Vlado Perkovic | |
---|---|
Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
Occupation(s) | -Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales [1] -Renal Physician -Staff Specialist in Nephrology at the Royal North Shore Hospital -George Clinical Board Member [2] -George Clinical Scientific Leader [3] |
Employer(s) | -Royal Melbourne Hospital (2002-2005) -Royal North Shore Hospital (2005-present) -George Institute for Global Health (2007-present) -George Clinical (2009–present) -University of Sydney (2012-2017) [4] -University of New South Wales (2017-present) |
Vlado Perkovic (born March 8) is an Australian renal physician and researcher who is the Provost at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, having previously been Dean of Medicine & Health at that University between 2019 and 2023. [5]
He is also an Honorary Fellow at the George Institute for Global Health Australia [6] [ circular reference ], and a kidney disease researcher leading a number of international clinical trials.
Perkovic moved to Sydney and into professional academia after completing his PhD in 2005. The thesis undertaken at the University of Melbourne was entitled “The Cardiovascular Aspects of Kidney Disease”. [7] Perkovic relocated to Sydney to take on a position as Associate Principal Director at The George Institute for Global Health (2007-2008), and was appointed Conjoint Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney. Perkovic worked in a number of senior research and executive positions at The George Institute, before being appointed Executive Director of The George Institute, Australia in 2012. In 2017 Perkovic was appointed to lead the non-communicable diseases theme as part of the University of New South Wales Medicine's thematic research strategy. [1] In 2019, he was appointed as the Dean of Medicine at University of New South Wales. [1]
From 2009-2014 Perkovic was the executive director of George Clinical, [2] one of The George Institute's commercial enterprises. He was appointed to the board of George Clinical in 2010 and held this position until 2023.
Perkovic regularly appears in the media worldwide [8] [9] [10] as an authority in the fields of kidney disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and clinical trials. His research is widely cited [11] and has been responsible for changing medical guidelines.
Perkovic is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (1999), the American Society of Nephrology, (2008) and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (2016). Some of his previous positions include being President of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI, the peak body for Medical Research Institutes), Chairman of the International Society of Nephrology Advancing Clinical Trials initiative (ISN-ACT 2016-), a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Australian Clinical Trials Alliance, (2016-8), a member of the Executive Operations Secretariat, Australasian Kidney Trials Network (2016-) and Chair of the AKTN Scientific Committee 2013-6. He was previously a member of the Health Translation Advisory Committee (HTAC) of the National Health and Medical Research Council (2015-8)
Perkovic has published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers, [12] and his career has been based on clinical research investigating the prevention and treatment of kidney disease, and its complications. As well as epidemiological research identifying important risk factors, Perkovic has led a broad suite of clinical trials and meta-analyses aiming to identify effective interventions that slow the progression of kidney disease and reduce the risk of developing the many complications of kidney disease. Some of Perkovic's key outputs here have been work on diabetic nephropathy published in a range of journals, [12] and studies of blood pressure lowering, lipid lowering and a range of other interventions for the prevention of kidney failure and cardiovascular outcomes in people with kidney disease. Perkovic's ongoing work includes further systematic reviews, large scale global trials of steroids for the prevention of kidney failure in IgA nephropathy (Co-Principal Investigator), and Steering Committee roles in a number of global, pharma-funded trials studying treatments for the prevention of kidney failure in diabetic nephropathy. This includes a role as Chair of the CREDENCE trial Steering Committee, the first trial to convincingly demonstrate the benefits of the SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin on the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular outcomes in people with diabetes and kidney disease. [13]
Perkovic's research has led to major publications in the New England Journal of Medicine, [14] Lancet, [15] [16] BMJ, [17] Annals of Internal Medicine, [18] PLoS Medicine [19] and a range of specialty journals. He was appointed to the Editorial Board of the New England Journal of Medicine in 2017, the first Australian to receive this honour.
Perkovic was born in Brinje, Croatia and moved to Australia with his family before the age of one. He lived in Melbourne and trained in medicine at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital, receiving his MBBS and Doctor of Philosophy qualifications from The University of Melbourne in 1992 and 2005 respectively. He is married with three sons. Prior to pursuing a career in academia, he worked as a nephrologist and general physician at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, (2002-2005), and was Head of Haemodialysis for the North West Dialysis Service, Royal Melbourne Hospital. From 2005 when he moved to Sydney, until 2023, Perkovic held a part-time appointment as a specialist in nephrology and hypertension at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney.[ citation needed ]
Angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors are a class of medication used primarily for the treatment of high blood pressure and heart failure. This class of medicine works by causing relaxation of blood vessels as well as a decrease in blood volume, which leads to lower blood pressure and decreased oxygen demand from the heart.
Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) are a class of medications that cause a profound and prolonged reduction of stomach acid production. They do so by irreversibly inhibiting the stomach's H+/K+ ATPase proton pump.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a type of long-term kidney disease, in which either there is a gradual loss of kidney function which occurs over a period of months to years, or an abnormal kidney structure. Initially generally no symptoms are seen, but later symptoms may include leg swelling, feeling tired, vomiting, loss of appetite, and confusion. Complications can relate to hormonal dysfunction of the kidneys and include high blood pressure, bone disease, and anemia. Additionally CKD patients have markedly increased cardiovascular complications with increased risks of death and hospitalization. CKD can lead to kidney failure requiring kidney dialysis or kidney transplantation.
Diabetic nephropathy, also known as diabetic kidney disease, is the chronic loss of kidney function occurring in those with diabetes mellitus. Diabetic nephropathy is the leading causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) globally. The triad of protein leaking into the urine, rising blood pressure with hypertension and then falling renal function is common to many forms of CKD. Protein loss in the urine due to damage of the glomeruli may become massive, and cause a low serum albumin with resulting generalized body swelling (edema) so called nephrotic syndrome. Likewise, the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) may progressively fall from a normal of over 90 ml/min/1.73m2 to less than 15, at which point the patient is said to have end-stage renal disease. It usually is slowly progressive over years.
Hypertensive kidney disease is a medical condition referring to damage to the kidney due to chronic high blood pressure. It manifests as hypertensive nephrosclerosis. It should be distinguished from renovascular hypertension, which is a form of secondary hypertension, and thus has opposite direction of causation.
Sevelamer (rINN) is a phosphate binding medication used to treat hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease. When taken with meals, it binds to dietary phosphate and prevents its absorption. Sevelamer was invented and developed by GelTex Pharmaceuticals. Sevelamer is marketed by Sanofi under the brand names Renagel and Renvela.
The George Institute for Global Health, is an independent medical research institute headquartered in Australia with offices in China, India and the United Kingdom. The George Institute conducts research on non-communicable disease, including heart and kidney disease, stroke, diabetes, and injury. The institute is known for conducting large-scale clinical studies. Between 1999 and 2017, the George has consumed over A$750 million in research grant and fundraising.
Perindopril is a medication used to treat high blood pressure, heart failure, or stable coronary artery disease. As a long-acting ACE inhibitor, it works by relaxing blood vessels and decreasing blood volume. As a prodrug, perindopril is hydrolyzed in the liver to its active metabolite, perindoprilat. It was patented in 1980 and approved for medical use in 1988.
Atrasentan is an experimental drug that is being studied for the treatment of various types of cancer, including non-small cell lung cancer. It is also being investigated as a therapy for diabetic kidney disease.
Canagliflozin, sold under the brand name Invokana among others, is a medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. It is used together with exercise and diet. It is not recommended in type 1 diabetes. It is taken by mouth.
Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh is a US American physician doing research in nephrology, kidney dialysis, nutrition, and epidemiology. He is best known as a specialist in kidney disease nutrition and chronic kidney disease and for his hypothesis about the longevity of individuals with chronic disease states, also known as reverse epidemiology including obesity paradox. According to this hypothesis, obesity or hypercholesterolemia may counterintuitively be protective and associated with greater survival in certain groups of people, such as elderly individuals, dialysis patients, or those with chronic disease states and wasting syndrome (cachexia), whereas normal to low body mass index or normal values of serum cholesterol may be detrimental and associated with worse mortality. Kalantar-Zadeh is also known for his expertise in kidney dialysis therapy, including incremental dialysis, as well as renal nutrition. He is the brother of Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh, who is an Australian scientist involved in research in the fields of materials sciences, nanotechnology, and transducers.
Stephen William MacMahon is a British-Australian academic medical researcher, healthcare entrepreneur and founder of The George Institute for Global Health. He holds professorial academic appointments in medicine at UNSW Sydney and Imperial College London.
Sharon A. Anderson is an American physician, educator, and researcher practicing in Portland, Oregon. She has contributed extensively to the study of the progression of chronic kidney disease. Her research has focused on diabetic nephropathy, polycystic kidney disease and the pathophysiology of the aging kidney. She was the first woman to serve as President of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN). She was the Chief of the Department of Medicine at the Veteran's Affairs Medical Center in Portland and is currently the Chair of the Department of Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). She has been appointed to the National Institutes of Health Council of Councils. Her publications as author or co-author number greater than 150.
David Wayne Johnson is an Australian nephrologist known for kidney treatments and transplants in Australia. In 2009 he was a Queensland State Finalist for Australian of the Year, for his work in the early recognition and care of people with chronic kidney disease and specifically for his work in detection of chronic kidney disease.
Thomas Martin Barratt was a British paediatrician and professor of paediatric nephrology. Barratt was most notable for developing a specialist service for children with kidney diseases in Britain, bringing peritoneal dialysis, haemodialysis, and later renal transplantation to ever younger children. Barratt was an early advocate for multidisciplinary care and developed a model that was later taken up by many other specialist centres across the world. His research led to a new treatments for many types of childhood kidney diseases., and for research into childhood Nephrotic syndrome and Hemolytic-uremic syndrome.
Andrew S. Levey is an American nephrologist who transformed chronic kidney disease (CKD) clinical practice, research, and public health by developing equations to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and leading the global standardization of CKD definition and staging.
Josef Coresh is an American epidemiologist. He is the Terry and Mel Karmazin Professor of Population Health, a Professor in the Department of Medicine, and the Founding Director of the Optimal Aging Institute at NYU Langone Health. He was previously the inaugural George W. Comstock Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, and the director of both the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Training Program and the George W. Comstock Center for Public Health Research and Prevention at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Roxana Mehran is an Iranian-American cardiologist and Mount Sinai Endowed Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is known for her work in interventional cardiology.
Peter Stenvinkel is a Swedish nephrologist and academic. He is a senior lecturer at Karolinska University Hospital and a professor of nephrology at Karolinska Institutet.
Carol Pollock is an Australian medical researcher specialising in kidney health and disease. She is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney, Northern Clinical School, Kolling Institute of Medical Research. Her research interests also include obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, healthy ageing and lifespan, employing animal models and cellular and molecular techniques. She is the Chair of Kidney Health Australia and was the Chair of Medicine Royal North Shore Hospital in 2011 to 2016.