Nephrologist Develops New Technique for Treating Kidney Disease
The family of Dr. Dimitrios G. Oreopoulos fled as refugees from political turbulence in Asia Minor, 1922, settling in Alexandroupolis, just inside Greek territory next to the Turkish border. After his birth there, 1936, his family migrated to Athens where Dimitrios completed much of his formal education, graduating from the Medical School, University of Athens, 1960. Receiving a scholarship to attend Queen’s University, Belfast, Dr. Oreopoulos graduated from that Northern Ireland university, 1969, earning a Ph.D. researching and becoming a specialist in kidney stones. He crossed the Atlantic, 1969, settling in Toronto, where he accepted a permanent position, Division of Nephrology, Toronto Western Hospital, in addition to being appointed Assistant Professor, University of Toronto. Over the next 30 years, Dr. Oreopoulos has gained international prominence as an authority in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. As a noted nephrologist, he has had much satisfaction in knowing that his technique for treating kidney disease is now adopted worldwide by nephrologists whose patients numbering close to 100,000 have benefited from his research. Recipient of many awards including, 1981, the prestigious Charles Mickel Fellowship; the National Torchbearer Award, 1994, from the American Kidney Fund; Distinguished Physician of the Year Award by the Hellenic Medical Society of New York, 1993; and, most recently, the Scribner Award, 1998, from the American Society of Nephrology, Dr. Oreopoulos’ volunteer work as President, the Hellenic Home for the Aged, assisted in raising three million dollars for the construction of a 75-bed apartment and an 82-bed nursing home. Contributing to the knowledge of Nephrology has been a passion for Dr. Oreopoulos, exemplified by his contribution of more than 300 articles published in medical journals and various periodicals. He has written three books about Geriatric Nephrology and for 11 years published the Journal of Humane Medicine. In addition to all these achievements, Dr. Oreopoulos’s greatest pride has been, with his wife, raising four children, all Canadian achievers. For his service to medicine and the community, Dr. Oreopoulos, left, as viewed here, at the Polymenakeion Centre, Toronto, 1998, was invested with the Order of Honour, Republic of Greece, by the Hon. John Thomoglou, Ambassador to Canada from Greece. [Photo, courtesy Dr. Dimitrios Oreopoulos]