The Division of Nephrology’s 2023 Kidney Summer Retreat teaches undergraduate trainees in the UAB Kidney Undergraduate Research Experience (UAB KURE) effective communication skills and provides career development. This year’s retreat focused on communication, service, and community: elements that are essential in a strong, kidney-focused career.

Program founder and director Jennifer Pollock, Ph.D., welcomed the trainees and the retreat continued with programs focused on essential elements of a successful kidney-focused career. Workshops covered topics such as effective communication, team building, scientific publications, outreach, and addressing misconceptions, providing the KURE trainees with valuable networking opportunities and mentorship for their career development.

Keynote speaker Timmy Lee, M.D., MSPH, Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Medicine and Associate Professor in the Division of Nephrology, addressed the KURE trainees about his personal academic journey, emphasizing the importance of achieving a work-life balance alongside acquiring laboratory skills. He hopes that students understand the multifaceted nature of academic nephrology.

KURE student, Trisha Sivam, found the experience to be highly informative. Her favorite part of the retreat was “getting to network with faculty and staff here and getting to learn more about the professional world that awaits us.”

Another segment of the retreat is the communication and service workshops students found helpful was developing their professional careers. When reflecting on the most interesting thing she had learned at the retreat, KURE student Brianna Monroe described the “different personality types in a work environment and getting to know the people that I’m working with based on how they communicate and what kind of thinker they are.”

The Kidney Pipeline Programs office in the UAB Division of Nephrology manages various research programs for predoctoral research scholars, undergraduates, and gap year students. These programs include the highly regarded NIDDK-funded initiatives: UAB KURE and UAB PROMOTE (Predoctoral Ph.D. and M.D. Research Training in Teams). Each year, 16 KURE students and eight PROMOTE students are assigned their research topics and engage in an immersive eight-week summer experience, where they explore careers in nephrology under the guidance of matched mentors and near peers.