Dr. Rita Suri Awarded the 2025 CSN-Otsuka Vicky Karoutas Memorial Award
Dr. Rita Suri Awarded the 2025 CSN-Otsuka Vicky Karoutas Memorial Award
The physical and emotional toll of dialysis can make staying active feel impossible. Luckily, the team of Dr. Rita Suri and Dr. Mona Ben M’rad are working to change this with a patient‑centred, virtual reality-based exercise program.
It is this patient-focused innovation that makes The Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFOC), the Canadian Society of Nephrology (CSN), and Otsuka Canada pleased to announce Dr. Rita Suri and Dr. Mona Ben M’rad as the recipients of the 2025 CSN-Otsuka Vicky Karoutas Memorial Award.
Presented annually, the CSN‑Otsuka Vicky Karoutas Memorial Award recognizes exceptional kidney health research that focuses on patients and patient-centred outcomes in honour of Vicky Karoutas.
Dr. Suri is a clinician-scientist at McGill University specializing in hemodialysis research. Rooted in a commitment to improve patient health, wellbeing, and quality of life, her work focuses on behaviour-based interventions for people undergoing hemodialysis.
The project supported by this award, entitled Virtual Reality Use for Exercise in Hemodialysis (VIRTUE-HD), aims to make physical activity more accessible and engaging for hemodialysis patients. By developing an immersive virtual reality-based exercise program with patient partners, Dr. Suri’s team hopes to overcome common barriers like fatigue, motivation, and lack of access to specialized exercise programs that require intense supervision.
Mona Ben M’rad, a clinical nephrologist pursuing her PhD under Dr. Suri’s supervision, will be leading much of this exciting research. Insights from this work may help integrate enjoyable, light intensity physical activity into routine dialysis care, empowering patients to stay active and improving health outcomes over time.
Through patient‑centred research that addresses real-world challenges, Dr. Suri’s work exemplifies the spirit of the CSN‑Otsuka Vicky Karoutas Memorial Award, keeping the needs, experiences, and outcomes of patients remain at the forefront of future advances.
You can read more about the project here: Research Award - Virtual Reality Use for Exercise in Hemodialysis (VIRTUE-HD)
“Dr. Suri’s research program highlights the importance of prioritizing the patient experience. This work is an exciting new take on using modern technology to help battle health challenges that are often marked as priorities by patients. Results from this work could meaningfully change the patient journey through dialysis.” – Leanne Stalker, Director of Research at The Kidney Foundation of Canada
“By exploring new approaches to improving wellbeing during hemodialysis, Dr. Suri’s research is making a meaningful contribution to the field of nephrology. It exemplifies the kind of patient‑oriented, innovative research that is needed to advance kidney care.” – Dr. Tomoko Takano, President of the Canadian Society of Nephrology.
“At Otsuka Canada, we are deeply committed to advancing patient-centered research, and we are proud to see Dr. Rita Suri recognized with the CSN-Otsuka Vicky Karoutas memorial award for her very innovative work. Patient-centred research has real impact in the lives of people affected by kidney disease and this recognition highlights the importance of kidney research and reaffirms our dedication to supporting initiatives that put patients at the heart of scientific innovation. This memorial award is to continue Vickey Karoutas' legacy of fighting against chronic kidney disease and reducing the burden of kidney disease on Canadian patients and the system” – Michael Laranjo, President & General Manager, Otsuka Canada Pharmaceutical.
About the CSN-Otsuka Vicky Karoutas Memorial Award
The Kidney Foundation of Canada in partnership with the Canadian Society of Nephrology and Otsuka Canada, established the Vicky Karoutas Memorial Award in 2022. This award commemorates the legacy of Vicky Karoutas, a leader within the Nephrology community in Canada who sought to provide hope and improve the lives of patients with kidney disease. In her honour, this award is granted annually to an applicant of The Kidney Foundation of Canada’s Kidney Health Research Grant that demonstrates exceptional patient-centered research.