Greetings, ASN members,
Thank you for attending Renal Week 2007 and helping to generate the highest attendance ever—nearly 14,000 attendees! The Program and Postgraduate Education Committees, led by John Sedor and Mark Rosenberg, respectively, did a wonderful job of sustaining the tradition of excellence that continues to characterize Renal Week programs.
Special thanks go to the dedicated ASN staff led by Karen Campbell, as well as outgoing ASN President Bill Henrich, who ably guided the ASN through another year of exciting and continued growth.
Fall is a time of transitions, and we offer our sincere gratitude to Tom DuBose., who leaves the ASN Council after 7 years of distinguished service. We welcome Bruce Molitoris, who has joined the ASN Council. You can read more about our newest council member below.
There are a number of new initiatives underway for the coming year. Please stay tuned to Renal Express for information as the ASN works to improve the benefits of membership.
Sincerely,
Peter S. Aronson, MD, FASN
President, American Society of Nephrology
2. New Councilor: Bruce A. Molitoris, MD
The ASN welcomes Bruce A. Molitoris, MD, our newest ASN Councilor. Dr. Molitoris is a Professor of Medicine and Chief, Division of Nephrology at Indiana University School of Medicine and also Director of the Indiana Center for Biological Microscopy. Dr. Molitoris has been actively involved in the ASN for a number of years and served the Society in a variety of capacities, including chairing the ASN Program Committee, speaking at ASN's Annual Board Review Course & Update and as the chairperson of the Acute Kidney Injury Advisory Group. Dr. Molitoris has also served on several editorial boards, including ASN's Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, American Journal of Kidney Diseases, American Journal of Physiology, and Kidney International. Dr. Molitoris' areas of scientific and clinical interests are acute kidney injury, both nephrotoxic and ischemic, and how 2-photon imaging can be used to understand pathophysiology and therapy of kidney diseases.
3. Posters2View: Now Online
The ASN is pleased to announce that our new Posters2ViewTM 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 Posters2ViewTM site.
4. Study Shows Rise in Chronic Kidney Disease
The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in America is growing, reports a study by ASN member, Josef Coresh, MD, PhD, FASN of Johns Hopkins University, and colleagues, published in the November 7, 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, estimates that 26 million people – or 13 percent of the U.S. population – now have CKD; an increase of 3 percent over previous estimates.
The increase is partly explained by the increasing prevalence of diabetes and hypertension, the main causes of CKD, and raises concerns about future increased incidence of kidney failure and other complications of CKD, such as cardiovascular disease. The United States Renal Data System (USRDS) estimates that by 2020 nearly 785,000 people will be receiving treatment for kidney failure.
Efforts to prevent the onset of kidney failure are hampered by the fact that most Americans remain unaware that they have the disease. According to survey results, only 11.6 percent of men and 5.5 percent of women were aware of having moderate (stage 3) chronic kidney disease. Awareness increased to 42 percent of participants with severe (stage 4) chronic kidney disease. Stage 5 chronic kidney disease is kidney failure.
The study was conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Tufts-New England Medical Center, and Cleveland Clinic Foundation. They completed a cross-sectional analysis of the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES 1988-1994 and NHANES 1999-2004), interviewing participants at home and conducting physical exams and blood and urine tests. For more details, click here.
5. Obtain Your CME Credits for Renal Week Online
Again this year, credits for Renal Week must be obtained directly online through our Online CME Center. Verification of participation requires an ASN User ID and a valid registration ID number for the ASN Annual Meeting and the PGE programs. Go to the ASN website and click on “Access ASN's Online CME Center” in the Renal Reminders box, then follow the prompts. Your CME certificates are printed in real-time for the sessions you evaluate online at any given time. To receive your CME credits, please complete the online form by Thursday, January 31, 2008.
6. Renal Biopsy: Clinical Correlations
ASN has posted the answers to the cases presented in the Renal Biopsy: Clinical Correlations CNC session that took place during the ASN 2007 Renal Week. Click here to access this information via the ASN website.
The Renal Biopsy: Clinical Correlations session is a popular program during Renal Week that consists of five mini-CPCs with brief case discussions by an eminent nephrologist, followed by detailed discussion of the renal pathology. The program allowed participants to review case histories and biopsy material available onsite in the ASN Microscope Room with the help of Renal Pathologists who were available to guide participants' observations and interpretations.
7. New Directions Grant
The deadline to submit your application for a 2007 ASN New Directions Grant is December 1, 2007. The ASN offers New Directions Grants to provide established investigators with funds for pilot studies in a new area of research, which will likely lead to NIH funding.
Click here to learn more about this funding opportunity.
8. ASN Publications – Distributed throughout the Globe
Each year ASN increases its reach through its publications and each year the list of countries grows. Below is a partial list of countries receiving hard copies of ASN's publications: Nephrology Self-Assessment Program, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, and Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
CANADA/LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN
Anguilla, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Dutch Antilles, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Paraguay,
Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela
EUROPE/RUSSIA
Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia
and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands,
Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia
ASIA/JAPAN/PACIFIC RIM
Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Guam, Hong Kong,
India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Macao,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
AFRICA
Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab
Emirates, Zambia, Zimbabwe
For more information, please contact ASN Publications Manager, Kimberly Fradette-Taylor, ktaylor@asn-online.org.
9. 2008 NIH Director's Pioneer and New Innovator Award Call for Applications
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is calling for applications for 2008 NIH Director's Pioneer and New Innovator Awards. Pioneer Awards are open to scientists at any career stage, while New Innovator Awards are reserved for new investigators who have not received an NIH regular research (R01) or similar grant. The application period for the 2008 Pioneer Award opens on December 16, 2007 and closes on January 16, 2008. The 2008 New Innovator Award application period begins on March 3, 2008 and ends on March 31, 2008. Please click here for additional information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-08-014.html
10. NephCure Grant Program
Nephcure Grant Program for Research on FSGS and other causes of the Nephrotic Syndrome
The NephCure Foundation announces its intent to support basic/translational/clinical science research initiatives to understand the cause or identify treatments and/or the cure for FSGS and other diseases that result in the Nephrotic Syndrome. Applications will be accepted for post-doctoral fellowships, career development awards, bridging grants, and to support established investigators undertaking new investigative directions. Click here for a full description of this program and for application instructions. The application deadline is December 12, 2007 for grants that will commence July 1, 2008.
