The David Koch Jr. Foundation has made a $15 million gift to Stanford Medicine to accelerate discoveries in pediatric nephrology. This gift launches the Kidney Health Innovation Program, an initiative led by the Department of Pediatrics and the Maternal and Child Health Research Institute to expand research, enhance clinical care and transform kidney health for children and young adults — with lifelong benefits.
More than 35 million people in the U.S. live with kidney disease, which severely impacts quality of life, potentially leading to kidney failure, dialysis and eventually transplantation. New insights in prevention, early detection and treatment have the potential to improve outcomes for patients everywhere.
“There has never been a more promising time to redefine the future for children with kidney disease,” said Mary Leonard, MD, the Arline and Pete Harman Professor for the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, and the Adalyn Jay Physician-in-Chief at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. “Thanks to this generous gift from the David Koch Jr. Foundation, we’ll be able to mobilize groundbreaking research across the Stanford ecosystem to revolutionize how we understand and treat kidney disease.”
Leonard, a pediatric nephrologist, directs the Maternal and Child Health Research Institute at Stanford Medicine.
Two experts at the forefront of kidney research and patient care will lead the program: Sophia Giang, MD, clinical assistant professor of pediatric nephrology, and Richard Lafayette, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Stanford Glomerular Disease Center.
A key component of the gift will be the establishment of the David Koch Jr. Foundation Kidney Health Innovation Awards, which will provide multiyear catalyst grants to Stanford Medicine faculty members to fuel collaborative research in diverse fields such as immunology and genetics. The Maternal and Child Health Research Institute has an open call for grant applications.
“Kidney disease poses serious challenges for children and their families,” David Koch Jr. said. “We’re excited about the potential to drive novel research that can lead to new treatments and ultimately improve quality of life for young patients.”
Additionally, the program will enable faculty to partner with renowned researchers from around the world. An annual symposium will bring together Stanford Medicine experts and national leaders to share their findings and spark cross-disciplinary teamwork.
Stanford Medicine will also promote further collaborations with NIH-funded nephrology consortia, including the Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network (NEPTUNE), Cure Glomerulonephropathy (CureGN) and PedsNet, expanding researchers’ access to data and biorepositories.
“Philanthropic support of novel research and our world-class faculty is changing the trajectory of kidney disease, particularly for pediatric patients,” said Lloyd Minor, MD, Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Dean of the Stanford School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs at Stanford University. “Countless children and families benefit from the discoveries made here at Stanford, and gifts like this are central to our impact.”
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