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]