The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has announced the recipients of two of its most prestigious awards in the field of nephrology, with Bernard Jaar, a practising nephrologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA, and Cheyenne Fasce, a paediatric haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis nurse and nurse trainer DCI at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, USA, set to receive the Garabed Eknoyan Award and Carol Mattix Award, respectively.
Each year, the 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 NKF to enhance the lives of patients through action, education, and accelerating change—according to a press release from the organisation.
Prestigious awards are then presented to the recipients during the annual gathering of clinicians and kidney health professionals at the NKF Spring Clinical Meetings, which will be held on 6–10 April in Boston, USA this year.
As per the release, the Garabed Eknoyan Award was created to recognise an individual who has promoted the mission of the NKF in making lives better for people with kidney disease through exceptional contributions to key initiatives of NKF, such as the Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI) or clinical research in the field of kidney disease.
“It is an extraordinary privilege to be recognised with this award in honour of Dr Eknoyan, a giant in the field of nephrology,” Jaar said. “I am very thankful to the NKF for this recognition. I would like to dedicate this award to my mentors—people who have helped shape my career and opened doors to new opportunities. But I also want to thank my colleagues at the Nephrology Center of Maryland who have enthusiastically supported my academic ‘escapades’ over the years. Finally, and most importantly, I thank my spouse Dora for her unwavering support and without whom I would not be here today.”
According to the NKF, the Council of Nephrology Nurses and Technicians created an honour in the name of Carol Mattix, a home dialysis training nurse of the last century who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of kidney patients. Its 2022 recipient, Fasce, will receive this award for her unwavering advocacy on behalf of her patients as she consistently seeks ways to improve their lives while also spreading awareness about paediatric kidney disease.
“I am passionate about kidney health and kidney disease simply because I have seen how devastating its effects can be on patients and their families,” Fasce said. “Paediatrics have a special place in my heart because I am a mother and imagining how difficult it must be to have a child with a life-altering, incurable illness drives me to do all that I can to help. This award is also very meaningful to me because it will bring awareness to the special population that I serve, which is paediatric end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. There is little awareness in the general public and in healthcare that children can suffer from this condition, or that it may occur suddenly and without much warning.”
A comprehensive list of the awards set to be presented at the NKF Spring Clinical Meetings can be seen here.
