Dr. Gregory Germino of the NIH Wins Distinguished Lecture Award from NKF

January 29, 2019, New York, NY - Each year the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) considers the work of hundreds of specialists in the field of nephrology and selects among them those who most exemplify the relentless efforts of the NKF to enhance the lives of patients through action, education and accelerating change.

 

Their work is vital to the 30 million people who are affected by kidney disease and the 1 in 3 American adults who are at risk.

 

Among the prestigious awards that will be presented at the annual 2019 Spring Clinical Meetings in Boston, MA, May 8-12, will be the Dr. Shaul Massry Distinguished Lecture Award to Gregory Germino, MD, of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD. The lectureship was established to honor Dr. Massry for his scientific achievements and contributions to the kidney health care community and to the National Kidney Foundation.

 

“Dr. Germino’s research has significantly improved our understanding of polycystic kidney disease and the molecular basis for how kidneys develop tubules,” said NKF President Holly Kramer, MD.

 

Dr. Germino is the Deputy Director at NIDDK. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and he has been a Section Chief of the Polycystic Kidney Disease Laboratory in NIDDK’s Division of Intramural Research since 2009.

 

”It is an honor to receive this prestigious award. The burden of polycystic kidney disease on patients can be enormous, and this award serves as both reminder of progress made but also the distance we must still traverse to find a cure,” Dr. Germino said. “I look forward to discussing the state of the research during the Shaul Massry Distinguished Lecture.”

 

Dr. Germino has served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Polycystic Kidney Research Foundation, and he was Chair of the Scientific Review Board of the Telethon Foundation of Italy, a Councilor of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and a member of the Board of Directors of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

 

He has received multiple awards, including an NIH MERIT Award and the Lillian Jean Kaplan International Prize for the Advancement in the Understanding of Polycystic Kidney Disease. He was also inducted into the Association of American Physicians.

 

Dr. Germino received his undergraduate degree from Loyola University of Chicago and his medical degree from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. He had clinical training in internal medicine and nephrology at Yale University, trained in research at Oxford University, and he was previously a physician-scientist at Johns Hopkins University, where he directed its Polycystic Kidney Disease Center and served as a consultant attending on the renal service.

 

For the past 27 years, nephrology healthcare professionals from across the country have come to NKF’s Spring Clinical Meetings to learn about the newest developments related to all aspects of nephrology practice; network with colleagues; and present their research findings. The NKF Spring Clinical Meetings are designed for meaningful change in the multidisciplinary healthcare teams’ skills, performance, and patient health outcomes. It is the only conference of its kind that focuses on translating science into practice for the entire healthcare team.  This year’s Spring Clinical Meetings will be held May 8-12 in Boston, MA.

 

Healthcare professionals can join NKF to receive access to tools and resources for both patients and professionals, discounts on professional education, and access to a network of thousands of individuals who treat patients with kidney disease.  

 

In the United States 30 million adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease—and most aren’t aware of it.  1 in 3 American adults are at risk for chronic kidney disease.  Risk factors for kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and family history.  People of African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian or Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease.  African Americans are 3 times more likely than Whites, and Hispanics are nearly 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanics to develop end stage renal disease (kidney failure).