In This Issue...
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May President's Message
ASN President William Henrich calls for action on proposed budget cuts to NIH.
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Call for Abstracts for Renal Week 2007
The deadline to submit all abstracts for Renal Week 2007 is Wednesday, June 6, 2007, 11:59pm EST.
- Deadline Approaching for ASN Committee Nominations
The ASN Council is again seeking nominations for open positions on ASN standing committees and advisory groups. The deadline is May 23rd.
- ASN Director of Education Resigns
The American Society of Nephrology's Director of Education, Dr. Paul Kimmel, has tendered his resignation.
- 12th Annual Board Review Course & Update
Join the ASN from August 25-31, 2007 at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco, California.
- ISN Nexus Symposium on Hypertension
The ISN symposium, "Hypertension and the Kidney", will take place November 29-December 2, 2007 in Vienna, Austria.
Dear ASN Members,
The president has proposed a $310 million cut in the NIH budget for FY 2007. If this budget cut is accomplished, NIH program spending would be reduced by over $500 million because the president proposes to add $201 million in NIH funds to the Global AIDS transfer. The ASN joins with the biomedical research community in recommending an NIH budget increase of 6.7%, which would put NIH at 30.9 billion in FY 2008.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is our country's premier institution for biomedical research. It embodies our greatest hope for treating or curing debilitating diseases like kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes and so many other illnesses that American families battle every day.
As a result of the long-standing bipartisan commitment of the Congress to NIH, we have entered an exciting new era in medicine. The end of the 20th Century saw a dramatic confluence of growing medical knowledge, expanding scientific opportunities and increasing federal support for medical research that has provided renewed hope to millions of people besieged by disease and disability.
Last year the Congress overwhelmingly supported legislation authorizing 8.7% annual increases in NIH funding for Fiscal Year 2007 and Fiscal Year 2008 (P.L. 109-687). While we would like to see the NIH funded to the full authorized level in Fiscal Year 2008, a 6.7% increase in NIH funding over the next three years would at least restore the funding lost to NIH since 2003, and preserve our investment in biodmedical research.
Again, I thank you for your strong commitment to support ongoing research into the underlying cause of disease; translate new knowledge into life-saving treatments; and seek solutions to new and emerging threats to American's health.
The House Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee is expected to take up funding for NIH before Memorial Day. You are encouraged to contact your representative as soon as possible to express concern about the President's proposed NIH budget cut and to encourage support for a 6.7% increase in the NIH budget to a level of 30.9 billion. In addition to articulating the budget recommendation above, please communicate to your representative the importance of NIH funding to your institution and state and briefly describe how your institution and state have benefited from NIH support.
You can find the contact number of your elected official by clicking here.
Sincerely yours,
William Henrich, MD, FASN
2. Call for Abstracts for Renal Week 2007
The deadline to submit all abstracts for Renal Week 2007 is Wednesday, June 6, 2007, 11:59 pm Eastern Time. Once again, abstracts will only be accepted through our Abstracts Submission site, accessible through our website at www.asn-online.org. Abstracts received after June 6 will not be accepted or reviewed. No exceptions will be made. Abstracts must be submitted or sponsored by an active ASN member (dues paid through 2007, by Friday, May 25, 2007).
3. Deadline Approaching for ASN Committee Nominations
Due: May 23, 2007
The Council for the American Society of Nephrology is again seeking nominations for open positions on ASN standing committees and advisory groups.
Committees and Advisory Groups: 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 ASN is accomplished through the energetic activity and input of committees, so this is a 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.
The ASN website offers 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.
Committees and advisory groups for which ASN is seeking new members include:
Acute Kidney Injury Advisory Group: The Acute Kidney Injury Advisory Group is responsible for: (1) advising the ASN Council on matters dealing with acute kidney injury, including government relations, patient care, research initiatives, education and publications; (2) providing input to PGE activities (e.g., Renal Week, Board Review Course); (3) sustaining relations with other ASN committees/advisory groups; and, (4) providing a focal group for ASN members engaged in research related to acute kidney failure.
Basic Science Committee: This committee is responsible for: (1) developing basic science educational programs, such as ASN's Advances in Basic Science Conference; (2) recommending initiatives to the ASN Council that will enhance the activities of basic scientists in the society; (3) interacting with the Postgraduate Education Committee in educational activities in basic science; and, (4) responding to special requests by the ASN Council in areas related to basic science in nephrology.
The Belding H. Scribner Award Committee: The committee reviews nominations for the Scribner Award and presents the three top-ordered candidates to the ASN Council.
Chronic Kidney Disease Advisory Group: The Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Advisory Group is responsible for providing clinical and scientific knowledge and advances concerning the prevention and treatment of progressive renal insufficiency and its complications to the ASN Council. To achieve this goal, the advisory group will support research activities directed at preventing progression and treating patients with CKD, and interact with other groups interested in kidney disease and its complications, including national organizations of patients, and other societies and agencies. The goal will be to develop and implement educational and quality improvement programs directed at reducing the occurrence and adverse outcomes of chronic kidney disease.
Clinical Science Committee: This committee is responsible for: (1) providing input to the Program Committee and the Postgraduate Education Committee on the content of various programs and curricula related to clinical epidemiology, clinical trials and outcomes research; (2) advising Council on the creation of ASN-sponsored clinical research awards; (3) promoting and publicizing the accomplishments of existing clinical trial groups, registries and large-scale observational studies; and, (4) advising Council on research methods and strategies useful to answering significant clinical questions related to renal research.
Dialysis Advisory Group: The charge of the Dialysis Advisory Group is to answer queries related to dialysis, provide recommendations on dialysis issues, and serve as advocates for the dialysis community. This advisory group also works with the Post-Graduate Education Committee to develop educational activities related to dialysis.
Grants Review Committee: The Grants Review Committee reviews grant applications for the Student Scholar Grant, New Directions Grant, Scherbenske Grant, Gottschalk Grant, Merrill Grant (transplant), and the Career Development Grant in Geriatric Medicine (ASN-ASP Junior Development Grant).
Homer W. Smith Award Committee: The committee evaluates nominees and presents the three top-ordered candidates to the ASN Council for approval.
Hypertension Advisory Group: The Hypertension Advisory Group is responsible for: (1) advising the ASN Council on matters dealing with hypertension, including discussions on Capitol Hill regarding emerging scientific/clinical information to which the ASN should respond publicly; (2) publishing position papers, reviews, etc. for ASN journals; (3) working with the ASN PGE Committee in organizing the annual two-day renal week course on hypertension; and, (4) working with the ASN Clinical Science Committee.
The John P. Peters Award Committee: The committee reviews nominations for the Peters Award and presents the three top-ordered candidates to the ASN Council.
Practicing Nephrologists Advisory Group: The Practicing Nephrologists Advisory Group is responsible for: (1) Obtaining information from the practicing nephrology community and providing the ASN Council with input concerning ways in which the society can better serve the practicing nephrologist; (2) Advising the ASN Council on matters dealing with the practice of nephrology including but not limited to: legislative and regulatory issues, patient care, education, and publications and research; (3) Sustaining relations with other ASN committees and advisory groups, particularly, but not limited to the Dialysis Advisory Group and the Chronic Kidney Disease Advisory Group; and, (4) Providing a focus group for ASN members engaged in the practice of nephrology that would result in the development of special courses/meetings, publications and other endeavors that would enhance the delivery of care to patients with renal disease and related disorders.
Transplant Advisory Group: The Transplant Advisory Group is responsible for: (1) formulating recommendations relating to transplantation including advocacy, government relations, and interactions with other societies/foundations—particularly transplant societies/foundations; (2) providing input to educational and other programmatic activities; and, (3) establishing jointly sponsored research and fellowship grants.
Young Investigator Award Committee: The committee evaluates nominees and presents the three top-ordered candidates to the ASN Council for approval.
Please think carefully about your interest in the opportunities outlined above, and forward nominations and a current CV of the nominee to:
Karen L. Campbell, Ph.D
ASN Executive Director
kcampbell@asn-online.org
Please send nominations no later than May 23, 2007. Nominations can also be faxed to 202-659-0709.
4. ASN Director of Education Resigns
Dr. Paul Kimmel has tendered his resignation as the ASN Director of Education in order to return to his career in academic medicine. Dr. Kimmel has enjoyed the work of expanding the many educational programs of the Society very much, but misses the trainee education and his research at George Washington University. He will be involved in transitional ASN duties though Renal Week 2007. Efforts to identify a successor to Dr. Kimmel will begin immediately.
The ASN Council thanks Dr. Kimmel for his hard work and leadership over the past year. The success of the recent Renal Weekend meetings as well as the planning and quality of the Clinical Nephrology Conferences and PGE courses to be presented during Renal Week in San Francisco further attest to the energy and commitment that he made to the ASN.
The council asks that you please join them in thanking Dr. Kimmel for his service to the ASN and in wishing him the very best as he returns to academia.
5. 12th Annual Board Review Course and Update
Note: Housing and registration information are not yet available on the ASN website, but will be soon.
Join the ASN August 25-31st, 2007 at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco for the ASN's Board Review Course & Update. The BRC is an intensive review and update for all and a must for Certification & Re-Certification. It has become a "Renal Rite of Passage" that can be customized to fit your specific needs. The timing of the ASN Board Review Course & Update in late August maximizes attendees' readiness for the November 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 1, 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.
6. ISN Nexus Symposium on Hypertension
The International Society of Nephrology (ISN) invites you to attend the second in the series of the ISN's new generation of symposia: Nexus - Linking Research to Practice.
Building on the success of the first Nexus on “The Bone and the Kidney” (October 12-15, 2006 in Copenhagen, Denmark), “Hypertension and the Kidney”, November 29 - December 2, 2007, Vienna, Austria, is set to convene and intermingle an eminent group of nephrologists, hypertensiologists, cardiologists and endocrinologists.
Click this link for more details: www.isn-online.org/nexus/hypertension
Contribute to the Debate: Submit an Abstract by June 15, 2007
