CRF issued the first grant award to Benjamin ‘Beno’ Freedman, PhD, in 2021 to support his important research on developing a therapeutic strategy for nephropathic cystinosis with iPS cells. The goal of his study is to use human mini-kidneys as surrogates for patients to explore the potential of kidney regeneration, gene therapy, and drug discovery for cystinosis. Dr. Freedman has attended the Day of Hope family conferences seeking to recruit patients with cystinosis and turn their urine into stem cells and kidney grafts to test for transplant ability.