2019 ASN Research Awards

During Kidney Week, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) honors individuals with significant accomplishments in research, education, and other areas of kidney health. The honorees at the 2019 meeting were:

Mitchell Rosner, MD, was awarded the Robert G. Narins Award that honors individuals who have made contributions to teaching and education. Dr. Rosner is the Henry B. Mulholland Professor of Medicine and chairman of the department of medicine at the University of Virginia. He has published more than 170 research articles and has received numerous teaching awards. He was a co-developer of the ASN in-service examination for nephrology fellows-in-training.

The Homer W. Smith Award was presented to Toshiro Fujita, MD, PhD, a senior fellow at the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology and chief of the division of clinical epigenetics. The award recognizes contributions that affect the science of nephrology, including pathobiology, cellular and molecular mechanisms, and genetic influences on the functions and diseases of the kidney. Dr. Fujita’s research on salt-sensitive hypertension resulted in discoveries about the role of the Rho family GTPase Rac1 as a regulator, leading to insights about salt retention, proteinuria, and glomerulosclerosis.

The Belding Scribner Award, recognizing contributions that have direct impacts on patient care, was given to Paul L. Kimmel, MD. Dr. Kimmel is the director of the HIV Kidney Program at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders. He has overseen programs in opioid use in dialysis patients, kidney precision medicine, and HIV-associated kidney disease.

Vicente E. Torres, MD, PhD, received the John P. Peters Award in recognition of his contributions improving the lives of patients and furthering the understanding of the kidney in health and disease. Dr. Torres is the director of the Translational Polycystic Kidney Disease Center at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. He has led clinical trials of vasopressin V2 receptor antagonists, leading to the approval of the first drug for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

The Donald W. Seldin Young Investigator Award was presented to Samir M. Parikh, MD, FASN. Dr. Parikh is associate professor of medicine and associate vice chair for research at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on the discovery and translation of molecular mechanisms underlying acute kidney injury and sepsis. In 2018, he was the recipient of the NIH/NHLBI Outstanding Investigator Award.

ASN 2020 President Announced

Anupam Agarwal, MD, FASN, is the next president of the American Society of Nephrology. He will begin his term on January 1, 2020. Dr. Agarwal is the director of the division of nephrology and executive vice dean at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the program director of the O’Brien Center for Acute Kidney Injury Research. His accomplishments involve clinical medicine, research, administration, and teaching. His research focuses on acute kidney injury and the progression of kidney disease.

“I am honored to be ASN’s incoming president,” Dr.. Agarwal said. “There has never been a more important and exciting time for nephrology. We are seeing changes we’ve never seen before, including increased awareness by our government of the importance of kidney health. ASN has been at the vanguard of all these developments, and it is a privilege to be taking on this role.”00