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| 2008 JASN IMPACT FACTOR 7.505 | HOME AUTHOR INFO EDITORIAL BOARD SUBSCRIBE FEEDBACK ALERTS HELP | |||
| CURRENT ISSUE | ARCHIVES | JASN Express | ONLINE SUBMISSION | |
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| 2008 JASN IMPACT FACTOR 7.505 | HOME AUTHOR INFO EDITORIAL BOARD SUBSCRIBE FEEDBACK ALERTS HELP | |||
| CURRENT ISSUE | ARCHIVES | JASN Express | ONLINE SUBMISSION | |
The ASN Council for the American Society of Nephrology is again seeking nominations for open positions on ASN standing committees and advisory groups. Nominations must be submitted by Friday, May 21, 2004.
The ASN Council invites all ASN members to indicate their interest in serving on an ASN standing committee or advisory group. You may also nominate another ASN member for committee participation. Much of the work of ASN is accomplished through the energetic activity and input of committees, so this is a great way for you to become involved in future planning and decisions that will influence the effectiveness and quality of membership services offered to all ASN members.
The ASN web site provides additional information about each of the ASN committees and advisory groups, including current members, the committee’s charge, membership criteria, and appointment terms. Committee membership becomes effective with each year’s Annual Meeting. In addition, there is an ASN Council and a Staff liaison listed for each committee, either of whom can be contacted for additional information or clarification on committee activities and responsibilities. ASN is seeking new members for the following committees.
Awards Committee
This committee reviews nominations for the Peters and Scribner awards and presents the three top-ordered candidates for each award to the ASN Council.
Homer Smith Award Committee
This committee evaluates nominees for the prestigious Homer Smith Award and presents the highest-ranked candidate to the ASN Council for approval.
Young Investigator Award Committee
This committee reviews applications for the Young Investigator Award and recommends a candidate to the ASN Council for review.
Grants Review Committee
The Grant Review Committee reviews grant applications for the Student Research Scholar Grant, Scherbenske Grant, KUFA-ASN Grant, ASN-RPA Foundation Grant, Gottschalk Grant, Merrill Grant (transplant), New Directions for Established Investigators Grant, and the Career Development Grant in Geriatric Medicine.
Renal Informatics Committee
This committee oversees and advises on the use of informatics to foster the mission and goals of the ASN, including improvement of communication with members, web site development and content, enhancement of educational programs, and the integration of advances in informatics with current ASN activities.
Basic Science Committee
This committee is responsible for: (1) developing basic science educational programs, such as ASN’s Advances in Basic Science Conference; (2) recommending to the ASN Council initiatives that will enhance the activities of basic scientists in the Society; (3) interacting with the Postgraduate Education Committee in educational activities in basic science; (4) providing input to NIH on future research initiatives; and (5) responding to special requests by the ASN Council in areas related to basic science in nephrology.
Clinical Science Committee
This committee is responsible for: (1) providing input to the Program Committee and the Postgraduate Education Committee on the content of various programs and curricula related to clinical epidemiology, clinical trials, and outcomes research; (2) advising the ASN Council on the creation of ASN-sponsored clinical research awards; (3) promoting and publicizing the accomplishments of existing clinical trial groups, registries, and large-scale observational studies; and (4) advising the ASN Council on research methods and strategies useful to answering significant clinical questions related to renal research.
Acute Renal Failure Advisory Group
The Acute Renal Failure Advisory Group is responsible for (1) advising the ASN Council on matters dealing with acute renal failure, including government relations, patient care, research initiatives, education, and publications; (2) maintaining active liaison in PGE activities for Renal Week, Board Review Course, and the ASN Annual Meeting; (3) sustaining relations with other ASN committees/advisory groups, including the Basic and Clinical Science Committees and the Dialysis Advisory Group; (4) providing a focal group for ASN members engaged in research related to acute renal failure that would develop social courses/meetings and publications/position papers and sustain basic and clinical research in acute renal failure.
Chronic Kidney Disease Advisory Group
The Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Advisory Group is responsible for providing clinical and scientific knowledge and advances concerning the prevention and treatment of progressive renal insufficiency and its complications to the ASN Council. To achieve this goal, the advisory group will (1) support research activities directed at CKD prevention and treatment of patients with CKD and (2) interact with other groups interested in kidney disease and its complications, including national organizations of patients and other societies and agencies. The goal will be to develop and implement educational and quality improvement programs directed at reducing the occurrence and adverse outcomes of CKD.
Dialysis Advisory Group
The Dialysis Advisory Group answers queries related to dialysis, provides recommendations on dialysis issues, and serves as a proactive advocate of the dialysis community.
Hypertension Advisory Group
The Hypertension Advisory Group is responsible for (1) advising the ASN Council on matters dealing with hypertension, including discussions on Capitol Hill regarding emerging scientific/clinical information to which the ASN should respond publicly; (2) publishing position papers, reviews, etc. semiannually for ASN journals; (3) work with the ASN PGE committee in organizing the annual 2-day Renal Week course on hypertension; (4) working with the ASN Clinical Science Committee; and (5) sending a representative to the ASN President’s Circle meetings, which deal with the antihypertensive medications that are important to the pharmaceutical companies with which the ASN has relationships.
Transplant Advisory Group
The Transplant Advisory Group is responsible for (1) consulting with the ASN in its thinking about transplantation at multiple levels, including advocacy, government relations, and interactions with other societies/foundations, particularly transplant societies/foundations; (2) formalizing the process in relation to joint educational and programmatic activities; (3) establishing liaison committees such as the transplant training committee and others; and (4) establishing jointly sponsored research and fellowship grants.
Please think carefully about your interest in the opportunities outlined above, and forward nominations and a current CV of the nominee to Karen L. Campbell, PhD, ASN Executive Director, at kcampbell{at}asn-online.org no later than May 21, 2004. Nominations may be faxed to 202-659-0709 or mailed to 1725 I Street, NW, Suite 510, Washington, DC 20006.
Public Policy Updates
Fiscal Year 2005 Funding
President Bush submitted the details of his Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 budget to Congress on February 2. The $2.4 trillion spending plan calls for $818 billion in discretionary spending in FY 2005, an increase of $31 billion (3.9%). Defense spending is increased by 7.1%, and homeland security grows by 9.7%. Other domestic discretionary spending is slated to increase by 0.5% to $386 billion.
Discretionary spending within the Department of Health and Human Services is decreased by $1.1 billion (1.6%) to $68.2 billion. The Administration proposes increases for a few priority programs and freezes funding for the majority of discretionary health programs.
The president’s budget includes $28.607 billion for NIH, an increase of $729 million (2.6%). The president’s budget would fund 39,986 research project grants in FY 2005, an increase of 558 over the current year. NIH estimates this would provide for a success rate of 27% in FY 2005, equal to the projected FY 2004 success rate. However, the grants numbers are sustained by smaller-than-usual increases in the average cost of the grants.
Funding for the NIH Roadmap in FY 2005 is set at $237 million, an increase of $109 million over the current year. This funding is targeted at three broad initiatives:
ASN Convenes ESRD Meeting
The ASN, in cooperation with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), brought together individuals with expertise in assessing how to measure (and define) the quality of care provided to dialysis patients and to what extent measures of care quality can be linked to improved patient outcomes. The working group, composed of members from the ASN Dialysis Advisory Group, Policy & Public Affairs Committee, and Practicing Nephrologists Advisory Group, examined the existing data and reimbursement strategies for nephrologists. The group specifically analyzed whether reimbursement strategies can rationally and scientifically be used to drive improvements in quality of delivered care and improvements in patient outcomes. An important component of this assessment is to perform a gap analysis that may help inform future research and policy directions.
The broad goal of the meeting is to influence policy so that science can direct reimbursement policy to the greatest extent possible. The ASN will produce a white paper that will be circulated to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and eventually published. We believe this to be an exciting joint project emanating from two leading nephrology societies.
Save the Dates
It’s not too early to put some important dates on your 2004 calendar! The ever-popular 9th Annual Board Review Course is again scheduled at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Put August 28 to September 3, 2004, on your calendars now!
Renal Week 2004 is scheduled from October 27 to November 1, 2004, at America’s Center in St. Louis, MO. A stellar program is already taking shape. You won’t want to miss this meeting!
NephSAP is Online
ASN members can now access all NephSAP materials via the ASN web site, www.asn-online.org. If you misplaced an issue, this is an easy way to access syllabus materials and the examination for CME credits. Check it out!
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