Kidney Week offers special keynotes, sessions on science, policy and environment
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Healio | Nephrology News & Issues interviewed Michelle A. Josephson, MD, FASN, president of the American Society of Nephrology, on what attendees can expect during Kidney Week, which takes place Nov. 1-5 in Philadelphia.
Healio | Nephrology News & Issues: This is the first Kidney Week meeting in a few years that will be completely live. What convinced you and the ASN it was time to move (back) in that direction?
Michelle A. Josephson, MD, FASN: Data showed we were ready to return to being completely live. We noticed the number of learners who were participating virtually in real time was dropping from year to year. Most Kidney Week meeting participants value the in-person opportunities.
While there is no virtual or hybrid event in 2023, educational content will be recorded and posted to view on-demand in late November in the ASN eLearning Center and will be complimentary to meeting participants.
Healio | Nephrology News & Issues: Organizers have put together two new early programs, “Genetics in clinical nephrology” and “Nephrocardiology – An emerging field.” For nephrology and cardiology, is CKD the tie that binds these two specialties?
Michelle A. Josephson, MD, FASN: The link between these two specialties is that acute and chronic heart failure/heart disease can cause AKI and/or chronic kidney disease and vice versa. It is a bi-directional relationship.
Healio | Nephrology News & Issues: There is a session planned on the artificial kidney. We have seen successful transplants of a pig heart and kidneys. How far away do you think we are from seeing this as a reality?
Michelle A. Josephson, MD, FASN: The kidney studies were a success, in that we learned more, but all the individuals participating in the study did not represent live transplant recipients. The heart recipient did not survive long-term.
There is some excitement that we are seeing xenotransplanted kidneys getting evaluated in first-in-human studies. We still have a lot to learn from these studies and others before we are ready to do full clinical trials for xenotransplantation.
While the xenotransplanted kidneys are the first artificial kidney platform to be studied in humans, there are a multitude of scientific and logistical challenges unique to pig-sourced kidneys. Other approaches to artificial kidneys, like de- and re-cellularized or biomechanical kidney platforms, likely have their own unique challenges.
It is a too early to say which platform is a clear winner, but it is not too early to be optimistic that an artificial kidney is still possible.
Healio | Nephrology News & Issues: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has launched reform efforts for the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OTPN) to help improve organ allocation and reduce the number of unused organs. Will these reform efforts make a difference?
Michelle A. Josephson, MD, FASN: ASN was proud to support the Securing the U.S. OPTN Act and HRSA’s OPTN Modernization Initiative. These initiatives hold great promise to expand access to kidney transplant care by increasing transparency and accountability in the operation of the national transplant network.
Nephrologists and transplant professionals must work with HRSA to support the implementation of the Modernization Initiative and ensure it benefits people seeking a transplant.
We have a Kidney Week session planned for Nov. 3 entitled “Leave no kidney behind: Optimizing utilization of deceased and living donor kidneys,” which will address the need to develop, improve, implement and measure new tools and pathways for increasing access to kidney transplants for everyone who needs a life-saving kidney transplant or wishes to become a living donor.
ASN’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee assisted with planning this session.
Another session is planned for Nov. 2 entitled “Shovel-ready opportunities to transform kidney transplantation in the United States.”
According to the description, “This session explores actions the U.S. government is taking or should take to maximize access to kidney transplantation and ensure that access is equitable. Experts address shovel-ready policy solutions, delineate why these changes are needed from the patient perspective and how they will affect general and transplant nephrologists alike.”
Healio | Nephrology News & Issues: There have been recent discussions about needing to improve the nephrology curriculum to attract more fellows to the specialty. Is ASN taking steps in this area?
Michelle A. Josephson, MD, FASN: Kidney Week has an important session titled “Winning team: The nephrology workforce for the 21st century” on Nov. 3. The introduction for the session states: “Internal medicine resident interest in the field of nephrology continues to decline, and this is a real concern for who will be caring for our patients. The pipeline is drying up; how will we continue to deliver care? Finding ways to fill the gap of nephrology care is challenging; however, advanced practice practitioners can fill in those gaps.” I think this session can offer some answers as to how we address the needs of our nephrology workforce, both now and in the future.
Healio | Nephrology News & Issues: Are there any other sessions other sessions you want readers to know about from the program?
Michelle A. Josephson, MD, FASN: Yes, I think these are of particular interest this year.
“Environmental health and the kidneys” on Nov. 3. The introduction defines the session’s focus on “the intersection of environmental conditions and kidney health.”
“ETC home stretch? The ESKD Treatment Choices model” session takes place on Nov. 4 and will include a review and analysis of the effectiveness of this ongoing demonstration.
We also have excellent keynote speakers who promise to give superb state-of-the-art lectures, along with our presentation of the ASN President’s Medal award to photojournalist Ed Kashi, who will share some of his powerful and haunting images on individuals living with chronic kidney disease of undetermined etiology. This work has increased awareness of the issue and led to improvements in working conditions in some instances.
Other sessions include one led by Bonnie Basler, PhD, who will speak on “Tiny conspiracies: cell-to-cell communication in bacteria and new approaches to antimicrobials” on Nov. 2, and a presentation by Nobel Prize winner Ardem Patapoutian, PhD, who will give a talk entitled “How do you feel? The molecules that sense touch,” on Nov. 3.
On Nov. 4, Erica Ollmann Saphire, PhD, will give a talk entitled “Antibodies against emerging infectious diseases: Global collaborations,” and environmentalist, author and journalist Bill McKibben will give a talk entitled “Too hot: Human bodies and inhuman temperatures,” on Nov. 5.
For information on registration and the Kidney Week program, visit www.asn-online.org/education/kidneyweek.
- For more information:
- Michelle Josephson, MD, FASN, is professor of medicine and surgery at the University of Chicago, director of education at the Transplant Institute, medical director of the Pancreas Transplant Program and program director of the Transplant Nephrology Fellowship.
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