Precious McCowan, PhD, MS
National Kidney Disease Patient Advocate, Educator, and Mentor
This award was established in honor of Celeste Castillo Lee, a longtime advocate for patient-centered care and empowerment. It is the highest honor given by the National Kidney Foundation to a distinguished kidney patient who exemplifies NKF’s mission and Celeste’s legacy of putting patients at the center of all aspects of healthcare through their involvement with NKF and community partners.
Precious McCowan, PhD, MS, is a nationally recognized kidney disease patient advocate, educator, and mentor, and leader whose advocacy is informed by lived experience. Diagnosed with kidney disease in 2010 after living with Type 1 diabetes since age nine, she has received three kidney transplants and one pancreas transplant, experienced transplant failure, and spent nine years on in-center hemodialysis. Her journey drives her commitment to advancing patient education, precision health care, kidney disease research, and access to therapies and transplantation.
Precious serves in national leadership and advisory roles, including as a patient representative with the HRSA Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and former member of the OPTN Kidney Transplantation Committee, where she contributed to policies supporting race-neutral eGFR calculations and waiting-time modifications for Black kidney candidates affected by prior race-inclusive eGFR calculations. She serves on the ASN’s Kidney Health Initiative Patient and Family Partnership Council, the Alliant Health Board of Directors, and as Co-Chair of the National Kidney Foundation’s Public Policy Committee and Battelle Partnership for Quality Measurement’s Advanced Illness and Post-Acute Care Recommendation Group.
Precious has co-authored publications on patient partnership in kidney disease research and mental health and partners with industry to ensure patient perspectives inform innovative therapies and drug development.
