President's Message

Dear ASN Members,

Welcome to August's Renal Express!

The early registration deadline for Renal Week 2004 in St. Louis is Friday, September 10, 2004. You must be an ASN member to receive the discounted registration rate. If ASN has not received your registration forms and payment for all Renal Week activities by that date, you must register at a higher rate. Please also be sure to reserve your housing by Monday, September 27, 2004. Click here for more information about Renal Week and upcoming deadlines.

Jeff Sands and the 2004 Program Committee and Bob Narins and the Postgraduate Education Committee have constructed a dynamite program. Renal Week 2004 will feature an incredible range of topics presented in the Basic and Clinical Science Symposia, Clinical Nephrology Conferences (CNCs), Evening Symposia, and Postgraduate Education Programs (PGE). PGEs make up the first two days of Renal Week and feature more than 10 topics, ranging from glomerular disease to renal pathology. Innovative, educational opportunities at Renal Week are what you've come to expect and this year's program will bring the world's best research about mechanisms causing and treatments for kidney disease. Click here to read about this year's topics and sessions.

A recent development has emerged to stimulate investigations into Membranous Glomerulonephritis (MGN). During Renal Week, the ASN will hold a clinical session devoted to membranous nephropathy. In addition, the ASN has joined forces with the Halpin Foundation to fund research into MGN and raise public and scientific awareness about this disease. Stay tuned to the ASN website for details on how to obtain funds for MGN research.

As you know, council elections are an important aspect of ensuring diversity in the Society. Your vote is important because the Council is responsible for setting the directions taken by our Society and your vote helps ensure diversity in the Council. Important activities of the Council include working with the NIH to set research priorities, with Congress and CMS and other societies to address clinical matters plus developing educational programs and of course, overseeing the annual meeting. This year, for the first time, we are excited to offer online ballot nominations for councilors. You will be able to read about and vote for this year's councilors directly online. If you hold an M.D., Ph.D., or its equivalent, reside in North or Central America, and have paid your 2004 dues, you are an "Active" member and thus, eligible to vote. Please reference the mailer or email you received for directions to access the online ballot. Feel free to email us with "online ballot information" in the subject line, and we'll email you the directions and online link.

Finally, I wanted to tell you about an online survey recently developed by the ASN Renal Informatics Committee, which covers the various ways Nephrologists learn and keep themselves educated and current on the latest science.  Please click here and take this brief, 9 question survey.  The results will help us better serve the needs of our members by allowing us to understand the preferred methods of learning, and focusing more resources where the greatest benefit will be.

Please feel free to email me your ideas on how we can better serve the needs of ASN members.

Sincerely yours,

William E. Mitch, MD
President
American Society of Nephrology