made an exceptional and lasting contribution to the kidney community.

Established in 2023, the award is presented at UK Kidney Week. The inaugural recipient was Dr Dwomoa ‘Jo’ Adu, who delivered a lecture at UKKW 2024 on APOL1 gene variants and CKD in Africans and their descendants.

Nominations are currently closed. Details of the next nomination period will be published here.

Submit a short supporting statement explaining why your nominee should receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nominations should describe the nominee’s contribution to kidney care, research, education or leadership and the lasting influence of their work.

Please send nominations to ukka@ukkidney.org.

Nominations are reviewed by the UKKA Board of Trustees and the award is presented at UK Kidney Week.

  • 2024 – Dr Dwomoa ‘Jo’ Adu – “APOL1 gene variants and chronic kidney disease in Africans and their descendants”

  • 2025 – Dr Graham Lipkin – “Learning from our misspent youth, embracing future opportunities; The crucial role of UKKA”

  • 2026 – Not awarded

Lockwood Award

The Lockwood Award provides £1,000 to help a UKKA member present their work and visit a collaborating laboratory or clinical kidney unit overseas.

It was established in memory of Dr Martin Lockwood, a distinguished researcher and active member of the Renal Association, following his death in 1999. The Lockwood Award succeeds the former Milne-Muehrcke Award.

Applications are currently closed. Details of the next application period will be published here.

Applicants must be current UKKA members.

Applications should include:

  • Confirmation of current UKKA membership
  • A mini-CV of no more than two A4 pages, including key academic achievements, original research publications and current membership status
  • Details of the overseas laboratory or clinical kidney unit to be visited
  • A supporting statement from the applicant’s head of department

Please submit all documents as PDFs to ukka@ukkidney.org. Receipt of applications will be acknowledged by the UKKA team.

  • 2002 Albert Ong
  • 2003 Scott Wildman
  • 2004 Peter Mathieson
  • 2005 Ken Smith
  • 2006 John Reynolds
  • 2007 Simon Satchell
  • 2008 Jeremy Hughes
  • 2009 John Reynolds
  • 2010 Maria Fragiadaki
  • 2011 Sourabh Chand
  • 2012 David Ferenbach
  • 2013 Neeraj Dhauns
  • 2014 Jonathan Wong
  • 2015 Adrian Woolf
  • 2017 Thomas Wilkinson
  • 2018 Mark Devonald
  • 2019 Elisa Molinari

Raine Award

The Raine Award recognises an early-career investigator who has made a significant contribution to kidney research. The recipient is invited to present the work leading to their award at UK Kidney Week.

The award was established in memory of Professor Tony Raine, Professor of Renal Medicine at Barts, following his death in 1995.

Applications are currently closed. Details of the next application period will be published here.

The award is open to current UKKA members who have not yet reached consultant grade or, for non-clinical scientists, Senior Lecturer level.

Applications should include:

  • A short letter explaining the applicant’s contribution to kidney research
  • A supporting letter from the applicant’s line manager or head of department
  • A mini-CV of no more than two A4 pages, including:
    • Key achievements and relevant publications
    • Current UKKA membership status

Applications are open now and close on 4 January 2027.

Please submit all documents as PDFs to ukka@ukkidney.org.

Applications are reviewed by UKKA representatives, and the successful applicant is invited to present their work at the following UK Kidney Week.

  • 1996 Steven Harper – Immunopathogenesis of IgA nephropathy
  • 1997 Nigel Brunskill – Pathogenic implications of proteinuria
  • 1998 Albert Ong – Polycystic kidney disease
  • 1999 David Kluth – Inflammatory mechanisms of glomerular injury
  • 2000 Alice Allen – Pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy
  • 2001 Coralie Bingham – Definition of the Renal Cysts and Diabetes Syndrome
  • 2002 Sally Feather – Genetic basis of foetal malformations of the kidney and urinary tract
  • 2003 Helen Lachman – Amyloidosis
  • 2004 Jeremy Duffield – The role of macrophages in renal inflammation
  • 2005 Anna Richards – Atypical HUS
  • 2006 Menna Clatworthy – Immune inhibition
  • 2007 John Sayer – Molecular genetics of nephronophthisis
  • 2008 Bryan Conway – Finding genes for diabetic kidney disease
  • 2009 David Kavanagh – The pathogenesis of haemolytic uraemic syndrome
  • 2010 Andy Salmon – Regulation of glomerular permeability
  • 2011 Daniel Gale – Gene hunting in the Renal Unit
  • 2012 Amy Jayne McKnight – Unravelling heritable complexities for CKD
  • 2013 Andrew Hall – Power cuts in the proximal tubule: mitochondria, antiretrovirals & the renal Fanconi syndrome
  • 2014 Thomas Hiemstra – Waste not. The business of urine exosomes
  • 2015 James Fotheringham – Long breaks and disappearing PD catheters: lessons from linking UK Renal Registry data
  • 2016 Eoin Mckinney – Better off sick and tired: T cell exhaustion and outcome in autoimmune disease
  • 2017 Edwin Wong – Complement-mediated renal disease
  • 2018 Pippa Bailey – Understanding socioeconomic inequity in living-donor kidney transplantation
  • 2019 Alex Hamilton – The psychosocial health of young adults on renal replacement therapy
  • 2020 Matthew Graham-Brown (rolled over to UKKW 2021 due to the pandemic)
  • 2022 Jennifer Lees – CKD, cardiovascular disease and cancer: the scenic route
  • 2023 Melanie Chan – Genomic insights into urinary tract malformations: moving beyond monogenic inheritance
  • 2024 Benjamin Stewart – Mapping immunity in the human kidney with single-cell genomics
  • 2025 Omid Sadeghi-Alavijeh – Decoding the Genetic Landscape of Inherited Kidney Diseases
  • 2026 Daniyal Jafree – A decade of trying to understand the kidney’s plumbing system

Terry Feest Award

The Terry Feest Award recognises an exceptional voluntary contribution to the work of the UK Renal Registry across areas including audit, research, innovation and service development.

Established in 2013, the award honours Dr Terry Feest and his important role in establishing and developing the Registry. It may be presented annually when a suitable recipient is identified and includes a plaque, certificate and £250 voucher.

Nominations may be submitted by UKRR staff and members of the UKKA Trustee Board.

Nominees must:

  • Have made a significant contribution to an area of the UKRR’s work
  • Have received no payment from the UKRR for the work being recognised, other than legitimate expenses
  • Have received no external funding for the work
  • Have not received another award for the same contribution
  • Have not held UKKA office in relation to the work being recognised

Nominations should include:

  • The name of the nominator
  • The name and email address of the nominee
  • A supporting statement of no more than 300 words

Nominations are reviewed by the UKRR Senior Management Team. The proposed recipient is then submitted to the UKKA Trustee Board for approval.

  • 2013 Dr Afzal Chaudhry, Cambridge
  • 2014 Dr Andrew Williams, Swansea
  • 2015 Prof Paul Roderick, Southampton
  • 2016 Dr Malcolm Lewis, Manchester
  • 2017 Mr Nick Jones, AGILOAK LLC
  • 2018 Mrs Denny Abbott, Patients Council
  • 2019 Prof Dorothea Nitsch, London
  • 2020 Prof Nick Selby, Nottingham
  • 2021 Prof Danny Gale, London
  • 2022 Dr Will McKane
  • 2023 Dr Carol Inward
  • 2024 Dr Barnaby Hole
  • 2025 Dr Alan Hancock

Walls Bursaries

The Walls Bursaries provide £1,000 to help UKKA members spend a short period at another centre, usually outside the UK, to learn a laboratory technique or develop a specialist clinical skill.

Usually, two bursaries are available: one to a clinician and one to a non-clinician. The bursaries were established in memory of Professor John Walls, President of the Renal Association from 1995 to 1998.

Applications are currently closed. Details of the next application period will be published here.

Applicants must:

  • Be current UKKA members
  • Have made a significant contribution to academic nephrology
  • Not have previously received a Walls Bursary

Applications should include:

  • Confirmation of current UKKA membership
  • A mini-CV of no more than two A4 pages, including key academic achievements and original research publications
  • Details of the centre to be visited
  • A supporting statement from the applicant’s head of department

Please submit all documents as PDFs to ukka@ukkidney.org. Receipt of applications will be acknowledged by the UKKA team.

Successful applicants must provide a short report of approximately 500 words following their visit.

  • 2002 David Long
  • 2003 Nick Topley
  • 2004 John Sayer
  • 2005 Lorraine Harper, John Reynolds, Moin Saleem
  • 2006 Scott Wildman
  • 2007 Ben Walsh, Georgina Carr
  • 2008 Maria Fragaidaki
  • 2009 Albert Ong
  • 2010 Neil Holden
  • 2012 David Ferenbach, Lindsay Kier
  • 2013 Chee Kay Cheung, Paul Brenchley
  • 2015 Amy Jayne McKnight, Neeraj Dhaun
  • 2016 Helen Noble, Roslyn Simms
  • 2018 Helen McLaughlin