Project Grant R13DK143683

ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY: FROM BENCH TO BEDSIDE - PROJECT SUMMARY ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY (AKI) IS AN INCREASINGLY PREVALENT WORLDWIDE PROBLEM THAT HAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON PATIENT MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY, INCLUDING A MARKED INCREASED RISK OF PROGRESSIVE CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD). DESPITE THIS, NO THERAPIES HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO ACCELERATE RECOVERY OR PREVENT PROGRESSION TO CKD IN PATIENTS WITH AKI. THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS FOR THIS, BUT A MAJOR FACTOR HAS BEEN THE LACK OF EFFECTIVE COLLABORATIVE PIPELINES BETWEEN BENCH RESEARCHERS STUDYING THE MECHANISMS AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES FOR AKI, AND CLINICAL SCIENTISTS IMPLEMENTING HYPOTHESIS TESTING CLINICAL TRIALS IN PATIENTS WITH AKI. HOWEVER, ASIDE FROM THE ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY (ASN), THERE ARE NO OTHER ESTABLISHED FORUMS THAT PROMOTE DIRECT EXCHANGE OF IDEAS BETWEEN THE CLINICAL AND BASIC SCIENCE AKI RESEARCH COMMUNITIES IN ACADEMIA, INDUSTRY, AND GOVERNMENT. TO ADDRESS THIS, WE ARE SEEKING SUPPORT FOR THE 3RD "ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY: FROM BENCH TO BEDSIDE" CONFERENCE HOSTED BY THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY, WHICH WILL BE HELD MAY 4-7, 2025, AT THE LANSDOWNE RESORT IN LEESBURG, VA. THE AIMS OF THIS CONFERENCE SERIES ARE: 1) TO REVIEW STATE OF THE ART AND WORK IN PROGRESS, BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL, AND CLINICAL RESEARCH ON AKI; 2) TO PROVIDE A PLATFORM TO HELP DEVELOP NEW INVESTIGATORS TRAINED TO THINK IN A MORE TRANSLATIONAL WAY ABOUT AKI; 3) TO PROVIDE A FORUM FOR NETWORKING ACROSS DISCIPLINES, INCLUDING PATIENT ADVOCACY AND URM SCIENTISTS; AND 4) TO PROVIDE A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR TRAINEES WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET AND DEVELOP LONG-TERM MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS WITH LEADERS IN THEIR FIELD; CAREER ADVICE; AND DISCUSSIONS ABOUT CHALLENGING TOPICS FOR RESEARCH LEADERSHIP INCLUDING IMPOSTER SYNDROME AND HIRING A DIVERSE RESEARCH TEAM. THIS CONFERENCE WAS FIRST HELD IN 2019 IN ASILOMAR, THEN IN 2022 IN BANFF CANADA. FOR THE 2025 CONFERENCE, WE HAVE INVITED 34 ORAL PRESENTATIONS AND CONFIRMED 14/34 (41%) ARE FEMALE, NON-BINARY, OR UNDERREPRESENTED IN MEDICINE, AND NINE (26%) ARE EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATORS/POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS. THEY WILL GIVE STATE-OF-THE-ART AND WORK IN PROGRESS TALKS ON TOPICAL ASPECTS OF RESEARCH IN THE BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL, AND CLINICAL SCIENCE OF AKI. THESE PRESENTATIONS WILL BE INTERMINGLED WITH 14 ADDITIONAL ABSTRACTS SELECTED ORAL PRESENTATIONS LARGELY FROM TRAINEES, AS WELL AS A POSTER SESSION TO ENCOURAGE SCIENTIFIC INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DIVERSE AKI SCIENTISTS. TRAINEE/EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATOR REGISTRATION WILL BE FREE FOR THE TOP 25 PRESENTING AUTHORS, AND 25 TRAVEL AWARDS WILL BE AVAILABLE, 15 OF WHICH WE HOPE WILL BE FUNDED BY THE R13 GRANT. OF TRAVEL AWARDS SOME WILL BE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO FULFIL THE NIH CRITERIA OF BEING UNDERREPRESENTED IN RESEARCH. THROUGH TARGETED ADVERTISEMENTS AND CONNECTIONS WITH THE WOMEN IN NEPHROLOGY AND NETWORK OF MINORITY HEALTH RESEARCH INVESTIGATORS, WE WILL STRIVE TO INCREASE DIVERSITY AT THIS CONFERENCE. WE EXPECT THE MEETING WILL ATTRACT CLINICAL AND BASIC SCIENTISTS FROM ACADEMIA, AND INVESTIGATORS AND LEADERS FROM COMPANIES AND THE GOVERNMENT INVOLVED IN PRE-CLINICAL AND CLINICAL AKI RESEARCH.