This year, the ANIO Award in Academic Excellence goes to Dr Ramesh Khanna
Dr. Ramesh Khanna has devoted more than four decades of his academic career to the University of Missouri, integrating patient care, scientific discovery, education, mentorship, and institutional leadership. He joined the faculty in 1983 and served for 27 years as Director of the Division of Nephrology, helping build a program recognized for clinical excellence, academic productivity, and an enduring commitment to patients and trainees.
Dr. Khanna received his medical education and postgraduate training in Internal Medicine (MD) at Seth G. S. Medical College and KEM Hospital, University of Mumbai, India, followed by nephrology training at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. His subsequent academic development was profoundly influenced by Professors Karl D. Nolph and Dimitrios Oreopoulos, whose mentorship helped shape his lifelong commitment to peritoneal dialysis, physiology, scholarship, and education.
Internationally, Dr. Khanna is recognized for contributions to peritoneal dialysis (PD). His work helped define the physiology and clinical application of peritoneal transport and ultrafiltration, and he was a co-developer of the Peritoneal Equilibration Test (PET), introduced in 1987 and subsequently adopted worldwide for bedside assessment of peritoneal membrane function. His contributions have also included PD catheter technology, ultrafiltration physiology, and scholarship that helped advance home dialysis and modern PD practice.
His academic record includes more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, over 75 book chapters, more than 20 edited books, and over 500 national and international presentations. His teaching has reached physicians and trainees in 67 countries. He has also played a longstanding leadership role in the Annual Dialysis Conference, helping sustain an international forum devoted to dialysis education, innovation, and home therapies.
Teaching and mentorship remain central to Dr. Khanna’s career. Over five decades, he has trained more than 160 nephrologists, many of whom have become Division Chiefs, Department Chairs, program directors, educators, and academic leaders in the United States and internationally. His approach emphasizes understanding physiology rather than memorizing facts, captured in his teaching theme, “Thinking Like the Kidney.” Former trainees continue to seek his counsel years after fellowship, reflecting relationships built on scholarship, accessibility, trust, and sustained investment in their professional development.
His contributions have been recognized by institutions and professional organizations in the United States and abroad, including the National Kidney Foundation’s J. Michael Lazarus Distinguished Award and, in 2025, recognition by the KEM Hospital Nephrology Alumni Association as a “Special Teacher in Nephrology.” In 2026, the University of Missouri Alumni Association selected him for the Gold Standard Distinguished Faculty honor.
Dr. Khanna regards his career as a collective journey and credits his teachers and mentors, colleagues, nurses, patients, trainees, and students for the opportunities to learn, contribute, and grow throughout his professional life. He believes academic medicine is a collective endeavor in which knowledge is passed from one generation to the next and strengthened through collaboration, service, and shared commitment to patients. His legacy at Missouri therefore extends beyond publications, programs, and scientific contributions. It resides equally in the patients cared for, the physicians and leaders trained, the colleagues supported, and generations of learners encouraged to think deeply, question thoughtfully, and practice medicine with scientific rigor and humanity.
Please congratulate Dr Khanna in this special award in 2026
Come celebrate with us on Oct 23nd at ASN Kidney Week 2026.
Categories: Announcements, ASN event, award
American Nephrologists of Indian Origin 
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