NKF Names Winner of the Excellence in Transplantation Award
March 28, 2022, New York, NY — The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is pleased to announce this year’s recipient of the Excellence in Transplantation Award, which recognizes the scientist or clinician scientist whose exceptional research has contributed novel insights to improved access to kidney transplantation.
Columbia University’s Sumit Mohan, MD, MPH, will be presented this important honor at NKF’s Spring Clinical Meetings in Boston, which will be held April 6-10.
Dr. Mohan’s research findings have informed federal public policy affecting patients with kidney disease, improved access to outpatient dialysis for people with acute kidney injury, caused the withdrawal of some regulatory measures with unintended consequences for transplant centers and aided ongoing efforts to lower waste of deceased-donor kidneys in the United States.
“I am honored to accept the excellence in kidney transplantation award from NKF, particularly given the contributions of the previous winners of this award in kidney transplantation,” Dr. Mohan said. “This award represents a recognition of the efforts of my colleagues, collaborators, and my team. Together, we continue to work to reduce disparities in care and contribute to the field of kidney transplantation by improving access to care, long-term outcomes and advocating for public policies that benefit patients with kidney disease.”
Dr. Mohan is an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Columbia University, the director of clinical research in the Division of Nephrology, and the director of quality and outcomes research for the transplant initiative at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
“Dr. Mohan’s clinical career and research is critical to improving access to care and outcomes for patients with kidney disease – especially those with end-stage kidney disease and kidney transplantation,” said NKF President Paul Palevsky, MD. “His work on the inappropriate discard of deceased-donor kidneys has helped bring significant national attention to this problem.”
He serves on multiple committees for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR), American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and NKF among others. In addition, he has contributed to multiple Technical Expert Panels (TEPs) for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) and is the co-chair of the CMS/HRSA/CMMI ESRD Treatment Choices Learning Collaborative. He is also the recipient of multiple awards for teaching and is currently the deputy editor for Kidney International Reports.
His research funding has come from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and the American Society of Transplantation among others.
“I have been fortunate to have several mentors over the years including Dr. Jen-Tse Cheng who sparked my interest in nephrology and taught me what it means to be a nephrologist,” Dr. Mohan said. “I have also been fortunate to learn from people like Jai Radhakrishnan and Bill McClellan, who steered me towards a career in clinical research and taught me many life skills from afar.”
“Science is a team sport and I have been fortunate to have many colleagues and collaborators both at Columbia University and elsewhere that I have learnt from and enjoy working closely with,” Dr. Mohan said.
Dr. Mohan will be presented the award at the President’s Dinner on April 8 in Boston at the NKF’s Spring Clinical Meetings.
NKF Spring Clinical Meetings
For the past 30 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 event will be held in Boston, April 6-10.
About Kidney Disease
In the United States, 37 million adults are estimated to have kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD)—and approximately 90 percent don’t know they have it. 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity,and family history. People of Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Black/African American people are more than 3 times as likely as White people to have kidney failure. Hispanics/Latinos are 1.3 times more likely than non-Hispanics to have kidney failure.
NKF Professional Membership
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.
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is the largest, most comprehensive, and longstanding patient-centric organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease in the U.S. For more information about NKF, visit www.kidney.org.