In This Issue...
-
January President's Message
Read this month's message from President William Henrich.
-
Renew Your ASN Membership
ASN members were recently mailed membership invoices for 2007. Please renew promptly to avoid access interruption.
-
Register Now For Renal WeekEnds
Join us in a city near you for our Renal WeekEnd meetings. Register early to reserve your space and obtain the early registration rate.
-
Posters2View: Now Online
The ASN is pleased to announce that our new Posters2View™ site, a virtual poster hall, is now available online through the ASN website.
- ASN Awards Nomination Deadline: January 31, 2007
Read descriptions of ASN's five awards, to be distributed during Renal Week 2007. Submission information is listed below.
- ASN Grant Deadlines
Learn about ASN grants and submit your application before the deadlines.
- Publications Updates
We are pleased to share with you the following publications updates, written by the editors and incoming editors of all three ASN publications.
- GE Healthcare Safety Advisory: Omniscan and NSF
On June 6, 2006, GE Healthcare issued a safety advisory for Omniscan and NSF. Click here to read the latest update from GE Healthcare.
- Nephrology Essay Contest
Nephrological Issues in Experimental Research (NIER) is holding an essay contest for an intended audience of PhD students and young science professionals working in the field of nephrology.
The new year has begun and a number of activities are in full swing at the ASN. Foremost among these are the “Renal WeekEnds”, which provide an educational forum that distills and recounts many of the new and important developments in nephrology from the previous Renal Week meeting. The locations and dates of these meetings are included in this Renal Express and are accessible by clicking here. Renal WeekEnds have been highly successful and are growing in popularity. Each venue hosts outstanding educators who have summarized the new science and clinical achievements in glomerular diseases, clinical nephrology, transplantation and CKD/ESRD. I urge all of you to make an attempt to attend one of these sessions. I know you will not be disappointed.
Another important topic I wish to discuss with you is the fact that the ASN sponsored a symposium at Renal Week featuring the latest research on the best treatment for the anemia of CKD and ESRD. This topic has been in the news recently as prominent publications have probed the process by which clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are constructed and whether there is ever inappropriate influence of a sponsor in the process of constructing a guideline or guidelines. In general, my sense is that the CPGs have improved practice, added clarity of thought to treatment algorithms, and generally produced plans of approach based on the best available science. Where debate arises most often is in the domain of opinion-based recommendations. Also, because patients with renal disease have been excluded from most of the definitive, randomized, controlled trials, many CPGs in nephrology are opinion-based.
I can report from personal experience as a Co-Chair of the National Kidney Foundation's CPGs on the Management of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with ESRD that the effort expended and the expense of producing CPGs are enormous. Some individuals have asked whether our society should engage in the CPGs development process. At present, there are no plans for the ASN to be involved in guideline development. Our central role is to be host to the world's leading and most comprehensive scientific nephrology meeting, a forum in which the latest scientific findings are presented and discussed. The symposium on anemia at Renal Week in San Diego is an excellent example of this kind of late-breaking information being brought to scrutiny, and it fostered an excellent discussion that has led to several positive outcomes.
On behalf of our Council and all ASN staff, please accept our best wishes for a healthy and prosperous New Year.
Sincerely yours,
William Henrich, MD, FASN
2. Renew your ASN Membership
Stay tuned to your mailbox for your 2007 ASN Membership Renewal Form. Don't miss out on all of the great benefits the ASN has to offer:
- Printed and online subscriptions to the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), and Nephrology Self-Assessment Program (NephSAP)
- Eligibility for ASN grant funding
- Discounts on all ASN educational programs
- Ability to submit an abstract without sponsorship
- Renal Express and Renal Policy Express
- Eligibility for Fellowship of the American Society of Nephrology (FASN) status
- Free Online Job Placement Service and Membership Directory
- Voting rights for “Active” members
- AND MORE!
You may also visit the ASN website at www.asn-online.org to renew your 2007 dues.
3. Register Now for Renal WeekEnds
Registration is now available online (click here) for the ASN's “Renal WeekEnd” meetings, taking place this winter in a city near you! The early registration deadline for the first four meetings (Toronto, Los Angeles, DC, and New York) is January 26th. For the latter four meetings (Seattle, Mexico City, Houston, and Chicago), the early registration deadline is February 23rd. Sign up now and take advantage of the early registration discount!
Expert faculty will summarize, critique, and put into perspective key presentations from Renal Week 2007 in San Diego. These “Renal WeekEnd” programs are perfect for those who could not attend Renal Week.
Join us in the city nearest you:
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
Houston, TX, March 17-18
Mexico City, Mexico, March 10-11
Chicago, IL, March 31-April 1
For housing and program information, click here.
4. Posters2View: Now Online
The ASN is pleased to announce that our new Posters2View™ site, a virtual poster hall, is now available online through the ASN website. This special feature provides everyone with an opportunity to view posters they might have missed during Renal Week. Click here to view our Posters2View™ site.
5. ASN Awards Nomination Deadline: January 31, 2007
The deadline for all ASN awards nominations is Wednesday, January 31, 2007. Nomination letters should be faxed to 202-659-0709 or emailed to mkerlin@asn-online.org. Please see descriptions included below about each award.
Note: awards nomination letters will be limited to a total of 3 letters/per candidate. Additional letters will not be considered.
The Robert G. Narins Award: The Robert G. Narins Award honors individuals who have made substantial and meritorious contributions in education and teaching.
The John P. Peters Award: The John P. Peters 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.
The Belding H. Scribner Award: The Belding H. Scriber Award is presented annually to one or more individuals who have made outstanding contributions that have a direct impact on the care of patients with renal disorders or have substantially changed the clinical practice of nephrology.
The Homer W. Smith Award: The Homer Smith Award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions which fundamentally affect the science of nephrology, broadly defined, but not limited to the pathobiology, cellular and molecular mechanisms, and genetic influences on the functions and diseases of the kidney.
The Young Investigator Award: The Young Investigator Award is presented annually to an individual with an outstanding record of achievement and creativity in basic or patient-oriented research related to the functions and diseases of the kidney. This award is co-sponsored by the Council on the Kidney of the American Heart Association and is 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.
6. ASN Grant Deadlines
The submission deadline for the majority of ASN grants is March 9, 2007. The Student Scholar Grant deadline is February 9, 2007.
The ASN recognizes the need to support the clinical and basic science research of its members and offers grants to assist researchers at various points in their careers. For grant details, applications, and submission deadlines, click here.
7. Publications Updates
We are pleased to share with you the following publications updates, written by the editors and incoming editors of all three ASN publication.
Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN)
William M. Bennett, MD, FASN, CJASN Editor
CJASN has completed its first year with the November 2006 issue. The journal has been very well received, both in the USA and abroad, as indicated by a growing number of original articles. Plans for 2007 include a listing in Medline and Pub med and achievement of an impact factor. New features will include clinical conferences and CPCs held at major academic centers. We will also feature some articles regarding primary care issues for practicing nephrologists and a series related to screening issues in detecting kidney disease. The editorial team welcomes input from ASN members about CJASN and ideas for the future.
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN)
Eric G. Neilson, MD, FASN, Incoming Editor of JASN
We are pleased to announce that on July 1, 2007, Editor-in-Chief Eric Neilson (matrix biology/immunology/pathophysiology), Deputy Editor Raymond Harris (cell biology/ pathophysiology), and Executive Editor Vivian Siegel (cell biology/developmental biology/genetics/biochemistry), all of Vanderbilt University, will lead JASN. Bonnie O'Brien will continue as Managing Editor.
New Associate Editors include Lloyd Cantley, Yale University (cell biology/signaling/pathophysiology); Robert Colvin, Harvard Medical School/MGH (pathology/pathophysiology/transplantation); Alfred George, Vanderbilt University (genetics/physiology); T. Alp Ikizler, Vanderbilt University (clinical nephrology/dialysis); Mary Leonard, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (renal osteodystrophy/translational health services/epidemiology and outcomes); Neil Powe, Johns Hopkins University (clinical epidemiology/translational health services); Susan Quaggin, University of Toronto (developmental biology); Andrew Rees, University of Aberdeen (glomerular injury/pathophysiology/immunology); and Terry Strom, Harvard Medical School/BIH (transplantation/immunology).
The journal will continue to serve the entire membership of ASN, as the flagship journal of the society, publishing the very best basic, translational, and clinical research in nephrology, both as regular articles and brief communications. It will also feature a new and vibrant magazine section containing brief reviews, special articles, editorials, observations, debates, clinical commentaries, and articles on science in renal medicine and on the pathophysiology of the renal biopsy. The redesign of the journal and website is underway! Please send your suggestions for how JASN can best serve your needs as a society member to jasn.editor@vanderbilt.edu.
Nephrology Self-Assessment Program (NephSAP)
Stanley Goldfarb, MD, FACP, Incoming Editor of NephSAP
NephSAP is one of the jewels in the ASN publication crown. I, personally, have very much enjoyed my involvement as an associate editor of NephSAP since its inception. Its own vision statement declares its purpose quite well: “The Nephrology Self-Assessment Program (NephSAP) is dedicated to regularly and continually providing a vehicle that is useful for clinical nephrologists who seek to renew and refresh their clinical knowledge and diagnostic and therapeutic skills.” Under the expert and dedicated guidance of the founding editor, Richard Glassock, MD FASN; the deputy editor, Ronald Falk, MD FASN; and the Managing Editor, Gisela Deuter, BSN, MSA, NephSAP has fulfilled this mission.
We recently conducted a survey of NephSAP readership who concurred that NephSAP serves its readers well and the consensus of opinion was that it should continue to pursue the goals of its own mission statement. In addition, there was a strong desire for a new focus on updating information on Pediatric Nephrology and for continued efforts to improve the quality of the self-assessment portion of the program. In addition, we are planning “special topic” issues, such as “Imaging the Kidney,” to enhance the value of NephSAP for the readership. Dr Jeffrey Berns, MD, Chief of Clinical Nephrology at the University of Pennsylvania has agreed to serve as Deputy Editor. The Associate Editors, Ms. Deuter, Dr. Berns, and I pledge to continue the excellence of NephSAP and will strive to enhance its value to the educational efforts of the ASN.
8. GE Healthcare Safety Advisory: Omniscan and NSF
On June 6, 2006, GE Healthcare issued a safety advisory for Omniscan and NSF. Click here to read the latest update from GE Healthcare.
9. Nephrology Essay Contest
From Amsterdam, The Netherlands:
Nephrological Issues in Experimental Research (NIER) is a non-profit educational website initiated by Dutch Researchers in the field of Nephrology (www.nier.eu). The website is supported by the Dutch Kidney Foundation and collaborates with the Dutch Federation of Nephrology (NfN). Their intended audience is PhD students and young science professionals that are working in the field of nephrology. NIER aims to provide rapid access to resources and expertise in renal research for the scientific community, in particular for young investigators in nephrology.
To celebrate the launching of their website, they are inviting researchers in nephrology to write an essay about a research method relevant for renal research for the first NIER Essay Contest: Methods in Renal Research. The author of the best essay will receive an award of $2625. The runners-up will receive an honorable mention and $985 and $325, respectively. All essays judged to be appropriate and of good scientific quality will be published online on NIER. NIER expects that publication of these essays will provide researchers with a relevant information resource.
Click here to visit the NIER website for more information.
