Michael J. Caplan
Lillian Jean Kaplan Prize for PKD
The Lillian Jean Kaplan International Prize for Advancement in the Understanding of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) recognizes individuals for excellence and leadership in PKD clinical or basic research whose seminal scientific work has advanced PKD knowledge and treatment.
Professor Michael Caplan is C.N.H. Long Professor and Chair of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Professor of Cell Biology at Yale University School of Medicine.
Professor Caplan earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard in 1980, and his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale in 1987, working in the laboratories of James D. Jamieson and George Palade. He joined Yale’s Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology as a faculty member in 1988. He received a fellowship from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, a National Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation, and the Young Investigator Awards from the American Physiological Society and the American Society of Nephrologists. He has delivered the American Physiological Society’s Carl W. Gottschalk Distinguished Lectureship and was elected to membership in the American Association of Physicians. He was humbled to receive Yale Medical School’s Bohmfalk Prize for teaching and to be selected as the first recipient of Yale University’s Award for Postdoctoral Mentorship.
Professor Caplan’s laboratory studies Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease, a prevalent and serious genetic disorder and a major cause of kidney failure. The Caplan laboratory is working to understand the mechanisms responsible for this condition and to identify targets for new therapies.
Commenting on his award he says, “I am thrilled, honored and deeply humbled. I am also extremely grateful to the wonderful co-workers in my own laboratory and to collaborators around the world for their tremendous help and support.”
Professor Caplan will receive his award and deliver a scientific talk in the WCN ‘Kaplan PKD Roundtable: Exploring Novel PKD Therapeutics’ session on Monday, April 15, 2024, from 3:00 – 4:00pm Argentina Time in Hall C4. He will present the talk, ‘Identifying Novel Therapeutic Targets for Polycystic Kidney Disease,’ after which PKD experts will participate in a Roundtable Discussion on exploring novel PKD therapeutics.