The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) has honoured Dr. Amit Garg by presenting him with the ASN-AHA Young Investigator Award during the society’s annual meeting, ASN Kidney Week 2016, held in November. More than 13,000 kidney health professionals from around the world gathered in Chicago, Illinois for the world’s premier nephrology meeting.
1 in 10 Canadians has kidney disease, and millions more are at risk. Each day, an average of 15 people are told that their kidneys are failing. There is no known cure for kidney disease and it is the 10th leading cause of death in Canada.
The Young Investigator Award is presented annually to an individual 45 years of age or younger with an outstanding record of achievement and creativity in basic or patient-oriented research related to the functions and diseases of the kidney.
Dr. Garg is a Lawson Scientist and Site Director of ICES Western, as well as provincial leader of the ICES kidney, dialysis, and transplantation program. He is a professor of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University, practices general nephrology and is Director of Living Kidney Donation at London Health Sciences Centre.
Active in clinical, health services, and population-health kidney research, he has more than 370 peer-reviewed publications. Some examples of the impact of Dr. Garg’s research include the introduction of new information for living kidney donor candidates as part of the informed consent process; an improved understanding of the long-term outcomes of E. coli O157:H7 poisoning that has been cited in litigation to compensate victims of food or water mishandling; and findings about unsafe drug prescribing causing acute kidney injury that led to label changes by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Garg currently serves as President of the Canadian Society of Nephrology, which he previously served as Secretary-Treasurer. He recently co-chaired the international Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes clinical practice guidelines in living kidney donation committee. He is on the living kidney donor advisory committee of Canadian Blood Services and is the medical lead for the Ontario Renal Network and Trillium Gift of Life Network, working for greater access to kidney transplantation and living kidney donation.
He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Kidney International, and the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. He previously received a National Kidney Foundation distinguished medal for his research contributions to renal medicine, a premier of Ontario research excellence award, and a Clinician Scientist Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Garg currently holds the Dr. Adam Linton Chair in Kidney Health Analytics at Western University.
Congratulations to Dr. Garg!
See the webcast of the ASN/AHA Young Investigator Award and Address by Dr. Garg on “Living Kidney Donor Transplantation: Improving Safety, Access, and Outcomes.”
Dr. Amit Garg
