Advancing Nephrology Around the World

AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY

Research and prevention tops ISN’s objectives

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

03 All you need to know ISN’s Education Committee

04 R&P Program Taking center stage

at the Mario Negri Institute

07 ISN Fellow from Nepal Focuses on early detection

08 Sister pairs in Bolivia and Italy Step up on prevention

09 ISN Educational Ambassador Dedicated to education in Africa

10 Membership Ten reasons to renew with ISN

11 WHO and ISN Raising global awareness together

12 CME update Nanjing Forum 2011 success

13 YNC Connecting medical students in Brazil

15 Upcoming events Meet KI editors at ASN Kidney Week 2011

ISN NEWS 39 October 2011

Doctors and patients in developing countries are faced with a different set of

challenges when it comes to kidney disease. As ISN President John Feehally

rightly mentioned in the previous edition of ISN News, nephrologists in emerging

countries go about their daily work without many of the advantages doctors in the

developed world take for granted.

New medicines, dialysis treatment and transplant facilities are often not an option

due to a lack of funds or a diffi culty in accessing care. Early detection and prevention

programs spark hope for these communities and have become the basis of ISN’s

approach to chronic kidney disease.

Through the ISN Global Outreach (GO) Research and Prevention Program, local

communities are being screened for kidney disease and data is being gathered for

doctors to carry out more research into the disease on a national level. Moreover, with

renewed efforts to raise awareness about acute kidney injury in developing countries,

there are opportunities to save lives and restore health through affordable care.

As the following pages reveal, setting up screening and prevention programs across

low-income regions has already gone a long way towards saving lives and providing

hope to many patients who simply cannot afford dialysis and are unable to access

transplantation.

ISN is spreading the word on the importance of early detection through its fellows

and sister renal center pairs. Providing more than just the basics in renal training,

the ISN GO Programs and the Research and Prevention Committee in particular, are

focused on sharing knowledge – bridging the gaps in renal patient care and research

worldwide.

Professor Carol Pollock

Prevention is the best cure

EDITORIALISN Leadership 2011-2013

Executive Committee John Feehally (United Kingdom) - President

Bernardo Rodríguez-Iturbe (Venezuela) - Past President

Giuseppe Remuzzi (Italy) - President Elect

Adeera Levin (Canada) - Secretary General

Victor Schuster (USA) - Treasurer

David Harris (Australia) - Education Committee Chair

Gavin Becker (Australia) - Council Representative

Toshio Miyata (Japan) - Council Representative

William Couser (USA) - Presidential Appointee

Vivekanand Jha (India) - Presidential Appointee

Council

Africa

Boucar Diouf (Senegal)

Maher Fouad Ramzy (Egypt)

Asia/Pacifi c

Sanjay Agarwal (India)

Vivekanand Jha (India)

Gavin Becker (Australia)

Somchai Eiam-Ong (Thailand)

Peter Kerr (Australia)

Suhnggwon Kim (Republic of Korea)

Zhi Hong Liu (China)

Toshio Miyata (Japan)

Rezvi Sheriff (Sri Lanka)

Chih-Wei Yang (Taiwan)

Europe

Jorge Cannata-Andía (Spain)

Dick de Zeeuw (The Netherlands)

Kai-Uwe Eckardt (Germany)

Meguid El Nahas (United Kingdom)

Francesco Locatelli (Italy)

Laszlo Rosivall (Hungary)

Peter Stenvinkel (Sweden)

Irma Tchokonelidze (Georgia)

Latin America

Ana Cusumano (Argentina)

Juan Fernández-Cean (Uruguay)

Marta Franco (Mexico)

Sergio A. Mezzano (Chile)

Middle East

Mona Nasir Airukhaimi (United Arab Emirates)

North America

Roland Blantz (USA)

Alfred Cheung (USA)

Allison Eddy (USA)

Agnes Fogo (USA)

Bertram Kasiske (USA)

Susan Quaggin (Canada)

Marcello Tonelli (Canada)

ISN Committee Chairs Acute Kidney Injury Committee - Ravindra Mehta (USA)

Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee - Gavin Becker (Australia)

Dialysis Committee - Nathan Levin, Fredric Finkelstein (USA)

Forefronts Committee - Kai-Uwe Eckardt (Germany)

History of Nephrology Committee - Leon Fine (USA)

Interventional Nephrology Committee - Miguel Riella (Brazil)

Nexus Committee - Kumar Sharma (USA)

Publications Committee - David Harris (Australia)

Renal Disaster Relief Task Force - Raymond Vanholder (Belgium)

Renal Pathology Advisory Committee - Agnes Fogo (USA)

Young Nephrologists Committee - Roberto Pecoits-Filho (Brazil)

ISN GO Committee Chairs ISN GO Core Committee - William Couser (USA)

CME Program - Norbert Lameire (Belgium)

Education Ambassador Program - Saraladevi Naicker (South Africa)

Fellowship Committee - David Harris (Australia)

Kidney Health in Disadvantaged Populations Committee -

Guillermo Garcia Garcia (Mexico)

Research and Prevention Committee - Giuseppe Remuzzi (Italy)

Sister Renal Center Program Committee - Paul Harden (UK)

ISN GO Regional Committees Africa Committee - Omar Abboud (Sudan)

East Asia Committee - HaiYan Wang (China)

Eastern and Central Europe Committee - Laszlo Rosiwal (Hungary)

Latin America Committee - Ricardo Correa Rotter (Mexico)

Middle East Committee - Riyad Said (Jordan)

Oceania & South-East Asia Committee - Peter Kerr (Australia)

Russia and CIS Committee - Elena Zakharova (Russia)

South Asia Committee - Georgi Abraham (India)

ISN News

Published by ISN

Editor: Carol Pollock

Staff Editor: Sally Horspool

ISN Executive Director: Luca Segantini

The contents of this publication are

compiled in good faith. The publisher

accepts no responsibility for omissions

or errors.

Global

Operations Center

Rue du Luxembourg 22-24

B-1000 Brussels, Belgium

Tel: +32 2 213 13 67

Fax: +32 2 213 13 63

Americas

Operations Center

12100 Sunset Hills Rd., Suite 130

Reston, VA 20190, USA

Tel: +1 703 234 41 11

Fax: +1 703 435 43 90

Design www.landmarks.be Email: info@theisn.org URL: www.theisn.org

ISN Corporate Members

ISN acknowledges our corporate members for their contributions.

Education, education and more education

ISN News 39 | October 2011

“We are also making many of UKidney’s interactive offerings available to ISN members and will feature content created by

ISN on UKidney.com itself”

Jordan Weinstein,

Director of UKidney.com

Internet School of Nephrology

Nearly everything that ISN does focuses on education. An essential vehicle for ISN to advance nephrology worldwide is an education strategy that takes into account the needs of the developing and developed world.

Last year, ISN set up an education task force to further develop

recommendations which were put forward to the ISN Executive

Committee at its Oxford retreat this July.

Leading the education strategy is the ISN Education Committee.

David Harris, appointed Chair of the Committee, reveals: “these

representatives will work together to identify valuable existing

educational resources as well as new types of resources to be

created. These materials will be made available to ISN members in

various formats, but particularly through ISN’s website.”

ISN has also entered into a new partnership with UKidney.com,

a leading resource in nephrology education. The collaboration

will increase access to educational materials and opportunities

for nephrologists worldwide, with a special focus on developing

countries.

Harris adds: “ISN, with the help of UKidney.com, will deliver

the latest interactive education resources online to build a new

ISN educational portal.”

ISN holds many meetings, not just the World Congress, Forefronts

and Nexus meetings but also some 50 Continuing Medical

Education courses annually worldwide. Video and audio content

of those meetings will be captured for the website, in some cases

in live and interactive format.

Stay tuned online for more information regarding this initiative.

www.theisn.org

3

Looking at ISN’s research and prevention activities, you can’t but think about the Mario Negri Institute in Bergamo, Italy. The center has supported much of the research and prevention programs set up by ISN’s Global Outreach Programs’ Research and Prevention Committee.

Centering on research and prevention in the developing world

In the developed world, there is strong data on the different

stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the adult population

as opposed to low and middle income countries where this

information is scarce.

Since 2006, The ISN Global Outreach (GO) Research and

Prevention (R&P) Committee has been dedicated to promoting

research and educational programs in these poorer regions. It has

implemented research projects on detecting and managing CKD,

hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Learning to work independently

There are many successful stories to tell about fellows who have

gone on to set up early detection and prevention programs with

the help of staff at the Clinical Research Center at the Mario Negri

institute in Bergamo, Italy.

“We want to expose young nephrologists from emerging countries

to clinical research methodology including knowledge on measuring

and standardizing key parameters such as albuminuria, proteinuria

and GFR. These fellows can also directly care for patients, monitor

clinical studies, handle and analyze data,” explains ISN President-

Elect Giuseppe Remuzzi who chairs the ISN GO R&P Committee.

“The majority gain the necessary skills to conduct clinical studies of

their own. In the future, we have plans to integrate this educational

training with the ISN GO Fellowship Program.” So far, 15 countries

have received grants from the ISN GO R&P Program. Data collected

from more than 50,000 patients worldwide shows that the system

works. Most importantly, there is now a valuable network of countries

using the same informatics language.

Remuzzi believes it is important to create a system for data

collection and a common informatics platform that can also collect

and analyze follow up data on screened patients. This has been

done with the Kidney Disease Data Center template. “Specifi cally,

we have generated an online and onsite data input system that

we offer to these researchers so they can track and record data

depending on their research activity,” he adds.

The

EG

IPT-

CKD p

rogra

m – a community based prevention program led by Zaghloul Goud

a.

The research and prevention program in Nepal.

4

ISN News 39 | October 2011

A call for more prevention programs

Joining the Global Burden Disease Study

This year, the R&P Committee put strong efforts into a survey

of literature and data collection of national and regional early

stage renal disease registries for the Global Burden Disease (GBD)

2005 consortium that includes among others the World Health

Organization. The original GBD 1990 Study was commissioned by

the World Bank in 1991 to provide a comprehensive assessment

on the burden of 107 diseases and injuries, and 10 selected risk

factors for the world and eight major regions.

In 2008, the GBD consortium asked the ISN GO R&P Committee

to lead the team of experts on genitourinary diseases and collect

data on the distinct genitourinary diseases burden. This group

set out to develop detailed estimates of key epidemiological

parameters for the 21 regions included in GBD 2005.

The ISN GO Genitourinary Expert Group has just fi nished collecting

worldwide data. Now, unpublished epidemiologic data has been

added focusing on the incidence and prevalence of patients with

early stage renal disease and renal replacement therapy. This was

carried out by teams at the Mario Negri Institute and the GBD

2005 Core Team of Leaders in Seattle.

Twice a year, the Committee coordinates an open call for proposals

to select and support prevention projects in developing countries

on a competitive basis. The program was launched as a response

to the lack of existing programs that strive to detect, manage,

and prevent pandemic noncommunicable chronic diseases on a

global level.

“In the last fi ve years, we have received 92 applications, 34 have

been awarded grants. Some of these applications were largely

about detecting people at risk of cardiovascular and renal disease.

More recently, we have seen more applications on specifi c

local risk factors such as low birth weight and ground water

contamination for instance,” says Remuzzi.

Getting local nephrologists, health workers and authorities in

research and prevention programs actively involved in these

projects has been one of the Committee’s priorities. In 2005 the

Committee developed the Detection and Management of Chronic

Kidney Disease, Hypertension, Diabetes and Cardiovascular

Disease in Developing Countries or KHDC document.

“The KHDC guideline document provides a template format for

setting up early detection and intervention programs in emerging

countries that can be implemented depending on the particular

needs, organization facilities, and economic imperatives of the

given country,” he explains.

So far, it has helped set up screening and prevention programs

in Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, China,

Colombia, Egypt, Georgia, India, Malawi, Mexico, Moldova,

Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan,

Panama, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Uruguay

and Vietnam. Recent efforts have also focused on collecting data

and setting up surveillance initiatives to help better demonstrate

the prevalence of CKD and the effect of treatment.

You can apply for this program every year , deadlines are April 1st

and October 1st. For more information visit www.theisn.org

ASN Kidney Week

November 10-12, 2011

Find out more about the work

of the ISN GO Research and Prevention

Committee and the rest of the ISN GO Programs

during the GO sessions starting at 10 am at the ISN

stand (booth 332-336) at ASN Kidney Week

from November 10 to 12, 2011

at the Pennsylvania Convention Center

in Philadelphia.

Testing in local communities.

Screening program in Nepal.

5

“The epidemiological approach to the global burden of chronic

kidney disease was an important issue during my year as an ISN

Fellow,” explains Bishnu Pahari from the B.P. Koirala Institute of

Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.

As an ISN Fellow, Pahari contributed to the Global Burden

of Disease, Injuries and Risk Factor Study supported by ISN.

He evaluated abstracts and full text articles to identify the global

burden of nephropathy worldwide.

“I hope to start a CKD prevention program in other parts of Nepal

with help from the ISN Global Outreach (GO) Research and

Prevention Program. Also, this clinical research experience will be

useful to carry out effective clinical studies and participate in multi-

center clinical trials.”

During his fellowship year, Pahari also joined the Program

for Detection and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease,

Hypertension, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in developing

countries (KHDC), conducted in Nepal.

“I helped analyze data collected for the Kidney Disease Data

Center in Bergamo which included data from Nepal, India,

Mongolia, Moldova, Nigeria, Bolivia, Georgia and China. It was

a chance to understand the importance of such a program for

the developing world and learn how to evaluate and interpret the

results available in different locations,” explains Pahari.

Moreover, he learned more about kidney transplantation to start up

a similar program at his home institution where they are planning to

establish a transplant center in the near future.

“By using novel induction protocols, we can reduce the

maintenance of immunosuppressive therapy and lower the risk

of infections, metabolic and toxicity complications,” he says. With

more knowledge in CKD progression, he hopes to apply what

he learned at the Mario Negri remission clinic to start following

patients with CKD in an out-clinic setting.

Making the point about prevention and early detection

Bishnu (third from left) and his colleagues

at th

e Italian institute.

The next application deadline for the ISN GO Fellowship Program is

December 15, 2011www.theisn.org

ISN News 39 | October 2011

ISN Fellowships offer renal training and a chance to get involved in clinical research and prevention as Bishnu Pahari found out when he spent a year at the Mario Negri Institute in Italy.

7

Stepping up on prevention and patient care

The Instituto de Nefrología La Paz, Bolivia and the Mario Negri Institute in Italy recently took their Sister Renal Center partnership to a new level.

For more information about this program

including application deadlines, visit the SRC

page at www.theisn.org

In the coming months, La Paz Institute hopes to finish setting

up the infrastructure and laboratory equipment for a prevention

unit in the rural district of Caranavi, in western Bolivia. This will

help reach more early stage renal disease patients, giving them

the treatment they need faster.

The ISN Global Outreach (GO) Sister Renal Center (SRC)

Program prides itself in pairing emerging renal centers with

centers of excellence in the developed world so they can share

expertise.

On World Kidney Day, the SRC pair launched a renal prevention

program in western and central Bolivia. Several training

courses were conducted to introduce the prevention program

to local nephrologists, nurses and clinical laboratory staff.

In March 2011, three Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis

(CAPD) units were opened in the cities of La Paz, Cochabamba

and Santa Cruz. With support from ISN GO Research and

Prevention Committee and the Mario Negri Institute, the Bolivian

center is planning a telemedicine program to monitor these

units in real time, constantly improving prevention programs

and dialysis CAPD opportunities for patients in rural areas.

A Continuing Medical Education course was organized through

this SRC partnership in August. Another International Course

of Nephrology, Dialysis and Renal Transplantation took place

at UNIVALLE University School of Medicine in Cochabamba,

Bolivia in October.

This was coordinated by ISN, Instituto de Nefrología in La Paz,

the Instituto de Nefrología in Cochabamba and the Department

of Nephrology and Dialysis UNIVALLE Hospital School of Medicine.

Staff a

t the Instituto de Nefrologia in La Paz, Bolivia.

8

9

Italian nephrologist Giovanni Battista Fogazzi has a longstanding relationship with the medical community in Benin, West Africa. As an ISN Educational Ambassador, he can continue his mission – teaching doctors and supporting the growing number of chronic kidney disease patients.

ISN News 39 | October 2011

In Benin, communicable diseases are still predominant but

the incidence of noncommunicable diseases is steadily increasing.

With only one nephrologist for about 15,000 inhabitants, patients with

renal failure have to travel to a major town for dialysis treatment.

Twelve years ago, Fogazzi set up a basic nephrology program

at the Saint Jean de Dieu Hospital in the northern rural town

of Tanguiéta and has dedicated his time to raising funds

to support young kidney patients’ families. Some of these

funds have gone towards helping two young boys separated

from their families to undergo hemodialysis twice a week in

Cotonu, some hundred kilometers away from their hometown.

Over the years, he has followed patients in Benin closely, giving

them stability and emotional help. He used the ISN Global

Outreach Educational Ambassador Program to return to Benin

and train the local doctors and advise patients. Two weeks was

not very long in his eyes but to this community it was extremely

beneficial.

“Teaching advanced urine microscopy is extremely important,

especially in a country where few diagnostic tools are available.

During my stay, I saw several patients who had developed acute

kidney injury due to dehydration, mainly caused by prolonged

vomiting,” says Fogazzi who believes this condition is often

mistreated by local doctors. This observation led him to prepare

some valuable guidelines.

“With a growing number of local nephrologists and a government

program for hemodialysis, the situation is gradually improving

in Benin. However, basic diagnostic facilities such as renal

biopsies are not available yet. Peritoneal dialysis and renal

transplantation are also missing,” he adds.

“Being an ISN Educational Ambassador is enormously

rewarding on a professional and emotional level. You have to

be very basic, concrete and learn to adapt your knowledge to

what is available locally. Keeping in touch over the years for

advice and updates is also important because changes require

long-term efforts and support.”

A doctor across borders and cultures

Read about other EAP visits online at

www.theisn.org

Giova

nni F

ogazzi with local staff at the Saint Jean de Dien

Helping his colleagues in the laboratory.

Hospital, B

enin.

9

Renew your ISN Membership TodayLogin at

www.theisn.org/memberlogin and click Renew Your ISN Membership

If you have any questions or need help with renewing your membership,

please email membership@theisn.org or call +1 (703) 234-4111

ISN MembershipFind out why you should renew!

Being part of ISN is not just about what you receive as a member but also what you give. Getting involved in the Society’s philanthropic

and humanitarian activities infl uences how kidney disease is diagnosed and treated, and contributes to reducing its impact worldwide.

By renewing your membership, you can continue to share your experience and knowledge knowing that your contribution is helping

kidney specialists, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals learn cutting-edge techniques and discover the latest research

in prevention and diagnosis. Renal centers across the world can continue building long-lasting partnerships transforming levels of care

in the developing world.

We hope your ISN membership has been benefi cial to you. We know for a fact that it has had a life-changing impact on many people

around the world.

1 Exclusive eligibility for ISN capacity building programs

(Research and Prevention, Sister Renal Center, Continuing

Medical Education, Educational Ambassadors, Travel Grants)

2 Subscription to Kidney International (bi-monthly journal)

including online access to articles, current issues, and archives

(a value of USD 1,150 to USD 2,300 depending on where you

are located)

3 Subscription to Nature Reviews Nephrology online journal

including access to articles and archives

4 Reduced registration fees to ISN events (World Congress of

Nephrology, Forefronts and Nexus Symposia, plus other ISN

training programs)

Your membership not only supports ISN’s philanthropic and humanitarian activities but you also receive many valuable benefi ts including:

5 Unrestricted access to the ISN Nephrology Gateway

(the Society’s offi cial website)

6 Exclusive access to ISN Membership Directory online

7 Receive the quarterly ISN News (the Society’s offi cial newsletter)

8 E-mail notifi cations (e-Update) on nephrology news, journal

content, unique member services and upcoming ISN events

9 Voting rights and eligibility to serve on ISN committees

10 And last but not least, actively participate in ISN’s Global

Outreach (GO) Programs and make a signifi cant difference

in parts of the world that have little or no formal renal care,

education or access to knowledge

WORLD CONGRESS

OF NEPHROLOGY

HONG KONG,MAY 31 - JUNE 4, 2013

COOOOOOOF

10

Cancer, diabetes, heart and lung disease are the main targets of

a new World Health Organization (WHO) campaign to address

the global epidemic of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) does not get a passing mention

even though it meets all the criteria of a major public health

problem.

Aside from raising awareness with World Kidney Day, ISN is

currently working to better position renal disease in global

health thinking by building official working relations with the

WHO. ISN’s application is now complete and will be reviewed

in January 2012. ISN President John Feehally says: “Gaining

a position for kidney disease in global health strategies is a

long process. However, we remain committed to this initiative

ensuring that kidney disease patients share the benefits

that come with increased awareness and attention to NCDs

worldwide.”

Starting in 2008, ISN put forward its mission and proposed a

joint work plan to implement CKD prevention and intervention

programs into WHO’s health agenda and build official relations.

It has now submitted a final progress report on the 2009-2011

ISN/WHO work plan and a new work plan for 2011-13.

The first part of this work plan was completed this July

when William Couser, Marcello Tonelli and Giuseppe Remuzzi

submitted a paper to WHO entitled: “The Contribution of

Chronic Kidney Disease to the Global Burden of Major Non-

Communicable Diseases.”

Remuzzi and Noberto Perico also completed the second part

by applying WHO/ISH risk charts to the ISN Kidney Disease

Data Center data base to study the association between

kidney disease markers and the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Getting CKD on the world health agenda

ISN News 39 | October 2011

However, ISN

leaders were still

concerned that CKD

is not on the WHO’s

list of NCDs even though

it affects twice the estimated

number of the world’s population with diabetes. A senior

advisor for public policy was hired to develop a plan of action

to position CKD more prominently in the global health agenda.

Joint efforts with the International Federation of Kidney

Foundations, European Kidney Health Alliance and leaders of

major US renal organizations have also been carried out to

include CKD in global NCD policy planning.

This got the ball rolling for ISN to recruit some 350 ISN

‘advocacy volunteers’ to carry its message to the WHO and

lobby for the organization to include CKD in its NCD strategy.

So far, these volunteers have cultivated relationships with

Health Ministers in Argentina, India, Australia, Hong Kong,

Belgium, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Morocco, Chile,

Senegal, China, South Africa, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia,

Taiwan, France, the United States, Germany, Uruguay and

Guatemala.

To raise further attention, ISN has produced CKD supportive

‘Op-Ed’ articles and an advocacy piece. On August 22, 2011,

ISN was granted membership in the NCD Alliance “Common

Interest Group” – the first renal organization to be included in

this group. The effort to get renal patients the attention they

deserve from global health organizations like WHO is on-going

and long term, but encouraging progress has been made.

11

CME update

ISN Councilor

Zhi-Hong Liu

attends one of

the many forums

that have been

organized since

2006.

Time for

a group picture

at this year’s

Nanjing Forum.

Nanjing Forum 2011 – a formula that works

This June saw another Nanjing Forum end on a positive note. Today, the event is widely acknowledged as a top level academic meeting for nephrologists in China.

Providing the latest educational opportunities for Chinese

nephrologists, “Forefronts in Glomerular Disease - Nanjing Forum”,

has been part of ISN’s Global Outreach (GO) Continuing Medical

Education (CME) Program since 2006.

Each year, local specialists are also invited to give an update on

how kidney disease is treated in China, helping to deepen the

international understanding of Chinese nephrology. This time

around, some 600 delegates gathered to learn about transnational

medicine research and look at how it is applied to diagnose, treat

and prevent kidney disease. Topics under discussion included

IgA and lupus nephropathy, FSGS, diabetes and biotechnology.

Altogether 35 abstracts were selected for the poster presentations.

The number of delegates attending Nanjing Forum amounts to

about 500 participants each year. 60% have an academic

background as PhD students, post-doc and renal fellows.

Chinese ISN fellows have been sponsored by ISN to take part in

each edition.

“I was an ISN fellow, and furthered my study with funding from ISN

in the nineties. Now I am academician of the Chinese Academy

of Engineering and president elect of the Chinese Society of

Nephrology. ISN has played a signifi cant role in promoting the

development of nephrology worldwide,” explains ISN Councilor

Zhi-Hong Liu, from Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of

Medicine, who has chaired the Nanjing Forum consecutively for

these last years.

The Research Institute of Nephrology at Jinling Hospital in Nanjing

partnered with the Renal Disease Division at Rhode Island

Hospital, Brown University School of Medicine in 1997. Since

then, the two centers co-host ISN GO CME courses with senior

scholar visits and faculty exchanges. During this year’s Forum, a

new Sister Renal Center trio was formed to help develop another

emerging center in China.

“We strive to let Chinese Nephrology be part of the international

effort in fi ghting kidney diseases and provide a platform for

Chinese nephrologists to network and participate in global

academic activities. Apart from the Nanjing Forum, there are other

ISN-sponsored CME courses in China every year, such as in

Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou,” adds Liu.

Many ISN

leaders take

part in every

edition of

this course.

12

The YNC Corner YNC connects medical students in Brazil

The Young Nephrologists Committee (YNC) will participate in

the Conference on Kidney Disease Prevention in Disadvantaged

Populations in South America and the Caribbean, to be held from

November 23 to 25, 2011 in São Luis do Maranhão, one of the

poorest states in Brazil.

The meeting is organized at the Federal University of Maranhão

by the ISN Global Outreach (GO) Committee on Kidney Health in

Disadvantaged Populations, the Brazilian Society of Nephrology, the

Latin American Society of Nephrology and Hypertension, and the

International Federation of Kidney Foundations.

The YNC, represented by its chair, Roberto Pecoits-Filho will

coordinate a community kidney health campaign, together with

the academic leagues, made up of medical students working on

kidney-related research and prevention projects. In September

2010, the YNC organized its fi rst event in conjunction with the

medical students of Brazil, based on the model of an education

workshop with interactive sessions and tutorials.

This time, the YNC will lead the students in a community effort to

raise awareness about kidney disease and screen patients at high

risk in outlying areas of the city of São Luis do Maranhão, the state

with the lowest social-economic indicators in Brazil.

For more information about the YNC visit: www.theisn.org

We want to hear from you on Facebook

Let us know how you are involved with the

Mentorship Program or other YNC activities

by posting regular updates on ISN’s Young

Nephrologist Facebook page:

http://tinyurl.com/ync-isn

ISN News 39 | October 2011 13

ISN upcoming events

Come by the ISN stand (booth 332-336) at ASN Kidney Week

from November 10 to 12, 2011 between 9.30 and 10.30 am

at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. You can

talk to Kidney International (KI) Associate Editors Lynda Szczech,

Jai Radhakrishnan, Detlef Schloendorff and Robert Safi rstein. They

will be open to your questions and share their tips on getting your

paper into KI.

ISN’s offi cial journal published by Nature Publication Group (NPG),

KI is one of the world’s premier journals on the development and

consequences of kidney disease. For your paper to appear in the

journal, it is important to clearly state why your study is relevant

to the community, why it adds to the literature and show how it

translates to patient care.

Also, preparing a paper according to the Author Guidelines, found

under the Instructions and Forms tab on KI’s Manuscript Central

website, can reduce the possibility of your manuscript being

returned for technical revision.

KI is read by academic, corporate and government institutions and

consortia. New original and review articles are published ahead

of the archival print issue, ensuring the research is made publicly

available and can be cited as soon as possible after acceptance

for publication.

Meet KI editors at ASN Kidney Week 2011

ISN News 39 | October 2011

2011

2013

2012

For the full list of ISN events

visitwww.theisn.org

September 20 -23, 2012, Copenhagen, Denmark

Nexus Symposium 2012 Bone and the Kidney

June 7-10, 2012, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

ISN Forefronts Symposium Systems Biology and the Kidney

October 4-7, 2012, Melbourne, Australia

ISN Forefronts Symposium Tubulointerstitial Disease in Diabetic Nephropathy

May 31-June 4, 2013, Hong Kong, China

ISN World Congress of Nephrology 2013 2013

WORLD CONGRESS

OF NEPHROLOGY

HONG KONG ,MAY 31 - JUNE 4, 2013

15

ISNWORLD CONGRESS

OF NEPHROLOGY2013Hong Kong

May 31-June 4, 2013

www.wcn2013.org

Since ISN’s fi rst congress in 1960, the biennialWorld Congress of Nephrology (WCN) has provided vital guidance and support to advancing nephrology around the world. WCN, the International Society of Nephrology’s (ISN) fl agship scientifi c and educational congress, is the leading educational event in inter-national nephrology attracting attendance from the worldwide nephrology community, includingphysicians, academicians, and clinical researchers, as well as other healthcare professionals involved in multidisciplinary nephrology care.

Mark your calendar!

Advancing Nephrology Around the World

An event by

In partnership withHosted by

WORLD CONGRESS

OF NEPHROLOGY

HONG KONG,MAY 31 - JUNE 4, 2013

COOOOOOOOFF