Texas-Trained Kidney Researcher to Receive 2026 Clinical Research Prize

An internationally recognized clinical researcher whose work has helped transform the treatment of chronic kidney disease will be recognized by the American Heart Association at its annual Scientific Sessions in November. Katherine R. Tuttle, M.D., executive director for research at Providence in Spokane, Washington, will receive the American Heart Association's 2026 Clinical Research Prize at the Association's Scientific Sessions 2026, to be held Nov. 6-9, 2026, in Chicago. Dr. Tuttle will receive the award during the Presidential Session on Sunday, Nov. 8.

Dr. Tuttle's connection to Texas runs deep. She completed a fellowship in nephrology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, creating the multidisciplinary foundation that has defined her career advancing kidney, cardiovascular and metabolic health. That Texas training helped launch more than three decades of pioneering research that has transformed the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome. Her work has advanced therapies that reduce the risks of kidney failure, major adverse cardiovascular events and premature death in people with and without diabetes.

She has played a leading role in studies that established SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists as breakthrough therapies, and her research continues to advance the next generation of treatments for CKD and CKM conditions. She also leads the CURE-CKD Registry, one of the nation's largest real-world databases of patients with chronic kidney disease, diabetes and hypertension, encompassing more than seven million health system patients across Providence and UCLA Health facilities in seven states.

"Dr. Tuttle has fundamentally changed the care of patients living with chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic conditions," said Manesh R. Patel, M.D., FAHA, the American Heart Association's 2026-2027 volunteer president. "Her visionary clinical research has deepened our understanding of the connection between kidney disease and cardiovascular disease."

Most recently, Dr. Tuttle served on the writing committee for the 2026 AHA/ACC/ADA/ASN Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome. She has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed publications and served as principal investigator on numerous NIH-supported research projects and clinical trials, including the landmark AWARD-7, FLOW and REMODEL trials.

"I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from the American Heart Association," said Dr. Tuttle. "Throughout my career, I have focused on collaboration to advance clinical research and improve the lives of people living with cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic diseases."

For Texas, the recognition highlights the state's role in training top biomedical researchers. The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio fellowship that shaped Dr. Tuttle's career is part of a pipeline that produces physician-scientists addressing some of medicine's most costly chronic conditions. With more than seven million patients in the CURE-CKD Registry and therapies now reaching millions worldwide, her work carries direct economic implications for Texas health systems, life sciences employers and patients managing chronic disease.

Additional multimedia is available on the release link, and the original announcement can be viewed on www.newmediawire.com. Dr. Tuttle's scientific achievements include the National Kidney Foundation's Garabed Eknoyan Award in 2017, the American Society of Nephrology's John P. Peters Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023, and election to the Association of American Physicians in 2025.