Tampa, Fla., March 26, 2009 – The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) held its 14th Annual Medal of Excellence Award Reception – honoring a renal physician – Sunday, March 22, 2009, at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, MD. AAKP honored Robert W. Schrier, MD, for his extraordinary service to the kidney community during a special reception in front of his family and peers. The award reception was held in conjunction with the Renal Physicians Association’s (RPA) Annual Meeting.

“AAKP is proud to acknowledge a man who has served the kidney community for more than four decades,” stated AAKP President Roberta Wager, RN, MSN. “The work of Dr. Schrier has proven to be vital to the physical, emotional and social impact of kidney patients and their families across the United States.”

Dr. Schrier is Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. His vast contributions to the renal community include patient-oriented research in acute kidney injury; autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease; hypertension and diabetic nephropathy; renal sodium and water retention in heart failure and cirrhosis. He has published more than 900 scientific articles in these areas of clinical research. This important research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health for more than 35 years.

AAKP would like to thank its 2009 Medal of Excellence Award sponsors: Amgen, Inc. (Platinum Sponsor); Abbott Renal Care (Gold Sponsor); AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Silver Sponsor); American Society of Nephrology (Bronze Sponsor); Astellas Pharma, US (Bronze Sponsor); Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (Patron Sponsor); Renal Physicians Association (Patron Sponsor); Watson Nephrology (Silver Sponsor). For more information about the AAKP Medal of Excellence Award, call (800) 749-AAKP or visit the AAKP Web site, www.aakp.org.

Past award recipients include: Todd S. Ing, MD, of the Dept. of Medicine at the Veterans Affairs Hospital (2008); Robert S. Fennell, III, MD, of the University of Florida (2007); H. Keith Johnson, MD, of Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (2006); John H. Sadler, MD, of Independent Dialysis Foundation (2005); Morrell M. Avram, MD, of Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y. (2004); Belding H. Scribner, MD, of University of Washington School of Medicine & Willem J. Kolff, MD, of University of Utah School of Medicine (2003); George E. Schreiner, MD, of Georgetown University (2002); Garabed Eknoyan, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston & Nathan Levin, MD, of Renal Research Institute, New York (2001); Christopher Blagg, MD, of the Northwest Kidney Center (2000); John Bower, MD, of University of Mississippi Medical Center & Renal Physicians Association (1999); A. Peter Lundin, MD, of State University of New York, Health Science Center at Brooklyn (1998); Clive O. Callender, MD, of Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C. (1997); and Eli A. Friedman, MD, of State University of New York, Health Science Center, Brooklyn (1996).

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AAKP is the voluntary, patient organization, which for 40 years, has been dedicated to improving the lives of fellow kidney patients and their families by helping them deal with the physical, emotional and social impact of kidney disease. The programs offered by AAKP inform and inspire patients and their families to better understand their condition, adjust more readily to their circumstances, and assume more normal, productive lives in their communities.