American Academy of Pediatric Section on Nephrology

2023 Henry L. Barnett Award Recipient

Tej K. Mattoo, MD, DCH, FRCP (UK), FAAP is a tenured Professor of Pediatrics and Vice-Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, MI, where he also holds a secondary appointment as Professor of Urology. Dr. Mattoo went to medical school in Kashmir, India and he trained in Pediatric Nephrology at Guy’s Hospital in London, UK and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in NY, USA. Dr. Mattoo has been an international advocate for children throughout his career, and his advocacy spans the realms of clinical care, scholarship, teaching, and service.  

Before moving to the US, Dr. Mattoo worked in Saudi Arabia where he founded and led the first and largest Pediatric Nephrology Program in the Kingdom at Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Riyadh. In Michigan, he served as the Division Chief of Pediatric Nephrology, Director of the Renal Transplant Program, the Medical Director of Ambulatory Services at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, and was the founding Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship Program Director.

Dr. Mattoo was co-founder of the Midwest Pediatric Nephrology Research Consortium, and he now serves as a member of Board of Directors and Treasurer of the national Pediatric Nephrology Research Consortium.

He created the first CD-ROM of 350 Self-Assessment Pediatric Nephrology questions that evolved into PREP Nephrology, and he served as founding editor and Editor in Chief of PREP Nephrology from 2007-2018. Currently, he is Chief Editor of the International Journal of Nephrology, Editor-In-Chief of the Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation and Section Editor of Pediatric Nephrology for UpToDate. He is on the editorial board of Pediatric Nephrology and has served on the editorial boards of several other indexed journals, including Pediatrics.   

His research contributions have changed how we manage patients with nephrotic syndrome. These include avoiding a kidney biopsy before cyclophosphamide administration, using daily low-dose steroids during URI to lower relapse risk in children with nephrotic syndrome, using unilateral nephrectomy as an alternative to bilateral nephrectomy and recognizing the need to treat secondary hypothyroidism in children with congenital/infantile nephrotic syndrome. He also described a new syndrome on familial glomerulopathy with proximal tubular dysfunction.  He was a principal investigator for the RIVUR study and site PI for the CKiD study, which have helped improve the care of children with vesicoureteral reflux, urinary tract infection, and chronic kidney disease. He is currently a member of the AAP Urinary Tract Infection Clinical Practice Guidelines Revision Committee.

Dr. Mattoo has mentored numerous fellows and has served as a visiting professor at 26 institutions worldwide. His CV lists ninety-nine peer reviewed publications, many co-authored with his trainees, about thirty review articles and thirty-nine textbook chapters. He has received many awards for teaching, research, and service. These include the commendation by the Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for establishing Kingdom’s first kidney center, the NephCure Foundation Award for kidney disease research, Wayne State University Board of Governors President’s Award for excellence in service to the university, and the Certificates of Appreciation by the AAP for distinguished service to PREP Nephrology and the journal Pediatrics.

He founded a golf-outing Kidney Crew Cup to support research and education in Pediatric Nephrology and chaired the steering committee of the Family Advisory Council (FAC), which provided educational activities for patients and parents of children with kidney disease.  

In summary, Dr. Mattoo exemplifies the mission of Henry Barnett award. His qualifications include his clinical and teaching initiatives, administrative and scholarly accomplishments, exceptional service to Pediatrics and advocacy for children with kidney disease. His work has advanced the field in our specialty, and he was chosen by a panel of his peers from a field of nine extremely qualified candidates for this award. 

The award presentation will occur at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with the ASPN Award Luncheon, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 29, 2023. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Mattoo on this achievement!