Announcing the UW Nephrology Stuart Shankland Grants Program
The new UW Nephrology Stuart Shankland Grants Program
The UW Division of Nephrology will officially rename its Nephrology Small Grants Program the UW Nephrology Stuart Shankland Grants Program to honor Dr. Shankland’s exemplary leadership and advancing kidney research. This renaming of the program recognizes Dr. Shankland’s extraordinary contributions to building the research infrastructure within the Division of Nephrology.
Dr. Shankland served as Division Head of UW Nephrology from 2004 to 2020. During his tenure, he helped shape the direction of the research mission by building strategic partnerships, including collaborations with Northwest Kidney Centers (NKC). Together with Joyce Jackson, former CEO of NKC, and UW Medicine, Dr. Shankland launched the Kidney Research Institute (KRI) in 2008. He was instrumental in recruiting Dr. Jonathan Himmelfarb as its inaugural director (2008–2022) and in recruiting several physician-scientists who collectively established UW Nephrology as a world leader in kidney-disease-related research. He also led the division’s long-standing T32 training grant from 2005 to 2020, which supported numerous trainees over the years, including several of the current faculty members.
Dr. Shankland has personally demonstrated an exceptional commitment to research mentorship, having trained more than 50 trainees in his laboratory. He continues this legacy today as a mentor in the U2C/TL1 program that succeeded the T32—Northwest Comprehensive Research Training in Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Sciences (NCOR-KUH).
The Stuart Shankland Grants Program will continue to foster innovation, support early-stage research ideas, and strengthen our community of kidney investigators—values that reflect Dr. Shankland’s longstanding leadership.
In AY2026-27, UW Nephrology will launch an annual tradition: the Stuart Shankland Grants Program Grand Rounds, during which current grant awardees will present their research to the nephrology division and the broader Grand Rounds community.
