Now, after a career focusing on nephrology research and treatment, the Dunedin School of Medicine research professor has been awarded the prestigious College Medal by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), for his significant international contribution to understanding and managing kidney disease.
"You don’t plan to do these things when you start out, so I’m very honoured that my colleagues nominated me for it," he said.
"It’s only given to one person in the whole of Australia and New Zealand each year, so it’s a very prestigious award."
Even back at the start of his career, he said it was understood how much of an issue kidney disease presented, and from then on, he decided to make it his life’s work to stop it from becoming a major killer.
Prof Walker said there was an ongoing lack of awareness in the community of just how serious chronic kidney disease was.
In the next 10 years, kidney disease was predicted to be the fourth-leading cause of death in the world.
"One in 10 New Zealanders has chronic kidney disease now, but less than half of them realise they have it.
"We need to be doing a lot more to identify those at risk, monitor and implement measures to either prevent or substantially slow the progression of kidney disease, rather than be at the bottom of the cliff when it’s too late."
Prof Walker’s research interests are broad, from translational science exploring how the kidney is injured, to clinical research including acute kidney injury, dialysis outcomes, drug handling in chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular risk factors in chronic kidney disease.
He has more than 280 peer-reviewed publications and is actively involved in both local and international nephrology societies.
He has had very strong advocacy roles for increasing kidney disease awareness, especially in the Asia Pacific region, and he serves on the Asia Pacific Society of Nephrology executive committee.
He is also the chairman of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) clinical research committee, promoting and supporting research in developing countries, and is the deputy chairman of the ISN core programmes committee which is responsible for overseeing programmes supporting nephrology in developing countries.
RACP president Dr Jacqueline Small said the College Medal recognised Prof Walker’s leadership in the field of nephrology and the demonstrable improvements he had made to the lives of people affected by kidney disease.
"Rob has been involved in the work of the RACP for almost 30 years.
"This is an astounding contribution to our college community."
Prof Walker will receive the College Medal at a ceremony in Te Papa, Wellington, on September 30.
