The RENUM-FL Program

There is a significant prevalence of kidney diseases and hypertension in the United States, which coincides with a well-documented decline in the nephrology workforce. This has led to a critical shortage of nephrologist to care for the growing patient population, and a decrease in the number of physician-scientists committed to kidney-related research.

The goal of this full-time, 8-week funded summer research and education program is to enhance the training of a scientific and clinical workforce in nephrology to meet the growing healthcare need of patients afflicted with kidney disease and/or hypertension. The RENUM-FL program will consist of 3 elements:

1. Expose medical students to applied renal physiology research to demonstrate how basic science discoveries can translate into meaningful patient outcomes.
2. Establish a nephrology Learning Community comprised of basic scientists, physician-scientists, and nephrologists who will provide structure and oversight of enrichment activities and mentoring to promote interest in a career in nephrology.
3. Establish proficiency conducting hypothesis-driven renal basic science and/or clinical research.

Rising 2nd year medical students from the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine and University of Florida (UF) College of Medicine are eligible to apply for the program. Participants will be matched with a research mentor at either USF or UF (research does not need to be done at home institution). Didactic sessions will be held in-person at either USF or UF and will be virtual for the other campus. Participants will receive a stipend of $3,000, a housing stipend up to $1,500, and $750 to attend a scientific conference to present their research project (e.g., American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week, American Physiology Summit, Florida Society of Nephrology).

This program is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) R25DK134324.