The Academic Nephrology Unit (ANU), within the Sheffield Kidney Institute (SKI), is an active member of the 3 I's (Infection, Immunity and Inflammation) University section. The research laboratories of the ANU are situated within the Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Medical Research in the Medical School. This maximises the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (SMBS) resources by centralising its laboratory-based research within the newly refurbished Henry Wellcome Laboratories. The staff of the research laboratories consists of University of Sheffield staff, NHS staff and postgraduate students (PhD and MD) as well as visiting clinical research fellows.

It is hoped that this research will ultimately lead to new therapies aimed at the prevention of experimental renal scarring, fibrosis and cystogenesis. When applied to patients they should slow the progression of their underlying CKD and ultimately reduce the number of patients requiring dialysis replacement therapy.