Saint Louis University Doctor Honored by National Kidney Foundation

04/03/2018

Krista L. Lentine, M.D., Ph.D., has been selected by the National Kidney Foundation as the recipient of the foundation’s Dr. Shaul Massry Distinguished Lecture.

Lentine’s research and advocacy have been crucial to the development of new standards that advance a defensible system of practice for living kidney donation.

“Dr. Lentine’s work significantly improves the evaluation, selection and informed consent of living donors through enhanced tools for tailored risk assessment, and advocacy for transparent risk disclosure and shared decision-making,” said Michael Choi, M.D., president and chair of the NKF Scientific Advisory Board. “Her work shaped a new international guideline as well as U.S. policies for living donor care.”

This lectureship was established to honor Dr. Shaul G. Massry for his scientific achievements and his contributions to the kidney health care community and to the National Kidney Foundation.

The award will be made to Lentine at the NKF 2018 Spring Clinical Meetings, to be held April 11-14 in Austin, Texas, where she will be presenting the Shaul Massry Distinguished Lecture, “Balancing Risk and Autonomy in Living Kidney Donation — A New Framework for Shared Decision Making,” on Wednesday, April 11.

Lentine is a professor of medicine and is the medical director of living kidney donation at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. She is a clinical scientist whose work is grounded in novel integration and application of national registries, administrative claims data, and other electronic health information to address topics in transplant epidemiology, outcomes, economics and policy. 

In addition to her other leadership, Lentine has twice directed the NKF Spring Clinical Meetings transplant physicians’ program and kidney transplant course.

“It is difficult to express how privileged and humbled I feel to receive this award. Shaul Massry is a giant in the field of nephrology and I’m deeply honored to stand in the company of so many esteemed colleagues and past recipients,” said Lentine, who is a SLUCare physician. “I believe the award committee’s choice this year extends beyond my work in itself, to recognize and honor the vital importance of supporting and advancing the care of living organ donors as life-giving heroes.”  

Lentine has served as chair of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/ United Network for Organ Sharing Living Donor Committee, and as co-chair of a Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes work group and is first author of the group’s 2017 guideline publication. She is also a steering committee member of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients Living Donor Collective; a member of the American Society of Nephrology Quality Committee; and a member of the American Society of Transplantation Living Donor Community of Practice Executive Committee. 

Kidney Disease Facts

Thirty million American adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease — and most aren’t aware of it. One in three American adults are at risk for chronic kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and family history. People of African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian or Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. African Americans are three times more likely than whites, and Hispanics are nearly 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanics to develop end stage renal disease (kidney failure).

Saint Louis University School of Medicine

Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first medical degree west of the Mississippi River. The school educates physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health care on a local, national and international level. Research at the school seeks new cures and treatments in five key areas: cancer, liver disease, heart/lung disease, aging and brain disease, and infectious diseases.

SLUCare

Nationally accredited and with more than 500 physicians, SLUCare is the medical practice group of Saint Louis University School of Medicine. The school educates physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health care on a local, national and international level. To schedule an appointment, call 314-977-4440 or 1-866-977-4440. More information is available at www.slucare.com.

The National Kidney Foundation

The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is the largest, most comprehensive and longstanding organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention and treatment of kidney disease. For more information about NKF visit www.kidney.org.