Medals for Research Excellence
The Kidney Foundation of Canada is committed to supporting excellent renal research in Canada. As part of this commitment, the Foundation established the Medal for Research Excellence in 1996. The medal is presented annually to a Canadian resident who is recognized nationally and internationally for excellence in kidney-related research.
A clinical-investigator, Dr. Susan Quaggin has her practice at St. Michael's Hospital and runs a lab at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Her basic research findings have led to an exponential increase in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie common kidney diseases... 
A graduate of Harvard University, Dr. Paul Rowland Goodyer has been Director, Division of Pediatric Nephrology at the Montreal Children’s Hospital since 1998. His research career spans over 20 years, with a particular interest in molecular genetics, a research field that focuses on genes as determinants of all life processes... 
Dr. Catharine Whiteside, distinguished for the remarkable calibre of her kidney-related research, is Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Whiteside has made significant contributions to the understanding of the functional changes associated with diabetic glomerular disease...
Internationally recognized for his research to improve the quality of hemodialysis delivered to patients with end-stage renal disease, Dr. Lindsay is Professor of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario in London and Executive Director of the London Health Sciences Centre Home Hemodialysis Programme...
Dr. Jevnikar is Director of Transplantation Nephrology at the London Health Sciences Center and Professor of Medicine, Immunology and Microbiology at The University of Western Ontario in London. Dr. Jevnikar’s primary research interest lies in the molecular mechanisms of renal transplant injury – a principal cause of premature graft failure...
Honored for his outstanding contributions to new knowledge and the treatment of one of the most important single causes of end-stage renal disease, Dr. Daniel Cattran is an internationally recognized authority on primary glomerular disease. Dr. Cattran shaped the current consensus on treatment for a range of disorders...
Dr. Harald Sonnenberg joined the Department of Physiology at the University of Toronto in 1967 and remained there until his retirement in 1998. His seminal work in the area of sodium handling by the kidney - one of its most important functions - earned him international renown. Dr. Sonnenberg also played an important role in the clinical teaching of renal physiology...
Dr. Patrick Parfrey, University Research Professor at Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland, is a leading world 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...
A practising nephrologist at St. Michael's Hospital and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Dr. Patrick Marsden is a leading investigator in the area of molecular medicine. Dr. Marsden is renowned for his study of the cellular and molecular regulation of endothelial gene expression as it relates to the renal and cardiovascular system in health and disease...
Director of the division of nephrology and immunology at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Dr. Philip Halloran is renowned for his contributions in immunology and immunotherapy. His most recent studies explore what he believes to be major determinants of the survival of a kidney transplant...
Head of the Division of Nephrology at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Dr. Mitchell L. Halperin has been an active investigator of kidney disease for more than 30 years. His research has found that a diet low in potassium can lead to salt retention which, when combined with high blood pressure, accelerates the progression of kidney disease...
Director of the Clinical Research Unit at l'Hôpital Sacré-Coeur in Montreal and Professor of Medicine at l'Université de Montréal, Dr. Bichet identified the gene that causes nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in newborns and developed a blood test to detect it. Some of the knowledge gained was then applied to a new study on polycystic kidney disease, a more common hereditary condition...
The late Dr. Andrew Lazarovits was Professor of medicine, immunology and microbiology at the University of Western Ontario, Director of renal transplantation at the London Health Sciences Centre, and a scientist at the Robarts Research Institute. Dr. Lazarovits and his research team developed an antibody that can target and disarm immune cells responsible for organ rejection...
Dr. David Levine’s unique expertise in renal physiology and in disorders of electrolyte and water metabolism has advanced international knowledge in these critical areas. Widely published in prestigious scientific journals, he also wrote and edited an important book on care of the renal patient...