Gibbs Memorial Awardee Gerhard H. Giebisch, M.D., with Academy President Jeremiah A. Barondess, M.D.

NEW YORK CITY, Oct. 22--Gerhard H. Giebisch, M.D., one of the world’s leading experts in kidney research, was presented this week with the Academy’s 2004 Edward N. Gibbs Memorial Award in Nephrology for his exceptional contributions to understanding potassium transport in kidney cells.

Giebisch was chosen by a six-person selection committee for his “exemplary scientific career” and for mentoring so many leaders in the field, said committee chairman Frederick Kaskel, M.D., Ph.D., of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. “I’m certainly very honored to have been selected,” Giebisch told the approximately 70 scientists and clinicians in attendance at the Oct. 20 event at the Academy.

Prior to the award ceremony, Giebisch gave a lecture in which he explained that the kidney faces a great challenge in keeping the body’s potassium levels at a proper balance inside and outside of the cells. This balance is critical to avoid disrupting many of the body’s systems, he said, including proper metabolism, pH, hormonal levels and cell growth.

Most potassium (98 percent) is found inside of cells, and that high level needs to be maintained. A cellular pump system helps to preserve in-cell levels by constantly pumping sodium out. Since some sodium leaks back into the cell, this is a continuous job, said Giebisch, who is the Sterling Professor Emeritus of Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Yale University School of Medicine. The kidney meanwhile excretes potassium that is outside of the cells to keep “extracellular” fluid from becoming too potassium-rich and causing potential harm to the body.

The interplay of the pump activity and the cells’ “potassium channels” play critical roles in regulating and transporting potassium, Giebisch said. As kidney cells actively take up potassium, the channels are more or less active depending upon the quantity of potassium in the body. It is a finely tuned system, Giebisch said. When a person lowers his potassium intake, the kidney purges less potassium, because the number of potassium channels in the kidney drops. Conversely, if a person raises his potassium intake – for example, by eating a diet comprised predominantly of bananas – more potassium channels are created and more potassium is removed, he said.

Research into potassium transport is constantly advancing, Giebisch said, with new factors identified each month that shed yet more light on the complexities of this element’s regulation in the body. “It’s a complex system, and there’s still considerable work to be done,” Giebisch told the crowd. “But we have a good idea now of regulation at the cellular and molecular levels.” The Edward N. Gibbs Memorial Lectureship and Award in Nephrology was established in 1901 by the widow of Mr. Gibbs, a patient of Dr. Edward Janeway, to honor a practicing U.S. physician in research and treatment of kidney diseases. The next recipient will be named in 2006. Each recipient receives a medal and a $7,500 award.

Posted on 10/22/2004

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