Recognition & Awards
Joel D. Kopple Award
The Joel D. Kopple Award is an annual award honoring an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of renal nutrition. This year's Joel D. Kopple Award recipient is Nathan W. Levin, MD, FACP.
Dr. Nathan W. Levin is one of the most renowned and accomplished figures in both clinical nephrology and nephrology research. He has authored multiple book chapters and over 350 peer-reviewed publications, including articles in leading journals such as Nature, The New England Journal of Medicine, and The Lancet. He is a founder of the Renal Research Institute, LLC, an organization dedicated to improving the outcomes of patients with kidney disease, particularly those requiring dialysis. Dr. Levin received his medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Later, he became a diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a fellow of the American College of Physicians. During his medical career, he held academic appointments at the Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
Dr. Levin has held prominent positions in many professional societies, including President of the Michigan End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network, President of the Renal Physicians Association (RPA), and President of the RPA Research and Education Foundation. He was Co-Chairman of the AAMI Hemodialysis Reuse Committee and the National Kidney Foundation–Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF–KDOQI), member of the Clinical Practice Committee of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), member of the International Society of Nephrology's Membership Committee, member of the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM), and member of the American Diabetes Association.
Dr. Levin has been recognized with several distinguished awards including the Belding Scribner Trailblazer Award, the Distinguished Nephrology Service Award of the RPA, the AAKP Medal of Excellence, the Fresenius Lifetime Achievement Award, the AAMI Recognition Award, the Garabed Eknoyan Award of the National Kidney Foundation and the Recognition Award for his role as Co-Chairman of the DOQI Advisory Council.
Among Dr. Levin's most prominent scientific achievements include his roles as a Principal Investigator of the HEMO study, CHOICE Study, and the Frequent Hemodialysis Network (FHN) Study. The NKF Council on Renal Nutrition (NKF-CRN) is honored to present the most prestigious award in renal nutrition to Dr. Nathan W. Levin.
Past Joel D. Kopple Award Recipients:
2011 – T. Alp Ikizler, MD
2010 – Laura Byham-Gray, PhD, RD
2009 – Raymond Hakim, MD
2008 – Alison Steiber, PhD, RD, LD
2007 – Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh, MD, PhD, MPH
2006 – Mary Pat Kelly, MS, RD, GNP
2005 – Jerrilynn D. Burrowes, PhD
2004 – Judith Beto, PhD, RD, FADA
2003 – Linda M. McCann, RD, LD, CSR
2002 – Linda Moore, RD, LDN