[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3318]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF DR. JARED JAMES GRANTHAM

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                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 1, 2017

  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor a 
doctor and educator from the Kansas City area who recently passed away. 
Dr. Jared James Grantham passed away on Sunday, January 22nd at the age 
of 80, after undergoing treatment for cancer.
  During his time at the University of Kansas Medical Center, he 
founded their Kidney Institute, and a renal research and training 
program. As the director of the Kidney Institute at the University of 
Kansas Medical Center, he pioneered research into Polycystic Kidney 
Disease. Dr. Grantham's many contributions to this research include the 
discovery of hydro-osmotic effects of the hormone vasopressin in the 
kidneys, as well as the discovery that the renal tubules secrete and 
reabsorb solutes and water, a finding that came from a series of 
experiments that showed that kidney cysts in Polycystic Kidney Disease 
patients are in fact distended renal tubules that trap fluid within an 
expanding cavity lined by a single layer of cells.
  Dr. Grantham's drive to find a cure for Polycystic Kidney Disease was 
sparked by a memory. His childhood friend, Ronnie Wilkerson, suffered 
from Polycystic Kidney Disease. Without this inspiration, Dr. Grantham 
would have never found that renal tubules in the kidney both secrete 
and reabsorb solutes and water. This eventually led to his confirmation 
that the cysts are neoplastic growths filled with liquid.
  In 1982, alongside Joseph Bruening, Dr. Grantham founded the 
Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation to help advance research into this 
horrible disease. The Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation is the only 
organization in the United States solely dedicated to finding 
treatments and a cure for polycystic kidney disease, as well as improve 
the lives of those who suffer with it. Over the last 30 years, the 
Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation has invested over $40 million in 
basic and clinical research, nephrology fellowships, and scientific 
meetings with a simple goal: to discover and deliver treatments and a 
cure for Polycystic Kidney Disease.
  Before the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation was established, Dr. 
Grantham was one of the very few researchers studying the disease. In 
February 1981, the Kansas City Star ran an article entitled ``Research 
lags on hereditary condition, specialist says.'' This article caught 
the eye of Mr. Joseph Bruening, a Kansas City, Missouri native and 
businessman whose wife and daughter both suffered from Polycystic 
Kidney Disease. In December of 1981, Mr. Bruening mailed a letter to 
Dr. Grantham interested in contributing funds towards research of this 
disease. Eventually, the two met and agreed to create a not-for-profit 
independent medical foundation whose goal was to create a cure for 
Polycystic Kidney Disease. In 2013, the Polycystic Kidney Disease 
Foundation made a great stride towards a cure. Tolvaptan, the first 
drug to show promise in treating this disease, was accepted for 
priority review by the FDA.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today to pause for a 
moment to honor Dr. Grantham, a pioneer of research for Polycystic 
Kidney Disease. The lives of people with this disease are better off 
because of his research and vision.

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