Press Release
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Polycystic Kidney Disease Research
Receives Boost with $100,000 (US) Prize
Kaplan Prize honors top PKD doctors and looks to stimulate new research
Kansas City, Missouri/Brussels, Belgium (23 March 2005)
? Acknowledging their tireless efforts to find a treatment and cure for PKD, the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the PKD Foundation proudly announce the winners of the 2005
Lillian Jean Kaplan International Prize for Advancement in the Understanding of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)
. Dr. Greg Germino of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, USA and Dr. Stefan Somlo of Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, USA will both receive $50,000 (US). The prize, one of the most significant in the medical research field, will be presented on June 27 during ISN?s World Congress of Nephrology in Singapore, June 26-30, 2005.
The Lillian Jean Kaplan International Prize
was established through the generosity of the family of Thomas and Dafna Kaplan, in honor of Mr. Kaplan’s late mother Lillian Jean Kaplan who died of the disease. It is part of a broad and integrated approach to address the needs of kidney patients generally, and PKD sufferers specifically, from around the world. The prize, which is awarded every other year, was created to stimulate interest in advancing PKD research leading to new treatments and a cure for PKD.
PKD is more common than cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, muscular dystrophy, Down?s syndrome, and Huntington?s disease
combined
, making it the world?s most common life-threatening genetic disease. It affects 12.5 million men, women, and children worldwide and is equally predominant in both developed and developing countries.
PKD causes cysts to form on both kidneys limiting their ability to filter toxins from the blood. Dialysis and transplantation are the only treatments for kidney failure. There is no treatment or cure for PKD. Each child of a parent who has PKD will have a 50 percent chance of inheriting the disease.
Dr. Gregory Germino was selected for his fundamentally original contributions to the study of PKD, particularly his work in determining the genomic sequence of PKDK1, its protein product ? polycystin1, and the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of this gene in the development of the disease.
Dr. Stefan Somlo was selected for his leading role in unraveling the pathogenesis of polycystic kidney disease in particular the identification and characterization of the second gene for adult polycystic kidney disease (PKD2) and its protein, polycystin2.
“Dr. Germino and Dr. Somlo are excellent selections to receive this prestigious award,? said Dan Larson, PKD Foundation President and CEO. “Both play a leading role in unraveling the mysteries of polycystic kidney disease and conduct their research with integrity, professionalism, and a true desire to end PKD.?
The prize winners were selected by an international panel of experts – Pierre Ronco (Paris, France), John Dirks (Toronto, Canada), Jared J. Grantham, (Kansas City, KS, USA) and Lisa M. Guay-Woodford (Birmingham, AL, USA) – representing the PKD Foundation and the International Society of Nephrology, under the chairmanship of Nathan Levin (New York, NY, USA).
“It is essential that we advance global research into fatal diseases such as PKD and continually improve patient care,” said Prof. Jan J. Weening, President of the International Society of Nephrology and Head of the Department of Pathology at the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. “The Prize allows us to honor two remarkable scientists for their outstanding contributions and further encourage others to strive towards finding a cure.”
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For further information, please contact:
PKD Foundation
International Society of Nephrology
Dave Switzer Nikki Walker
(800) PKD-CURE +32-2- 743 1546
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Notes to editors:
Further information about polycystic kidney disease and the PKD Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to funding PKD research, is available at
or (800) PKD-CURE. ISN, a not-for-profit professional society, is committed to the worldwide advancement of education, science and patient care in kidney disease. Further information is available at
or by calling +32-2-743 1546. Further information about the 2005 ISN World Congress of Nephrology is available at
and for press registration please contact:
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