This application is a request for partial support for the 9th International Workshop on Developmental Nephrology, to be held in the Barossa Valley, South Australia (August 25-27, 2004). The discipline of developmental renal physiology evolved along with the birth of pediatric nephrology over the past several decades. By 1980, the number of investigators in the world dedicated to this field had increased to the point where the 1st International Workshop on Developmental Renal Physiology was held in New York. The success of this initial Workshop led to the organization of subsequent Workshops at 3-year intervals, each in conjunction with the triennial Congress of the International Pediatric Nephrology Association (IPNA).
The aim of the Workshop is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the state-of-the-art of developmental nephrology. Whereas investigation of the developing kidney had initially been chiefly the province of pediatric nephrologists, the recent explosion in cell and molecular biology as well as the molecular genetics of renal disease has resulted in the recruitment of investigators from many disciplines to focus their attention on the developing kidney. Thus, the Workshop will include the participation of investigators in disciplines including pediatric nephrology, renal medicine, physiology, cell biology, developmental biology, pathology, molecular biology and genetics. The first day will address the molecular control of patterning in the kidney and GU tract in health and disease. The second day will focus on patterning for 3D architecture at the level of the glomerulus, tubules and vasculature. Processes involved in normal epithelial differentiation will also be discussed, including establishment of polarity and ontogeny of tubular transport, and regulation by signaling pathways. The final day will highlight new advances in our understanding of defects in terminal differentiation and the response of the kidney to injury, with an emphasis on recapitulation of developmental programs. Two poster sessions will provide an opportunity for presentation of free communications. By allowing ample time for questions and answers, the program is designed to serve as a forum conducive to the exchange of new knowledge, techniques, and concepts relating to the biology, pathophysiology, and genetics of the developing kidney. The meeting will be held at Barossa Valley Resort, an optimal venue for such interaction, immediately preceding the 13th IPNA Congress in Adelaide, South Australia (August 29-September 2, 2004).
