Washington, DC (April 18, 2019) – The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) announced today that John R. Sedor, MD, FASN, has been appointed Chair of the Kidney Innovation Accelerator (KidneyX) Steering Committee. KidneyX is a public-private partnership between ASN and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Dr. Sedor will lead the KidneyX Steering Committee to drive innovation and investment in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of kidney diseases.
"Dr. Sedor's vision helped to make the KidneyX partnership between ASN and HHS a reality,” said Ed Simcox, Chief Technology Officer for HHS. “I'm excited for the passion and expertise he will bring in the role of chair,"
“Kidney diseases remain in the shadows but are common, debilitating, and burdensome on patients, their families, and the economy,” said Dr. Sedor. “Unless and until we drive investment and innovation and open the pathways to commercialization for new technologies and therapies, we will live with the status quo. We can no longer wait. KidneyX is the spark to catalyze change.”
More than 850 million people worldwide have kidney diseases, more than 40 million Americans have kidney diseases, and nearly 720,000 people in the United States have kidney failure. Kidney failure is incurable, which means a kidney transplant or dialysis are the only viable treatment options.
Dr. Sedor’s term as Chair of KidneyX begins on April 19, 2019 and runs through December 31, 2021. Dr. Sedor is the Ray W. Gifford, M.D., Endowed Chair in Kidney Research at the Glickman Urology & Kidney Institute at Cleveland Clinic, a Professor of Molecular Medicine at Lerner College of Medicine, and a member of the Kidney Disease Research Center and the Departments of Medicine and Physiology and Biophysics at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Sedor is board certified in internal medicine and nephrology.
Since 1966, ASN has been leading the fight to prevent, treat, and cure kidney diseases throughout the world by educating health professionals and scientists, advancing research and innovation, communicating new knowledge, and advocating for the highest quality care for patients. ASN has more than 20,000 members representing 131 countries. For more information, please visit www.asn-online.org or contact the society at 202-640-4660.
###
RSS