News

Staff from AIIMS Bhopal and Montreal Children’s Hospital  

Celebrated at WCN’25, the 2025 Schrier Award went to the ISN Sister Renal Centers (SRC) partnership between the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhopal, in Madhya Pradesh, India, and Montreal Children’s Hospital at the McGill University Health Center, in Montreal, Canada. Girish Chandra Bhatt, from AIIMS Bhopal, was presented with the Schrier Award at the congress in India on behalf of the partnership   

The Schrier Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments from ISN Sister Renal Center and ISN-TTS Sister Transplant Center partnerships that have graduated from the program. This year’s winning collaboration has made remarkable strides in advancing pediatric nephrology in Central India through training, infrastructure development, and research. 

The collaboration’s success is a result of seven years of consistent, structured engagement through the SRC Program, including monthly case discussions, joint systematic reviews, and coauthored publications in major journals, leading to improvements in patient outcomes and positioning AIIMS Bhopal, the emerging center in the program, as a national leader in children’s kidney care. 

Dr. Bhatt commented, “We are deeply thankful to the ISN Sister Renal Centers Program and to our supporting center, Montreal Children’s Hospital, led by PaulGoodyer and Martin Bitzafor, their invaluable support in these endeavors. Their guidance and resources have been instrumental in our achievements and ongoing advancements in pediatric nephrology.” 

Building capacity, improving outcomes: A model for pediatric nephrology in India  

The dedicated support AIIMS Bhopal received from its partner center in Montreal led to the establishment of the region’s first dedicated pediatric nephrology unit. The unit now provides services such as acute and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and pediatric hemodialysis programs that have proven lifesaving for children with severe kidney disease in the area. Renal pathology services were also set up at AIIMS Bhopal, generating 20-25 kidney biopsy reports monthly, significantly improving diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes. 

In addition, with the active participation of Montreal faculty, nephrology staff at AIIMS Bhopal conducted six pediatric nephrology training courses, which have educated and trained between 800-900 pediatricians and postgraduate students. The center also introduced a pediatric nephrology training program for doctors of medicine — one of only three offered in India’s public sector. According to Girish Chandra Bhatt, the SRC liaison officer at AIIMS Bhopal, the training program has been instrumental in developing highly skilled pediatric nephrologists who can contribute to the field both nationally and internationally. These efforts demonstrate the center’s growing leadership in clinical education and have contributed to the overall improvement of pediatric kidney care services in the region. 

Girish Chandra Bhatt (center) is presented with the 2025 Schrier Award at WCN’25 in India 

AIIMS Bhopal has also advanced pediatric kidney research, launching the Indian National Tubular Disorder Registry – a comprehensive database for research and clinical practice. AIIMS has secured significant national research funding (approximately USD 240,000), which is supporting various research projects, including a major multicenter study – AIIMS is the coordinating site – to create normative data for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in Indian children.  

The ISN congratulates the AIIMS–Montreal partnership for exemplifying how long-term collaboration and mentorship through the ISN Sister Renal Centers Program can drive meaningful change in kidney care.