Kaplan Award
Lillian Jean Kaplan International Prize for Advancement in the Understanding of Polycystic Kidney Disease
The Lillian Jean Kaplan International Prize for Advancement recognizes an individual(s) whose seminal scientific work constitutes tangible achievement toward improving knowledge and treatment of PKD. More than one prize may be awarded, and it may be awarded to residents of any country without restriction.
Award-winners 2022

Alessandra Boletta, Ph.D.
Head of Research Unit, San Raffaele Scientific Institute
Dr. Boletta graduated in Biology from the University of Pavia, Italy. She carried out her doctorate-equivalent training at the Mario Negri Institute in Bergamo, Italy, working on gene delivery to the kidney. She went to Johns Hopkins University, USA, for her postdoctoral training. Here, she began her scientific activity on Polycystic Kidney Disease, working on heterologous expression of Polycystin-1 aimed at establishing cellular models to investigate the Polycystins function.
With support from a Telethon Career Program and a Marie Curie Excellence Award, Dr. Boletta moved back to Italy to establish her lab at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan. Here, she took on the position of Director for the Division of Genetics and Cell Biology (2014-2019), and she is currently Head of the Research Unit. Over the years, her lab has developed several cellular and animal models to study Polycystins function and the pathophysiology of ADPKD. Her laboratory has identified metabolic reprogramming as an important feature of the disease, offering several new options for therapy as well as novel insights into the pathogenesis of ADPKD. Dr. Boletta currently serves on the PKD Foundation Scientific Advisory Committee.

Albert Chee Meng Ong, B.M.B.Ch., M.A., D.M., F.R.C.P.
Professor of Renal Medicine, Head of Academic Nephrology, and Deputy Director for Clinical Academic Training at the University of Sheffield
Dr. Albert Ong is Professor of Renal Medicine at the University of Sheffield and a consultant nephrologist at the Sheffield Kidney Institute, UK. Born in Malaysia, he graduated from the University of Oxford with degrees in physiological sciences, clinical medicine and a doctorate in renal cell biology. Following a lectureship at University College London (UCL), he was awarded a Kidney Research UK Senior Research Fellowship in genetics at Oxford (Harris lab, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine), where he began working on the genetics and cell biology of ADPKD. After joining the University of Sheffield, he established a new research program in ADPKD, supported initially by a Wellcome Trust Research Leave Award.
The major aim of his laboratory over the past 20 years has been to investigate the molecular basis of cyst formation, in particular, the functions of the ADPKD proteins, polycystin-1, and polycystin-2, in cyst initiation. The focus of clinical and translational research has been to identify genetic and non-genetic factors influencing variability in disease expression, test novel treatments and introduce innovations to improve patient care. His international leadership roles have included OVERTURE, STAGED-PKD, SONG-PKD, KDIGO-PKD, EAF and CYSTIC. He currently serves as a member of the ERA Council and the ISN Fellowship Committee.
Nominations for 2023
Nominations for the 2023 award are due August 27, 2022.
Award presentation to be held at: ISN WCN 2023, March 30- April 02 in Beijing, China
Nomination requirements:
- Your details: complete name, ISN membership number, and contact information
- Nominee details: complete name (as listed in publications) and contact information
- Support statement: a description of how and why the nominee’s work represents a major advance in basic or clinical understanding of PKD, distinguishing those aspects which clearly set it apart from the work of others in the field, and a summary of the nominee’s contributions
- Full curriculum vitae and bibliography of the nominee
- Letters of support: at least two
All nominations and supporting materials are to be sent via email to Jo-Ann Donner at jdonner@theisn.org.
Winners are selected by the Lillian Jean Kaplan Prize Advisory Committee: Committee Chair Dr. Nathan Levin, two committee members selected by the PKD Foundation, and two ISN members.
Past award recipients
2021

Kyongtae (Ty) Bae, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
2020

Arlene Chapman, M.D.
University of Chicago
Chicago
2019

York Pei, M.D.
University of Toronto
Canada

Bradley Yoder, Ph.D.
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Ala.
2017

Ronald D. Perrone, M.D.
Tufts Medical Center
Boston

David R. Beier, M.D., Ph.D.
Seattle Children’s Research
Seattle
2015

Peter Igarashi, M.D.
University of Minnesota Medical School
Minneapolis

Gregory J. Pazour, Ph.D.
University of Massachussetts Medical School
Worcester, Mass.
2013

Vincent Gattone, Ph.D.
Indiana University School of Medicine
Indianapolis

Dorien Peters, Ph.D.
Leiden University Medical Center
Leiden, Netherlands
2011

Gerd Walz, M.D.
Freiburg Medical Center
Germany

James Calvet, Ph.D.
University of Kansas Medical Center
Kansas City, Kan.
2009

Lisa Guay-Woodford, M.D.
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Ala.

Corinne Antignac, M.D., Ph.D.
Necker Hospital
Paris

Friedhelm Hildebrandt, M.D.
Harvard Medical School
Boston
2007

Jing Zhou, M.D., Ph.D.
Harvard Medical Center
Boston

Vicente Torres, M.D.
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minn.
2005

Greg Germino, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore

Stefan Somlo, M.D.
Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, Conn.
2003

Jared J. Grantham, M.D.
University of Kansas Medical Center
Kansas City, Kan.

Peter Harris, Ph.D.
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minn.
Page last edited February 2022