Dear ASN Members and Colleagues:
I would like to thank the members of the Society for permitting me to serve as your president. I am extremely excited to represent you in this capacity. I wanted to take a brief opportunity to thank our outgoing president, Thomas DuBose, MD, FASN for his dedication and service to the Society over the past year. Special thanks go to the entire ASN Council and staff, all of whom dedicate so much of their time and energy to enriching our Society.
I also wanted to thank Lisa Guay-Woodford , MD and Paul Kimmel, MD, FACP, FASN and the Program and Postgraduate Education Committees for all their hard work this past year. Renal Week 2006 proved to be another record-breaking year for the ASN, with over 13,000 people in attendance. The meeting included a large variety of exciting scientific sessions and new features, such as our Poster Discussion Sessions, which featured senior investigators summarizing the key findings described in 62 separate abstracts. Also new this year, poster presenters had the opportunity to include their research in our Posters2View™ online program and CD, which is being mailed to Renal Week attendees. The programming highlights of the meeting included a special State-of-the-Art Lecture by Elias A. Zerhouni, MD, Director, National Institutes of Health, entitled “Kidney Disease Research within the NIH Roadmap: Strategies for the Future.”
This winter, ASN will once again hold special highlight meetings to summarize key presentations from Renal Week in cities across North America. Since there are so many simultaneous presentations during Renal Week, even if you attend back-to-back sessions, you can only partake in about 20% of the entire program. This is why the ASN is offering you the opportunity to receive a reduced-rate to attend a Renal WeekEnd, if you attended Renal Week. Please join us in one of the following cities: Toronto, Canada, February 3-4; Los Angeles, CA, February 10-11; Washington, DC, February 17-18; New York, NY, February 24-25; Seattle, WA, March 3-4; Mexico City, Mexico, March 10-11; Houston, TX, March 17-18; and Chicago, IL, March 31-April 1. Stay tuned to the ASN website for registration, housing, and program information.
I'd like to briefly take this opportunity to remind you that the ASN is currently searching for a new Secretary-Treasurer of the Society. Unfortunately, Alan Krensky has announced that he needs to step down from his current responsibilities as the ASN Secretary-Treasurer. The Council is grateful for Alan's service to the ASN and is now opening the search for a new Secretary-Treasurer of the Society. The initial appointment will be for the remainder of Dr. Krensky's term (through Renal Week 2007) with the expectation that the selected individual will appear on the 2007 ballot for election to a three-year term. There is also the potential for this three-year term to be renewed for an additional three years. The Secretary-Treasurer is a voting member of the ASN Council and is expected to participate in all Council conference calls and meetings. Specific responsibilities can be found in the ASN Bylaws available here. Please see below for additional details.
In other news, I wanted to let you know that the deadline to submit nominations for 2007 award recipients is Wednesday, January 31, 2007. Nomination letters should be faxed to 202-659-0599 or emailed to mkerlin@asn-online.org. For additional information on each award, click here: http://asn-online.org/awards/awardsindex.aspx.
Please read about additional ASN activities below and, as always, let me know if there's anything I can do to help enrich your membership in the ASN. I can be contacted through the ASN at email@asn-online.org.
Sincerely yours,
William Henrich, MD, FASN
2. CME Credits for Renal Week Now Online
Renal Week 2006 attendees may now visit ASN's Online CME Center to complete your online evaluation and obtain CME credit for the meeting. Visit the ASN homepage at www.asn-online.org and click on “Access ASN's Online CME Center” in the Renal Reminders box. You will need a User ID and Registration ID to claim credit for the sessions you attended. ASN will now only provide online CME evaluation forms to obtain credit for ASN activities.
3. ASN Seeks New Secretary-Treasurer
As Dr. Henrich mentioned above, the ASN is now opening the search for a new Secretary-Treasurer of the Society. The Secretary-Treasurer is a voting member of the ASN Council and is expected to participate in all Council conference calls and meetings. Those interested in this position should forward a cover letter and CV to Karen Campbell, PhD, ASN Executive Director, at kcampbell@asn-online.org no later than December 15, 2006.
4. Help ASN Archive Our Publications
ASN is wrapping up the initiative to archive complete sets of ASN's three major publications by professionally binding each volume published since their inceptions. We have been successful in securing most missing issues from the editors and storage, and are short by only 18-19 issues in three volumes of JASN in order to realize this endeavor. Please help ASN finalize the archived collection by donating the missing issues. Please contact Publications Manager, Kimberly Fradette-Taylor via email at ktaylor@asn-online.org or by telephone at 202-416-0642, before sending your issues to esnure that we do not receive duplicate issues and to receive the shipping account number.
The missing issues are:
1997: February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September's non-abstract issues if it exists, & December
1998: March, June, November & December
2000: January, February, March, April, May, & June
The bound volumes can be viewed at ASN's headquarters in the library. Please give the ASN notice if you'd like to view these volumes.
5. Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) Concern
Recently, a major concern has been raised on nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), which may be associated with the use of Gadolinium agents in patients with chronic renal failure. The Contrast Media Safety Committee of ESUR (European Society of Urogenital Radiology) met in Copenhagen on November 3-5, 2006 and has produced an informational paper on NSF. Additional information by Henrik S. Thomsen is also available. You may submit reports of patients experiencing NSF to ESUR here.
6. NIH R01 Grant Applications Go Electronic
Beginning with the February 5, 2007 standard receipt date and beyond, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will require applicants to submit all Research Project Grant R01 applications electronically -- no paper applications will be accepted. This change marks a major milestone in the NIH's transition to receive all grant applications electronically, which began with the electronic submission of Small Business Innovation Research applications in December 2005. Since that time, NIH has received over 18,000 unique grant applications and has engaged in a multi-pronged outreach effort to ensure that its applicant community adjusts successfully to the new process.
To ensure a smooth transition, NIH is strongly encouraging all potential principal investigators to contact their central grants offices immediately to learn how their institutions are handling these application form and process changes. NIH will also host a training event on Tuesday, December 5 to assist applicants and organizations through this transition. The training is available in-person and via Web cast and will be archived for later viewing here.
Information on the submission process and additional training and promotional resources are available on the NIH Electronic Submission of Grant Application website.
7. ISN's World Congress of Nephrology, April 21- 25, 2007, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Abstract Submission and Early Registration will close on December 15, 2006.
To avoid missing out on contributing to the conversation in Rio and enjoying early registration savings of up to US $200, visit the WCN 2007 website, submit your abstract and register online today at www.wcn2007.org.
