Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Washington received a $773,901 Project Grant awarded February 5, 2026, by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847). The grant supports a randomized clinical trial investigating early ultrafiltration strategies for hemodialysis patients with suspected volume excess. The research will compare the effects of usual dialysis care against two concentrated ultrafiltration intervention protocols—one spanning four weeks and another spanning eight weeks—with both strategies incorporating two additional ultrafiltration treatments weekly plus guided tapering of blood pressure medications. The study is designed to address a critical clinical need, as volume overload affects over 65% of maintenance hemodialysis patients and contributes to resistant hypertension, cardiac dysfunction, and poor quality of life.

The project extends through November 30, 2030, and aims to demonstrate whether abbreviated ultrafiltration adaptations of historically effective intensive dialysis protocols can yield clinically significant and sustained benefits while remaining acceptable to healthcare providers and payers. This clinical research directly aligns with NIDDK's mission to improve understanding and treatment of kidney diseases affecting the more than 430,000 Americans receiving maintenance hemodialysis, with the ultimate goal of improving five-year survival rates and reducing hospitalizations in the dialysis population.