Dr. Katherine Tuttle received the 2023 John P. Peters lifetime achievement award, which is billed as the most prestigious award given out by the American Society of Nephrology. 

Tuttle’s first job was an intern and resident in medicine during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. She said the experience taught her to keep moving forward in pursuit of science as a systematic search for truth.  

Since then, Tuttle’s breakthrough therapies and landmark studies have played a role in significantly reducing the risks of kidney failure, heart failure, and death in people with or without diabetes. 

As reported in the Journal, her research with Dr. Ralph DeFronzo, a world-renowned leader in Type 2 diabetes research, laid the foundation for the SGLT2 inhibitor class of drugs, a prescription medicine used to lower blood sugar in adults with Type 2 diabetes.

Education: Bachelor’s of science biology, University of California; doctoral degree in medicine, Northwestern University School of Medicine. 

What's the best piece of advice you've received? From my mother, "Just be yourself. It's good enough." 

What advice would you have for others looking to follow a career path similar to yours? Showing up is 90% of success. By showing up, I mean, be prepared, reliable, participatory, trustworthy, collaborative, collegial, and kind. You will be invited back over and over again. 

If you could change anything about your industry, how would you change it? Optimal health care should be a fundamental human right for all, rather than for just a privileged few.  

Do you have a favorite quote/motto? Love more, judge less.