Dr. Alberto Tejedor Jorge (1957-2020) was a Professor of Nephrology and Vicedean at Complutense University of Madrid, Head of the Acute Interconsultation Unit in Acute Renal Failure of the Nephrology Department of the Gregorio Maranon Universitary General Hospital of Madrid, and Principal Investigator of the Renal Pathophysiology Lab in the Gregorio Maranon Health Research Institute, Madrid, Spain.

He obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. at Autonoma University of Madrid and he was Fellow of Nephrology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

He trained with Dr. Alberto Sols (Madrid) in metabolism control and regulation; with Dr. Hernando (Madrid) in general nephrology; with Dr. Vinay (Groupe de Transport membranaire, University of Montreal) in renal transport energetics; with Dr. Moshe Levy (Veterans Administration Hospital, Dallas) in phospho-calcium renal metabolism and with Dr. Alpern (Parkland Hospital, Renal Division, Health Science Center, Dallas) in H + transport regulation.

Alberto Tejedor was the discoverer of cilastatin as a kidney protector, has published over 150-peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and has been awarded by the Spanish Society of Nephrology in 1994 and 1996, the University of Alcala de Henares in 2014, Alcer Renal Foundation in 2017 and Complutense University of Madrid in 2018 for his research. He was also co-founder of the European Hyponatremia Network.

Over the last 30 years, he has led and mentored graduate students and postdoctoral fellows now working for prestigious international research companies and institutes. He was always generous and didactic with all of them, and insatiable in his struggle for the advancement of knowledge.

His work as a teacher has been recognized by his students and colleagues, in which he was always involved in his efforts to transmit his love for medicine and the imperative need to heal, care for and accompany the sick.

With the creation of Telara Pharma to try to bring cilastatin into clinical use, we would like to pay our small tribute to his enormous effort and dedication.