Dr. Eric G. Neilson, Hugh Jackson Morgan Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine, recently presented the first Barry M. Brenner Lecture at the World Congress of Nephrology in San Francisco, Calif.
Speaking to the World Congress, Neilson addressed the origin of fibroblasts producing the fibrosis that follows interstitial nephritis as the final common pathway to end-stage renal disease. Fibrogenesis has been a major focus of Neilson’s research at Vanderbilt.
Using new markers for fibroblasts, Neilson’s laboratory has determined that fibroblasts derive from the local epithelium found in major organs like the kidney.
Neilson was awarded the honor by the American Society of Nephrology. Brenner has been America’s leading neprologist in the last quarter of the 20th century.
“It is a terrific privilege to be selected by the Society to give the inaugural Brenner lecture,” Neilson said. “Barry is a friend and has been a strong influence on my research career. I was particularly pleased that the American Society of Nephrology chose to establish this award while he still enjoys an active retirement.”
Neilson is a past winner of the President’s Medal from the American Society of Nephrology as well as its Young Investigator Award. He is a member of numerous professional and scientific organizations, including the International Society of Nephrology, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Clinical and Climatological Association.
He has published more than 200 articles appearing in a wide array of medical journals, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the American Journal of Medicine, and the Annals of Internal Medicine, and is an associate editor of Kidney International.