Kidney research chair funding to total $7.2M

Calgary, AB -The Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFOC) has created what it says is the largest research chair in the history of the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine and the first chair of its kind in kidney research in Canada.

The chair will be funded through a partnership between the Kidney Foundation of Canada and Reach!, the joint fundraising initiative of the Calgary Health Region and the University of Calgary. To date $3.2 million has been raised for the chair including a leadership gift from longtime kidney health supporters, Roy and Vi Baay of Calgary, with a gift of $1 million. Once matching funds from the government of Alberta are invested the Roy and Vi Baay Chair in Kidney Research will total $7.2 million.

“The Roy and Vi Baay Chair in Kidney Research will be an internationally recognized leader in kidney research and patient care, and will attract additional experts in the field to Calgary,” says Dr Nairne Scott-Douglas, medical director of the Southern Alberta Renal Program for the Calgary Health Region. “The chair will lead the efforts of researchers as they develop improved treatments for kidney disease and ensure these findings are brought to the patients’ bedside, helping patients in southern Alberta and across Canada.”