Dr Susan E. Quaggin Previews Advances in Transplants, Care Delivery to Be Presented at Kidney Week 2022

The field of nephrology is on the brink of a revolution, and this year’s Kidney Week 2022 will address the latest breakthroughs in kidney care delivery, transplant, and equity, said Susan E. Quaggin, MD, FASN, president of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) for the 2021-2022 term.

Transcript

Can you give a preview of your presidential address at Kidney Week 2022 and what attendees can expect to learn at the conference?

I'm not going to give away everything in the presidential address, but I’d just like to say that I feel our field of nephrology is on the brink of a revolution. So, a time like never before where there are incredible, exciting advances. I think that's all I'll say about the presidential address, but I'm really looking forward to it and to welcoming all of our attendees.

You did ask what attendees might learn at the conference, and this year the program committee has done a phenomenal job. There are going to be cutting-edge advances in the latest in science that will advance kidney health, as well as in clinical updates that will help participants and clinicians who attend not only to update their current best practices, but also to see what is coming down the road in the future for kidney health. So, a really, really exciting program ahead.

With over 3000 posters and a myriad of plenary and general sessions, what are you most excited to see at the conference?

What I'm most excited to see at the conference is to get back together with colleagues and friends, many of whom we haven't seen for over 3 years. The opportunity to meet and make many new friends and colleagues, and I'm always particularly excited to meet the trainees, who are the future of our specialty. There will be many, many attendees and trainees this year who are attending their very first Kidney Week, so can't wait for that.

In addition, as you said, there's over 3000 posters and so many sessions to choose from. I am incredibly excited to see the latest and the greatest in kidney science and kidney medicine. There are going to be exciting new clinical trials that will be presented in the late-breaker session, the plenary sessions each day host some really phenomenal speakers, and then just attending many of the different science and clinical sessions including getting a chance to meet one on one with many of the poster presenters.

What are some key trends in nephrology and kidney care delivery overall that you hope to see addressed?

There have been incredible advances in kidney health and kidney science over recent years. So, I am very hopeful, and because I've had a sneak peek at the program, I know that many of these advances will be presented at Kidney Week. What I hope is for all participants to really understand what some of these new breakthroughs are and what they mean for our patients.

These will include new breakthroughs for treating some of the [most common] kidney diseases that affect the 37 million people in the United States and more than 850 million people worldwide. So, those include chronic kidney diseases [CKD], CKD due to diabetes, as well as some of the rare conditions that can cause kidney disease—really some very exciting new treatments to address all of these aspects.

In addition, there will be many sessions and speakers talking about some of the latest breakthroughs in transplant. We will have a plenary speaker talking about xenotransplantion and many really important advances in policies that will help patients who have kidney transplants, increase access to kidney transplants, and ensure that kidney transplants survive for longer.

Finally, I think one of the major focus of this meeting, and really the kidney community overall, is focused on equity and ensuring that these newest breakthroughs are accessible to all patients. That's not just in the United States, but really around the globe where kidney disease typically affects communities that are underresourced and vulnerable populations.

So, lots to see, lots going on. We've got participants from over 110 countries, more than 10,000 registrants at this point in time, so incredibly exciting program ahead.