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Dr. Patrick Parfrey

2002 Medal for Research Excellence
Canadian Prevention of Renal and Cardiovascular Endpoints
Described by peers as "phenomenally productive", Dr. Parfrey has been investigating the causes, risk factors and treatment of kidney disease for more than two decades.

Dr. Parfrey's early research was in the area of renal transplantation. His discovery of the adverse effect of certain anti-rejection treatments on patients with hepatitis B who had received a transplant has had direct clinical implications.

Acknowledged as a leading global expert on the subject of cardiac disease in dialysis patients, Dr. Parfrey has been instrumental in focusing the attention of the research community on discovering ways to prevent it and, ultimately, improve patient outcomes. For more than 20 years, he has been involved in studies that have identified reversible risk factors for heart disease - a major killer among those whose kidneys have failed.
Dr. Parfrey's recognition of the potential benefit of multidisciplinary research has given rise to important collaborative studies. His latest project, CANPREVENT (Canadian Prevention of Renal and Cardiovascular Endpoints), involves specialists from across the country who will identify and treat individuals with early stage chronic kidney disease using multiple risk factor intervention. This unique collaboration is part of a $6.9 million joint chronic disease research initiative funded by the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, The Kidney Foundation of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institutes of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, Circulatory and Respiratory Health, and Gender and Health.

Today, Dr. Parfrey is Director of the Patient Research Centre at the Health Care Corporation in St. John's. Widely published in such reviews as the New England Journal of Medicine, and a popular speaker at national and international conferences, he continues to shape the thinking on many issues in clinical nephrology. President of the Canadian Society of Nephrology, his most recent awards include the Medical Research Council (now the Canadian Institutes of Health Research) Regional Partnership Distinguished Scientist Award in 2000.