International Nutrition Expert Honored by National Kidney Foundation

 

New York, NY—April 3, 2018 — Angela Yee Moon Wang, M.D., Ph.D., has been selected by the National Kidney Foundation as the recipient of the 2018 Joel D. Kopple Award.

Dr. Wang is a clinician-scientist at the University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital and currently serves as president-elect of the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism. She is an international authority and a distinguished speaker on topics including renal nutrition, vascular calcification, cardiovascular disease and heart failure in chronic kidney disease and dialysis.

 

“Dr. Wang’s research has made a significant impact, revealing integral connections between nutrition, kidney and heart health,” said Michael Choi, M.D., president and chair of the NKF Scientific Advisory Board. “Notably, Dr. Wang has elucidated causes of protein energy wasting syndrome, which is one of the most frequent and most dangerous complications for patients suffering from kidney failure.”
 

The Joel D. Kopple Award annually honors an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of renal nutrition. This year the award will be made to Dr. Wang at the NKF 2018 Spring Meetings to be held April 10-14, in Austin, Texas.
 

“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the National Kidney Foundation for giving me this honor and recognition,” said Dr. Wang. “I would also like to express my sincerest thanks to my research team and to all my collaborators for their commitment, which has enabled our research to come to fruition. The award gives me tremendous support and encouragement to strive for further advances in chronic kidney disease management through renal nutrition therapy.”
 

“My goal is to promote greater awareness of the importance of diet and nutrition therapy in managing patients with kidney disease and cardiovascular complications, and to set up more international research collaborations in renal nutrition,” Dr. Wang added. “Ultimately, we aim to develop a personalized approach to nutritional management in kidney disease. Dr. Kopple has long been an inspiration for my research and interest in renal nutrition and metabolism. It is a great honor to receive the National Kidney Foundation award that was named after Dr. Kopple.”

 

Among her many leadership roles, Dr. Wang has served as an executive member of the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes committee (KDIGO) and is a workgroup member of NKF Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI) Nutrition Guidelines in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD); KDIGO CKD-Mineral Bone Disease Guideline; and International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis (ISPD) Adequacy Guidelines 2017 Update. She was chair of the ISPD Cardiovascular and Metabolic Guidelines 2015. She is also an executive committee member of the Standardized Outcomes in Nephrology initiative; council member of the ISPD; north and east Asia regional board member of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and committee member of the ISN-Advancing Clinical Trial Core group.
 

Dr. Wang has co-authored several key consensus statement publications of the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism. She also serves on the editorial boards of over 10 nephrology journals, including the Journal of Renal Nutrition, the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Nephrology Dialysis Transplant, American Journal of Nephrology and Nephron Clinical Practice. She was previously associate editor of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.
 

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. 

 

30 million American 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 of kidney failure. 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).