The annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is the largest gathering in the world of clinical and basic scientists working in the renal field. Prior to each annual meeting the ASN sponsors an intensive basic science symposium whose topic, selected by the ASN's Basic Science Committee, reflects an area of investigation with major advances that impact the renal field. The conference is intended to foster new collaborations and promote applications of new technologies for studying the kidney. The 2012 Advances in Research Conference to be held in San Diego on October 30-31, 2012 is entitled """"""""Autoimmunity and Alloimmunity"""""""". The conference will feature 31 established investigators, many of them from outside the field of nephrology, who will speak on diverse aspects of fundamental immunology, autoimmunity, and alloimmunity. The specific scientific themes of the meeting to be addressed by the Speakers include self and non-self-recognition and mechanisms of tolerance, role of the innate and adaptive systems in autoimmunity and alloimmunity, role of auto-antigens and autoantibodies in autoimmune renal disease, regulation of the immune response, and clinical application of basic knowledge in these areas. The topics discussed are of high clinical relevance as autoimmune renal disease is a leading cause of kidney failure and renal transplantation is the leading form of organ transplantation and the optimal therapy for endstage renal disease. At this conference, ASN members and other interested participants will have the chance to interact with world leaders in fundamental immunology, autoimmunity, and transplantation immunology and will be exposed to state-of-the-art research. The purpose of this grant application is to request funds for junior faculty, postdoctoral fellow, and graduate student travel awards so that members can attend this conference prior to the 2012 ASN annual meeting in San Diego.
/Public Health Relevance Statement The goal of this annual conference is to update kidney researchers in a field that is instrumental to advancing our understanding of kidney function and/or disease. The focus of this year's conference is autoimmunity and alloimmunity, areas that include diseases of the native as well as transplanted kidney caused by the immune system. The majority of the speakers for the two day conference are top scientists from outside and within the Renal Community. They were selected based on their scientific contributions in their respective fields. In the past, conferenc participants have developed collaborative relationships with the speakers and with each other, which greatly facilitates advancing kidney research and the potential to develop therapies that can improve the health of the population.
