Joseph W. Eschbach, M.D. Endowed Chair in Kidney Research

Est. 2008

The Joseph W. Eschbach, M.D. Endowed Chair in Kidney Research was established in 2008 to support the director of the UW Kidney Research Institute — and to pay tribute to UW Medicine alumnus and clinical emeritus faculty member Joseph W. Eschbach, Jr., M.D.

Joseph W. Eschbach, M.D., conducted the first trial of genetically engineered erythropoietin (EPO) to correct anemia in kidney dialysis patients. In the 1970s, Dr. Eschbach and former University of Washington faculty member John Adamson proved they could correct anemia of renal failure in sheep using EPO. Later, the California biotechnology company Amgen discovered the EPO gene, and, in the mid-1980s, Dr. Eschbach conducted successful clinical trials at the Northwest Kidney Centers. Now many patients with renal failure receive EPO treatments instead of multiple blood transfusions — a tremendous benefit to patients and their families.

Dr. Eschbach, an active member of UW Medicine’s faculty from 1970 to 1994, was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine in 1990. In recognition of Dr. Eschbach’s major contributions to kidney research and patients with kidney conditions, Kirin-Amgen, Inc., and Northwest Kidney Centers established an endowed fund to support kidney clinical research faculty in perpetuity at UW Medicine. UW Medicine is proud to partner with them in this effort and extends a special thanks to Northwest Kidney Centers, a long-term contributor to UW Medicine’s work.

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