Joel D. Kopple

Joel D. Kopple, MD, is an American professor, physician, clinician scientist, educator, practitioner, consultant and investigator in medicine, nephrology, nutrition, and public health. He is currently professor emeritus at David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine and UCLA School of Public Health. He served from 1981 to 2007 as the chief of the Division of Nephrology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. He is also known as the father of the field of Renal Nutrition

To recognize the contributions of Joel Kopple to advancing the field of Renal Nutrition, the National Kidney Foundation and its Council on Renal Nutrition designated the 'Joel D Kopple Award in Renal Nutrition, which is annually granted to a distinguished individual for his/her efforts to advance the field of renal nutrition.

Kopple has authored or coauthored several hundred peer-reviewed manuscripts. He has funded several organizations including the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism and the International Federation of National Kidney Foundations. He is currently helping a group of students from Bergen Academies on an ISTF project.

Joel Kopple is an elected Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition (2006).He was the 1993 recipient of the David M. Hume Memorial Award by the National Kidney Foundation. He also received the 2004 Robert H. Herman Memorial Award and the 1997 E.V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition.

Kopple received an honorary doctorate from the University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik in 1995.