Kidney Week will be here in less than a month, and, once again, will feature some of the most innovative basic science.
Topics will encompass cell biology, physiology, tissue engineering, cutting-edge microscopy and sequencing, genetics, targeted therapies and much more. One of the highlights of every Kidney Week are the morning plenary lectures, which feature topics of broad, general interest in the basic and translational sciences delivered by highly accomplished presenters. Notably, this meeting brings four outstanding plenary speakers. This begins with Dr. Laura Niklason, whose lung and blood vessel engineering was recognized among the top 50 inventions in Time magazine in 2010.
- Thursday, November 2 at 8:45AM, Dr. Laura Nikalson will address how her regenerative strategies can be applied to dialysis.
- Friday, November 3 at 8:45AM, Dr. Brian Kent Kobilka, co-recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, will discuss his ground-breaking work on G protein-coupled receptors and the state of drug discovery.
- Saturday, November 4 at 8:40AM, Dr. Andrew Feinberg, discoverer of epigenetics in cancer, will discuss mechanisms of epigenetic modification and his pioneering of molecular and epidemiological tools for epigenomics.
- Sunday, November 5 at 8:47AM, Dr. Richard Flavell, co-discoverer of introns, will address innate immunity in tissue injury and inflammation.
In addition to having these exceptional pioneers, Kidney Week will include state-of-the-art technology symposia and basic science sessions. One of these, a lunchtime technology symposium taking place at the Hilton Riverside, adjacent to the Convention Center, on Friday, November 3, highlights single-cell sequencing, which has the promise to transform discoveries of the kidney, whose function depends on multiple, specialized cell types. This symposium will discuss the benefits and challenges of current single-cell sequencing platforms, and application to healthy and disease states.
Another session, on November 4 at 2 PM, features various live microscopy techniques to image, for instance, primary cilia in renal tubules, kidney hemodynamics, and cellular responses in a transplanted kidney. As well, this session will also include clearing techniques to allow better visualization of disease processes, for instance, in glomerulonephritis.
At the intersection between basic and clinical sciences, a translational session on Kidney Biopsy in the 21st Century on Saturday, November 4 at 10:30AM, will discuss some of the novel tools for examining biopsy specimens, such as the infrared spectroscopy, superresolution microscopy, cell distance mapping, and single-cell imaging of gene expression. Other sessions of interest to both basic and clinical researchers are those dedicated to personalized and precision medicine, including afternoon translational sessions on systems biology and precision medicine (November 3 and 4) and on the advances in developing pluripotent stem cells, organoids, and artificial kidneys for kidney disease treatment (November 4).
Throughout the meeting, talks will address the role of non-coding RNAs and of ER stress in kidney development, homeostasis and disease, the cellular processes and signaling pathways that induce injury or promote repair, biomechanical forces in renal physiology, and the cross-talk between different cell types in the kidney and between the kidney and other organ systems. Daily poster sessions will further add to the breadth and wealth of the most novel findings in kidney research.
For the first time, we, the ASN Basic Science Community Leaders, will be available to meet you personally and look forward to welcoming you to our thriving community. Join us at the Communities Lounge in the exhibit hall one of two times:
We encourage you to live tweet your experiences at #kidneywk and follow all the basic science at #ASNbasicSci. We are thrilled about all that 2017 Kidney Week has to offer and are extremely excited to see you!