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Dear ASN Members and Colleagues:
Tribute to Norman Siegel, M.D.
The Norman Siegel Pediatric Renal Career Enhancement Fund has been jointly established by the American Society of Nephrology and the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology to honor our dear friend and colleague, Norm Siegel, who died suddenly on April 28, 2006. Income from the fund will be used to support the research of a highly promising young investigator in pediatric nephrology.
Dr. Siegel was one of the world's leading pediatric nephrologists. He served as President of the American Society of Nephrology in 2002 and of the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology in 1989, as well as in a variety of leadership roles in the International Society of Pediatric Nephrology, the National Kidney Foundation, and the American Pediatric Society among others.
He was a foremost pediatric nephrologist, leading investigator, and exemplary educator, mentor, and clinician. Although Dr. Siegel made many contributions to medicine, he was best known for fundamental contributions to a more comprehensive appreciation of acute kidney injury at the molecular and cellular level that resulted in direct benefit to patients. The bench and patient-centered research from his group, which included many postdoctoral fellows, resulted in the publication of over 200 papers, chapters, and texts.
As President of the ASN, Norm was identified with two major initiatives: 1) expanding the scope of the society to become a more inclusive and participatory organization through development of the Board of Advisors, and 2) development of a more substantial research grant portfolio. These contributions resulted in a more effective organization, and in essence, one that better serves its members. The ASN benefited immensely from Norm's leadership and vision. More recently, Dr. Siegel was appointment to the Public Policy Board (PPB) of the ASN and, as with every other assignment, approached this new challenge with tremendous zest and optimism. The PPB will miss his leadership, insight, and collegiality.
Contributions to this fund are tax-deductible and can be sent to the Norman Siegel Pediatric Renal Career Enhancement Fund c/o Janney Montgomery Scott at 555 Long Wharf Drive, 5th Floor, New Haven, CT 06511.
CKD Certification Program, JCAHO
The senior leadership of the ASN , RPA, and ASPN addressed our unanimous concerns to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) regarding a recently announced program to certify CKD “clinics” for provision of care to patients with chronic kidney disease. The RPA, in a formal letter endorsed by the ASN and ASPN, outlined several reservations to JCAHO regarding the certification program and of implications for nephrology and patients with CKD. I recently attended a meeting with JCAHO senior officials, RPA President Robert Provenzano, M.D., and ASPN Councilor, Joseph Flynn, M.D., for the purpose of learning firsthand specific plans by JCAHO in this regard. Everyone at the table agreed that assurance of a high quality of care for patients with CKD should be the most important feature of any certification program. Nevertheless, while the cost of JCAHO accreditation to individual clinics is anticipated to be substantial (>$9000 for 2 years), the concerns expressed by kidney society leadership to JACHO were focused primarily on duplication of subspecialty specific certification programs for nephrologists already existing through ABIM, ABP , and other organizations. Apparently, the expert panel utilized by JCAHO had only one practicing nephrologist, no pediatric nephrologists, and panelists may have been unaware that the program was to be pursued in the physician office setting. Additionally, rather than encouraging collaboration between primary care providers and nephrologists, the program calls for specific referral to a nephrologist at stage four kidney disease, placing less emphasis on participation of the nephrologist in a team approach to care at an earlier stage. Finally, a major concern of kidney society leaders is that current guidelines are not all evidence based, and indeed, in pediatric nephrology, there is a paucity of evidence based guidelines in general. For this reason, JCAHO officials agreed that pediatric CKD clinics may be excluded from the certification program. What will be decided for adult nephrology practices and CKD certifications remains under serious consideration by JCAHO. Accordingly, ASN, ASPN, and RPA plan to hold future meetings with JCAHO to continue a positive dialogue on this important topic and to assure that our voice is heard.
Finally, in my view, on a broader scale, simply designating a CKD clinic as certified, even by an organization as prestigious as the JCAHO, will provide little or no assistance for the challenge of providing more comprehensive and accessible care to the multiple millions of patients in the U.S. with Stages 1-3 kidney disease. This immense public health problem, and the role of the nephrologist in the education of physicians, patients, and their families, deserves more attention immediately. The consequences of continuing to operate within a system that “pays nothing now; to pay a lot more later” must be faced on a national level. It is time as a renal community to respond to this challenge by recognition of our role in the management of early kidney disease by application of proven strategies which interrupt the vicious cycle of progression. Such an approach should include a more comprehensible transmission of available information to primary care physicians. To this end, the kidney societies, ASN, RPA, NKF, and ASPN, have resolved to work together to develop more informed and applicable paradigms that will facilitate appreciation of the diagnosis and management of stage 1-3 kidney disease and emphasize the appropriate role of the nephrologist in this care plan. It is recognized that this will be a long term commitment and it is only through commitment and visionary leadership that we will accomplish our goals.
Sincerely yours,
Thomas D. DuBose, Jr., MD, FASN
2. Registration is Open for the 11th Annual Board Review Course & Update
Join the ASN from August 26 to September 1, 2006 at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco for our 11th Annual Board Review Course & Update. Dr. Robert Narins will host this Course for his 11th and last time and be joined by a “galaxy” of 35 additional NephroStars!
The ASN's Board Review Course & Update has become a "Renal Rite of Passage" AND CAN BE CUSTOMIZED TO MEET YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS! An intensive review and update for ALL and a MUST for Certification & Re-Certification. The timing of the ASN Board Review Course & Update in late August maximizes attendees' readiness for the October Nephrology Board certification and recertification examinations of the American Board of Internal Medicine. After completion of the course and the self-assessment test on September 2, participants have a full two months to fill in any gaps in their knowledge. It's August, It's San Francisco, So it must be the ASN's Board Review Course! Stay tuned to your mail and email boxes later this spring for additional information and registration forms. Register for the BRC and learn more today!
3. Submit Abstracts for Renal Week 2006
To submit an abstract for Renal Week 2006, visit us online at www.asn-online.org and click on the link to "Submit an abstract for Renal Week 2006." Note that abstracts must be submitted electronically, via the ASN's abstracts submission website. Abstracts for Renal Week 2006 must be received no later than Wednesday, June 7, 2006, 11:59 pm Eastern Time. Abstracts received after this time will not be accepted. There are no exceptions to this deadline, so please plan accordingly. Abstracts must be submitted or sponsored by an Active Member whose dues are current (paid through December 2006).
4. ASN Announces 2006 Award Recipients
ASN congratulates the following award recipients, who will be honored during Renal Week 2006!
John P. Peters Award: The ASN is delighted to recognize Dr. Gerhard H. Giebisch with the 2006 John P. Peters Award for his outstanding contributions to nephrology. Established in 1983, this award recognizes individuals who have made substantial research contributions to the discipline of nephrology and have sustained achievements in one or more domains of academic medicine, including clinical care, education, and leadership. Dr. Peters, the award's namesake, was one of the fathers of nephrology and former Chief of the Metabolic Division in the Department of Medicine at Yale University . He transformed clinical chemistry from a discipline of qualitative impressions to one of precise quantitative measurements, changing the nature of measurements of body fluids into a vital part of the patient examination, capable of great explanatory power. He advanced the view that disease was a quantitative abnormality of normal physiological processes and that by understanding disease, one could gain a deeper understanding of normal physiology. His enduring scientific contributions paralleled his intense commitment to the care of the sick and a fervent mission to ensure that the physician was an advocate for the patient.
Professor Emeritus of Cellular & Molecular Physiology at Yale University, Dr. Giebisch is widely recognized as the modern international “father” of potassium physiology and metabolism. In fact, he provided many of the fundamental principles upon which our modern concepts of body and renal potassium homeostasis rest. His laboratory was and continues to be the origin of many novel concepts, which have been studied around the world. Currently, his research lab is concentrating on cellular and molecular mechanisms of solute and solvent transport in the kidney, through the study of single renal tubules, in order to obtain quantitative information about the driving forces acting on Na+, Cl-, K+, HCO3- and H+ -ions as they traverse the luminal and antiluminal cell membranes of the tubular epithelium. Dr. Giebisch has received numerous accolades, including membership in the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, honorary membership in the Austrian Academy of Science, and five honorary doctorates. He is also the recipient of the ASN's Homer W. Smith Award, Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine, and the A.N. Richards Award from the International Society of Nephrology, among others.
Belding H. Scribner Award: The ASN has selected Dr. Joel Kopple as the Belding H. Scribner Award recipient for 2006. The Belding H. Scribner Award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to clinical nephrology and care of patients with renal disorders. Established in 1995, this award honors the physician who developed the arteriovenous shunt that first made long term hemodialysis for chronic renal failure possible. As Head of the Division of Nephrology in the University of Washington 's Department of Medicine in Seattle, Dr. Scribner and his coworkers made numerous contributions to the care of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). These include establishing the world's first out-of-hospital dialysis unit, developing a home hemodialysis program, improving techniques and equipment for hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, studying the adequacy and complications of chronic renal disease treated by dialysis, and persuading Congress to fund the Medicare ESRD Program. Dr. Scribner's contributions helped to transform nephrology into a major subspecialty of internal medicine. Thus, the award in his name honors outstanding examples of a dedication to the care of patients with kidney disease.
Dr. Kopple, Chief of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center , is an outstanding contributor to the fields of nutrition and kidney disease, who has helped define the nutritional needs of individuals with chronic kidney disease. Dr. Kopple was among the first to show that the popular Giovannetti-Giordano 20-gm protein diet was nutritionally inadequate for chronic renal failure patients. Dr. Kopple helped establish international conferences on nutrition and metabolism in renal disease, resulting in the formation of the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism. Dr. Kopple was also instrumental in creating the International Federation of Kidney Foundation s, founded to establish kidney foundations in every country worldwide and the NIH's National Kidney Disease Education Program (NKDEP), to raise awareness of kidney disease. He has received several prestigious awards, including the David Hume Award of the National Kidney Foundation , the E.V. McCollum Award and the Robert Herman Award from the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, the Sàndor Korány Award, which is the highest honor bestowed by the Hungarian Society of Nephrology. Dr. Kopple's contributions to nutrition and renal disease have had a lasting impact on the lives of patients with kidney disease worldwide.
Homer W. Smith Award: The ASN is proud to present the Homer W. Smith Award for 2006 to Dr. Terry Strom for his exceptional contributions to the field of nephrology. Established in 1964, this award recognizes Homer W. Smith, a major intellectual force in renal physiology. Dr. Smith applied clarity and logic to transform his ideas about glomerular filtration and tubular absorption and secretion of solutes into vivid concepts, which now serve as foundations of our understanding of normal and abnormal renal function. His uses of comparative approaches to explain normal human physiology stand as a model for students of biology, as well as scientists attempting to unravel the mysteries of normal and disordered renal function. This award is given in recognition of those who follow in his footsteps and contribute to our understanding of how the kidney functions normally and in disease states.
A seasoned authority in transplantation and immunology and Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Dr. Strom's research is an extension of his expertise at the bedside. He has long studied basic T cell immunobiology and the cellular and molecular mechanisms of graft rejection and tolerance. He discovered that the development of rejection or tolerance following transplantation depends upon the nature of the host's T cells. The functional ascendancy of effector T cells causes rejection, while the functional ascendancy of regulatory T cells creates tolerance. From there, he and his colleagues reported a new modality for preventing transplant rejection and creating transplant tolerance. The strategy is based upon observations that the life and death signals in activated T cells that destroy tissue and those in T cells that protect tissue are distinctive. Thus, it is possible to target for apoptotic cell death only those activated T cells involved directly in attacking the graft, while bolstering the cohort of donor reactive protective T cells without compromising the recipient. Most recently, he has determined that cytokine milieu of T cell activation determines whether the immune response is characterized by a predominance of aggressive or protective T cells. Dr. Strom continues to be a major force in the field of nephrology and has been honored with numerous appointments, including lectureships and visiting professorships at the Royal College of Physicians in London , the University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania , University of Chicago , Groote Schuur Hospital/University of Cape Town University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Texas-Houston.
Young Investigator Award: The ASN is proud to present the 2006 Young Investigator Award to Dr. Thomas Benzing. This prestigious award is presented annually to an individual with an outstanding record of achievement and creativity in basic or patient-oriented research relating to the functions and diseases of the kidney. The Young Investigator Award is co-sponsored by the Council on the Kidney of the American Heart Association and limited to individuals who are less than 41 years of age on the first day of the ASN meeting at which the award is presented or who have received the M.D. degree not more than 15 years before the calendar year of the ASN meeting.
Dr. Benzing, Professor of Medicine at the University Hospital Freiburg, Co-director of the Center for Systems Biology (ZBSA) Freiburg, and Attending Physician at the Renal Division and Department of Medicine at University Hospital Freiburg, Germany, is a rising star in the field of renal research. His groundbreaking work includes research in the genetics of nephronophthisis, in which he identified the function of novel genes involved in the disease and additional proteins that interact with them, and podocyte signaling, which provides evidence of how podocytes communicate with one another and other resident glomerular cells. It was Dr. Benzing's laboratory team that demonstrated a function of nephrin and slit diaphragm proteins as signaling proteins in podocytes. He is member of the editorial board of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and has served as a reviewer for many scientific journals including Nature, Nature Genetics, Science, and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), among others. Dr. Benzing has received numerous awards, including the Buding Research Award of the German Society of Hypertension in 2004 and the Franz-Volhard Award in 2005, which is the highest research award of the German Society of Nephrology.
5. Call for Committee Nominations
The Council for the American Society of Nephrology is again seeking nominations for open positions on ASN standing committees and advisory groups. Nominations must be submitted no later than Wednesday, May 24, 2006.
The Council invites all ASN members to indicate their interest in serving on an ASN standing committee or advisory group. You may also nominate another ASN member for committee participation. Much of the work of the ASN is accomplished through the energetic activity and input of committees, so this is a great way for you to become involved in future planning and decisions that will influence the effectiveness and quality of membership services offered to all ASN members.
ASN's website, www.asn-online.org, provides additional information about each of the ASN committees and advisory groups, including current members, the committee's charge, membership criteria and terms of appointments. Committee membership becomes effective with each year's Annual Meeting. In addition, there is a Council and a Staff liaison listed for each committee, either of whom can be contacted for additional information or clarification on committee activities and responsibilities.
Please think carefully about your interest in the areas listed below, and forward nominations and a current CV of the nominee to Karen L. Campbell, PhD, ASN Executive Director at kcampbell@asn-online.org no later than Wednesday, May 24, 2006.
Committees for which ASN is seeking new members are listed below; descriptions for each committee are available by clicking on the appropriate committee.
Committees
Basic Science Committee
Clinical Science Committee
Grants Review Committee
Publications Committee
Advisory Groups
Acute Kidney Injury Advisory Group
Chronic Kidney Disease Advisory Group
Dialysis Advisory Group
Hypertension Advisory Group
Practicing Nephrologists Advisory Group
Transplant Advisory Group
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