The Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Foundation has announced its 12 funding grants and one fellow selected for 2026. PKD is a genetic disorder characterized by the growth of fluid-filled cysts in the kidneys. These cysts can enlarge the kidneys and impair their function over time, leading to symptoms such as high blood pressure, abdominal pain, and eventually kidney failure. Patients face the prospect of kidney dialysis or kidney transplant as the disease worsens. Globally, PKD affects an estimated 12.4 million people worldwide. In the United States, approximately 500,000 to 600,000 people live with the condition. It is the fourth leading cause of kidney failure and the most common life-threatening single gene disease, more common than sickle cell disease, for example. There are two main types: autosomal dominant PKD (ADPKD), which is the most common form and typically shows symptoms in adulthood, and autosomal recessive PKD (ARPKD), a much rarer form that impacts roughly 1 in 20,000 children and shows symptoms in infancy. The dominant form of the disease is caused by the inheritance of one disease gene from one of the parents or spontaneous mutation in the patient. The recessive form requires two disease genes, one from each parent. The two diseases, ADPKD and ARPKD, are different and are caused by mutations in different genes. The 2026 funding awardees and fellowship receiver are described below.
Fouad Chebib, MD, FASN
Mayo Clinic, Florida
Project Summary
Targeting Renal Urate Transport to Suppress Cystogenesis in ADPKD
This research is studying how a newly discovered urate pathway inside kidney cells may affect cyst growth in ADPKD. The preliminary data suggests that regulating urate could be an alternative way to slow cyst growth without impacting thirst and frequency of urination which are the most common side effects of the ADPKD treatment tolvaptan. By understanding this process, drugs targeting the urate pathway could offer better treatments with fewer side effects for people living with ADPKD. To save drug development time, this study tests existing drugs (lesinurad and febuxostat). The results from this study aim to confirm an important treatment pathway for the future, that would offer fewer side effects, long-term use, and real slowing of the disease.
Biography
Fouad T. Chebib, M.D., FASN, is a professor of medicine, nephrologist, and physician-scientist at Mayo Clinic, Florida. He helped establish the Mayo Clinic Tolvaptan Clinic and has contributed to major ADPKD clinical trials and U.S. consensus guidelines. Additionally, Dr. Chebib directs the Mayo Clinic Florida PKD Foundation Center of Excellence and the Discovery and Translational PKD Research Lab.
Dr. Chebib’s clinical and research focuses include clinical trials, molecular mechanisms of cystogenesis, precision imaging, gene therapy, and development of novel therapies for PKD. His lab is advancing innovative and AI-driven personalized therapies, an important step toward Dr. Chebib’s lifelong goal of eliminating the need for dialysis in ADPKD.
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Eun Ji Chung, PhD
University of Southern California (USC)
Project Summary
Gene Editing for ADPKD
Current treatments for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) can slow the disease progression, but they don’t fix the genetic cause and may have difficult side effects. This project is testing a new way to treat ADPKD by using CRISPR gene editing to fix changes in the PKD2 gene, one of the genes responsible for ADPKD. Dr. Chung’s lab plans to use tiny, kidney-targeted carriers called nanoparticles to deliver the gene-editing tools directly to the kidney cells where cysts start. If successful, this approach could reduce cyst growth, slow or stop disease progression, and lead to longer-lasting treatments with fewer side effects for people with PKD. Dr. Chung aims to open the door to a completely new class of therapies for PKD, ones that correct the disease rather than just manage it.
Biography
Eunji Chung, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) and the Dr. Karl Jacob Jr. and Karl Jacob III Early Career Chair. She’s the founding director of the USC Transformative Center for Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery, has various courtesy appointments at USC, and is an affiliated faculty member of the Norris Cancer Center and the Stem Cells department. Dr. Chung is a fellow of multiple medical societies; serves as associate editor for Bioactive Materials; and has received honors such as the K99/R00 NIH Pathway to Independence Award, AIChE 35 Under 35, NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2), and more.
Dr. Chung’s lab is interested in developing nano-to-macroscale biomaterials for medicine, with a particular focus on gene therapies using nanocarriers for PKD. Currently, her lab takes part in national centers and programs including the NIH U54 Kidney O’Brien Center, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Exploratory Cell Networks, and AHA Collaborative Sciences Award.
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Edmund Gilbert, PhD
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Project Summary
International Consortium for Intracranial Aneurysms in ADPKD
In patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), up to 15% will develop bulges in blood vessels in the brain called intracranial aneurysms (ICAs) and have a seven-fold increased lifetime risk of bleeding in the space around the brain compared with the average non-PKD patient. Dr. Gilbert and colleagues will use a large collection of patient health data and genetic information from the International Consortium for Intracranial Aneurysms in ADPKD to study how screening affects the risk of serious bleeding and creates a score that uses both medical and genetic information to predict risk. This could help doctors decide which patients need screening or treatment the most, leading to better care and future research.
Biography
Dr. Gilbert is a geneticist and co-principal investigator in the Human Genetic Research Group at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences at RCSI, Dublin. His PhD and postdoctoral research investigated the population genetics landscape of Ireland and its links to neighboring populations in Britain, and extended this to diasporic populations such as those in Newfoundland, Canada. As a postdoctoral researcher, he started work applying population genetic approaches to disease genetics, investigating haplotype diversity in monogenic forms of kidney disease, and contributing to analysis of polygenic risk in kidney disease. His research group works at the intersection of population genetics and disease, applying population-genetic approaches to identify and study the history of disease variants, particularly in renal disease where he is a long-term collaborator with Peter Conlon, RCSI.
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Zhongwei Li, Ph.D.
University of Southern California (USC)
Project Summary
Novel in Vitro and in Vivo Organoid Platforms for High-Fidelity ARPKD Modeling
While there are two types of polycystic kidney disease (PKD), autosomal dominant (ADPKD), and autosomal recessive (ARPKD), the only FDA-approved drug available is for ADPKD. One challenge is that current animal and lab models don’t progress the same way that ARPKD progresses in people, which makes it harder to study the disease and test new treatments. This project will create two new human kidney models using stem cells: one model for testing possible drugs in the lab, and the other to grow ARPKD-like kidney tissue in live mice to better study the disease. Dr. Li’s team has previously built similar kidney models and shown they can recreate key features of PKD. These new models could give researchers better tools to understand ARPKD, find new treatment targets, and test future therapies.
Biography
Zhongwei Li, Ph.D., is an associate professor of medicine and of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. He’s the recent winner of the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. As a stem cell biologist, Dr. Li’s research focuses on kidney development, regeneration, and disease. His lab develops and applies human pluripotent stem cell-based models, including kidney organoids and assembloids, to investigate disease mechanisms, discover new therapeutics, and advance regenerative medicine. His work has helped establish increasingly sophisticated human kidney models that more faithfully recapitulate kidney structure and function, creating new opportunities for studying kidney diseases, including polycystic kidney disease (PKD), and accelerating therapeutic discovery.
The long-term goal of his research is to generate transplantable stem cell-derived kidneys as a renewable source of tissue for kidney replacement therapy. His work is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the University Kidney Research Organization (UKRO), and the PKD Foundation. Dr. Li is the recipient of the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (2022) and the Young Investigator Award from the Chinese American Society of Nephrology (2025).
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Xueying Lin, Ph.D.
Mayo Clinic, Rochester
Project Summary
Establish a Zebrafish Platform for Discovering Genetic Modifiers of ADPKD
People with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) experience a wide variety in the timing and severity of their symptoms. Researchers believe certain genes, called genetic modifiers, may affect when symptoms start and how fast the disease progresses. Current ways to find these genes can be slow, expensive, and hard to confirm.
This project will study if changes to genes outside of the common PKD1 and PKD2 genes cause ADPKD to be more severe in some patients than others. To do this, the study uses zebrafish which are easy to work with, inexpensive, can be tested in large numbers, and can help researchers evaluate multiple genes quickly. This study will test about 50 genes and may identify up to five new genes that affect cyst growth, immune response, inflammation, and scarring in ADPKD. These findings could help researchers better understand disease progression and may lead to new treatments that delay symptoms and slow kidney failure.
Biography
Xueying Lin, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, and a member of the Mayo Clinic Translational PKD Center. Her research focuses on developing adult zebrafish as a relevant vertebrate model of cystic kidney disease and establishing efficient approaches, including F0-based (first generation) genetic screening platforms, for the systematic identification of modifier genes regulating kidney cyst formation and cyst-associated pathogenesis. By leveraging the genetic tractability and cost-effective scalability of zebrafish, Dr. Lin’s work aims to uncover novel mechanisms underlying ADPKD progression and identify potential therapeutic targets.
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Jeremy Reiter, MD, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
Project Summary
Uncovering How Polycystin Signals from the Primary Cilium
This research is studying how proteins called polycystins help keep kidneys healthy and what happens when they do not work correctly.
Researchers are focusing on two important molecules, GLIS3 and NEK8, which may work like a brake and an accelerator that control cyst growth. Early results suggest that GLIS3 may help stop cysts from forming, while NEK8 may cause cysts to grow when polycystins are not working properly.
By learning more about how these molecules affect cyst growth, researchers hope to find new treatment targets that address the root causes of ADPKD. This could lead to safer, more effective treatments that may stop or even reverse kidney cyst growth.
Biography
Jeremy Reiter, MD, PhD, is a professor at the University of California, San Francisco. His work focuses on how cells build antennae-like structures called cilia and how cilia function in intercellular communication. Dr. Reiter’s studies help reveal how cilia signal, how defective ciliary signaling causes ciliopathies (e.g., cystic kidney diseases), how ciliary defects contribute to diseases not normally considered ciliopathies (e.g., obesity), and how cilia function in postnatal tissues with a particular focus on how polycystins signal at kidney cilia and how disruption of those functions cause ADPKD.
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Takamitsu Saigusa, MD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Project Summary
The Role of Glucagon Receptor in Polycystic Kidney Disease
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is caused by changes in a person’s genes, but the disease can affect people differently, even members of the same family. Researchers think that diet is one reason why.
This project is studying a hormone called glucagon, which is released after eating foods high in protein. Researchers believe glucagon may speed up kidney cyst growth. Using mice and lab-grown mini kidneys, researchers will test whether blocking glucagon can slow cyst growth, especially when a person eats a high-protein diet.
Biography
Takamitsu Saigusa, MD, is a faculty member and physician-scientist in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). His laboratory investigates how dietary protein sources modulate kidney cyst growth in polycystic kidney disease (PKD).
Using murine models, Dr. Saigusa’s lab compares the effects of plant-based versus animal-based protein diets on metabolism, inflammation, and cyst progression. A major focus of his current funded research is to determine whether glucagon—released rapidly by the pancreas following protein-rich meals—travels to the kidney, activates the glucagon receptor (Gcgr), and promotes cyst growth. Using spatial transcriptomics in mouse models and human ADPKD organoids, Dr. Saigusa will define a shared Gcgr-regulated gene signature that drives cyst growth, and candidate therapeutic targets will then be tested directly in human PKD organoids.
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Terry Watnick, MD
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Project Summary
Sex-Specific Mechanisms in Kidney Cyst Formation
People with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) can have very different symptoms, even when they have the same genetic change. Research shows that men often have more severe kidney disease, while women are more likely to develop liver cysts.
This project will study the role of sex-specific hormones like estrogen in PKD. By learning more about these differences, researchers hope to better understand what causes cysts to grow and why the disease can be more severe in some people. This work could lead to more personalized treatments and better care for people living with PKD.
Biography
Terry Watnick, MD, is the John H. and Joan B. Sadler Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Watnick directs the PKD Foundation Center of Excellence at the University of Maryland and is a past chair of the PKD Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Panel.
Dr. Watnick’s laboratory studies the genetics and pathophysiology of aneurysm formation, which is a common and serious manifestation of ADPKD. She’s been an investigator in several multicenter clinical trials recruiting patients with ADPKD, including TEMPO, REPRISE, and TAME. Dr. Watnick is the principal investigator for the NIH-funded Maryland Polycystic Kidney Disease Core Center, as well as the co-principal investigator of the coordinating site for the PKD Research Resource Consortium.
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Ryan Williams, PhD
SUNY at Stony Brook
Project Summary
Targeted Gene Therapy Strategies for Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD)
This research is working to develop new treatments for people with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD). Researchers are testing two types of gene therapy—one that could help many patients and another that could be customized for each person as a one-time treatment.
A major challenge in treating ARPKD is getting treatment to the kidney cells where the disease starts. To do this, researchers will use tiny particles called nanocarriers to deliver the therapy directly to those cells.
The treatments will be tested in lab-grown cells and animal models. Led by experts in drug delivery and kidney disease, this project brings together scientists and doctors with deep experience in PKD research. If successful, this research could lead to future clinical trials and new treatments that help people with ARPKD live longer, healthier lives.
Biography
Ryan M. Williams, PhD, is a SUNY Empire Innovation Associate Professor of Medicine and the associate director of translation and commercialization within the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Stony Brook University. Dr. Williams earned his PhD in pharmaceutical and pharmacological sciences from West Virginia University, and completed his postdoctoral training in molecular pharmacology and nanomedicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Led by Dr. Williams, the Williams Translational Nanomedicine Lab at Stony Brook University focuses on the development of kidney-targeting nanomaterials to treat kidney diseases.
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Jenny Yang, PhD
InLighta Biosciences, LLC
Project Summary
3D MRI Radiohistology for Precise Longitudinal and Simultaneous Assessment of Cysts and Fibrosis
Doctors currently don’t have very safe and accurate tools to find early kidney scarring or track how autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is progressing. This project is testing a new MRI imaging agent called INL-101 that can help doctors see kidney scarring earlier and more clearly than current methods.
Early studies showed that INL-101 can detect small changes in the kidneys and may be safer than standard MRI contrast agents. Researchers will continue testing it to prepare for future clinical trials.
If successful, INL-101 could help doctors diagnose ADPKD earlier, track disease progression more accurately, and make better treatment decisions. It may also help people with other diseases that cause scarring in the kidneys and other organs.
Biography
Jenny Yang, PhD, is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, Presidential University Scholar, Caldwell Marks Endowed Chair in Cancer Oncology and permanent regents’ professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and founder and president of Inlighta Biosciences. Dr. Yang is a pioneer in establishing “calciomics,” to enable visualization of the roles of calcium in extracellular/intracellular Ca2+ signaling, and cell-cell communication through development of responsive calcium sensors.
Dr. Yang’s work revealed key determinants for metal binding, selectivity, conformational changes, and dynamics. This research led to the development of transformative novel protein-based MRI contrast agents (ProCA) to enable biomarker-targeted MRI molecular imaging for drug discovery, early diagnosis, and patient selection for acute and chronic human diseases including polycystic kidney diseases. Today, Dr. Yang’s protein drug, ProAgio, is in multiple clinical trials targeting different types of cancer. She has been granted 40 patents (with more pending), published countless papers, given hundreds of talks, trained numerous members, and has received multiple awards for her groundbreaking research.
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Vladimir Yarov-Yarovoy, PhD
University of California, Davis
Project Summary
Design of Protein Binders Targeting PKD2 TOP Domain for Restored Channel Function
About 95% of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is caused by changes in one of two genes called PKD1 and PKD2. These genes help make proteins called polycystins, which keep kidney cells healthy. When these proteins don’t work correctly, ADPKD can develop.
Right now, most treatments don’t fix these proteins. Instead, they try to slow the effects of the disease, like fluid buildup in kidney cysts.
This study is trying to treat the root cause of ADPKD by fixing a problem in one version of a protein called polycystin-2. Researchers will test whether a drug can help this protein work normally again.
If it works, the drug will be tested in animals to see if it can reduce cyst growth and kidney swelling. In the future, it could lead to new treatments for people with ADPKD.
Biography
Vladimir Yarov-Yarovoy, PhD, is a professor, associate director of the Center for Precision Medicine and Data Sciences, and vice chair of the Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Yarov-Yarovoy’s research interests and expertise include neuroscience, protein structure, and computational biology. The primary focus of his research group is on the computational design of subtype-specific ion channel modulators, structure-function studies of voltage-gated ion channels, and the development of computational methods for membrane protein structure prediction and design. Recent advances in computational protein design, determination of high-resolution ion channel structures, and discoveries of natural peptides that target them with high affinity, set a stage for computational design of novel ion channel modulators.
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Matteus Krappitz, MD – Young Investigator Award
University of Colorado, Denver
Project Summary
Base Editing As a Therapeutic Approach for Polycystic Kidney and Liver Disease
This research aims to treat the root cause of ADPKD, which is changes in genes that affect proteins called polycystins. Studies show that even a small increase in normal polycystin function can slow cyst growth.
This project builds on early research using a gene-editing tool that can fix small genetic changes and reduce cysts in animal models. Researchers will work to make this approach safer and more effective in human kidney cells and improve ways to deliver it to the kidneys.
The project will also test another approach that helps the body make more healthy polycystin from the working gene it already has. This could help more people, even if their exact gene change cannot be fixed.
In the future, this work could lead to treatments that do more than slow ADPKD—they could target the cause of the disease and better treat both kidney and liver problems.
Biography
While at Yale University, his studies demonstrated that activation of cellular chaperone pathways can restore PC1 maturation and reduce cystic disease severity in vivo, providing proof-of-concept for mutation-directed chaperone therapy approaches in ADPKD. More recently, Dr. Krappitz developed a clinically relevant PKD1 missense mouse model and led the first in vivo study demonstrating that adenine base editing can meliorate cystic disease in ADPKD. In parallel, his laboratory is developing mutation-agnostic approaches aimed at increasing endogenous polycystin expression across broader patient populations. Dr. Krappitz collaborates closely with investigators at Yale University and Charité and is committed to translating mechanistically informed genetic therapies into meaningful treatments for patients with kidney and liver manifestations of PKD.
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Fellowship
Mrinal Kanti Dhar, PhD
Mayo Clinic, Rochester
Project Summary
AI-Driven Image Harmonization and Retrieval System for Enhanced Clinical Management and Cohort Discovery
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) causes fluid-filled cysts to grow in the kidneys, making them larger and less able to function over time. Medical imaging is essential for tracking the disease, but differences across CT and MRI scans can make images difficult to compare and can reduce the reliability of artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
This project will develop an AI-based system that helps doctors quickly find prior PKD cases with similar kidney images, cyst patterns, or clinical descriptions. It will also create methods to standardize images across CT and MRI, different MRI sequences, and imaging planes while preserving important kidney and cyst features.
If successful, this work could help clinicians learn from similar patients, improve the reliability of AI tools, support better monitoring and treatment decisions, and make imaging data more useful for research and shared decision-making for people living with PKD and ADPKD.
Biography
Dr. Mrinal Kanti Dhar is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Radiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, USA, specializing in the intersection of medical imaging and advanced artificial intelligence. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and brings over a decade of research and development experience across deep learning, computer vision, and natural language processing. Dr. Dhar’s research focuses on developing innovative AI solutions for clinical decision support and medical data harmonization. His recent work includes building large language model (LLM) pipelines for radiology report mining, multimodal deep learning networks for ovarian cancer classification, and digital twins for specialized pathologies. His broader academic experience includes authoring several peer-reviewed publications, teaching engineering and computer science courses, earning competitive research fellowships, presenting at scientific symposia, and serving as a reviewer for leading imaging and biomedical signal processing journals.