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Emeritus Professor Colin Baigent wins prestigious European Renal Association award

Emeritus Professor Colin Baigent

Colin Baigent, Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology at Oxford Population Health, received the European Renal Association’s 2025 Award for Outstanding Clinical Contributions to Nephrology during a ceremony in Vienna on Wednesday 4 June.

Colin Baigent received the award for his scientific contribution and commitment towards nephrology. Since joining Oxford Population Health’s Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Research Unit in 1991, Colin Baigent has founded major clinical trials, as part of the Renal Studies Group, that have improved our understanding of the causes and treatment of kidney disease.

The first of these trials, the Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP), recruited over 9,000 patients from 18 countries, and showed that lowering LDL cholesterol in patients with chronic kidney disease reduced the risk of atherosclerotic disease. A post-trial follow-up is currently underway to assess the longer-term effects.

More recently, the EMPA-KIDNEY trial studied 6,609 patients with progressive chronic kidney disease and showed that empagliflozin reduces the risk of progression of renal disease and cardiovascular death in a wide range of patients. Empagliflozin is now recommended for most adults with chronic kidney disease worldwide.

Colin Baigent currently co-chairs the EASi-KIDNEYTM trial. The new trial is assessing whether a new drug, called vicadrostat or BI 690517, reduces the risk of kidney disease progression, hospitalisation for heart failure or death from cardiovascular disease in people with chronic kidney disease when it is added to standard care including empagliflozin. The trial aims to recruit 11,000 people with chronic kidney disease, with or without type 2 diabetes.

Colin Baigent was appointed Professor of Epidemiology in 2006, and since 2023 has been Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology. He became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2019.

Colin Baigent received the award alongside other awardees during the Welcome Ceremony of the 62nd European Renal Association Congress in Vienna on Wednesday 4 June.

On receiving the award, Colin Baigent said ‘Through our large-scale randomised trials in patients with chronic kidney disease, the Renal Studies Group has helped advance our understanding of cardiovascular disease and the key factors driving the progressive loss of kidney function. I am delighted to have received this award and would like to thank the patients, trial teams and funders who have made this research possible.’