Dr. Richard N. Fine, MD

It is with grateful appreciation that we note an exceptional honor bestowed upon one of Darel's pediatric nephrologists from 1969 at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles:  Dr. Richard N. Fine.

It was Dr. Fine who, in 1967, established the dialysis and transplant program at Children's Hospital LA.  As no such program yet existed in Orange County, this launched our family ritual of multiple weekly car trips to Los Angeles for the essential dialysis treatments that Darel would require until a transplant donor could be located.

Thankfully, in August 1969, Darel's miracle arrived... and his life was saved... largely because of the work of Dr. Fine and the many others who were devoted to Darel's care while he was receiving care from Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

In 2014, Dr. Fine, as former Dean of Stony Brook University School of Medicine, received the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Pediatric Transplant Association (IPTA). The award recognized a IPTA member who made outstanding contributions to the field of pediatric transplantation over the course of his career. (IPTA).

Dr. Fine is a pediatric nephrologist who currently serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Dr. Fine is a past president of the American Society of Transplantation (AST) from 2005-2006.

He received his B.S. degree from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA in 1958 and M.D. degree from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA in 1962. He completed his residency in pediatrics at the Boston City Hospital (1962-64) and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (1964-66). Subsequently he joined the faculty at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles as a member of the division of metabolic and renal diseases as an instructor in pediatrics at USC School of Medicine.

In 1967 Dr. Fine initiated the dialysis and transplant program at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles and rose to the rank of professor at USC School of Medicine in 1976. In 1980, he moved to UCLA to establish the division of pediatric nephrology and revitalize the pediatric End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) program prior to coming to Stony Brook in 1991.
Dr. Fine’s clinical and research interests have focused on optimizing clinical care of children afflicted with ESRD by adapting the dual modalities of dialysis and renal transplantation to a pediatric ESRD population.

He is an internationally recognized expert and teacher regarding the management of children who require renal transplantation. He has lectured and published extensively on the clinical issues surrounding renal transplantation in children.

His clinical research studies have involved the use of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) to improve growth retardation in pediatric renal allograft recipients. He has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications, edited 11 textbooks and is currently editor-in-chief of Pediatric Transplantation. Dr. Fine is a Fellow of the American Board of Pediatrics and the sub-Board of Pediatric Nephrology.

Dr. Fine lives with his wife Shawney, who was a dialysis nurse and the first transplant coordinator in the U.S., in Stony Brook, New York.