 | The Renal Pathology Society (RPS) held a business meeting on Friday evening, October 13, 2000 during the annual meeting of the ASN at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Canada. The meeting was called to order by Dr. Charles Alpers, RPS President. Approximately 48 members were in attendance.
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Dr. G. Herrera reported that the Society is in good financial shape and that the main expenses are associated with ASN and USCAP meetings (see report attached to BOD meeting). The balance in the RPS account as of 8/31/00 was $29,697.79. A complete financial report will be circulated to the Auditing Committee for their approval next month.
Dr. Herrera thanked Drs. Suzanne Meleg-Smith, K. Solez, and S. Iskandar for their efforts in re-designing the RPS website. It is indeed a great site that we must all be proud of. It could not have been done without the hard work of these three individuals. They are always looking for suggestions to make the site better. Every member is encouraged to check their personal information which is on the website and to send a photo for inclusion.
Dr. G. Herrera also indicated that before we meet again next March at the USCAP, every member should get a diploma attesting to their membership in the Society.
Dr. Herrera also indicated that with the ASN there are very few options as to when the RPS membership meeting can be held and that it is preferable to have it early during the ASN, as is the case this year.
Dr. C. Jennette, Chair of the Education & Scientific Program Committee, reported that the next USCAP Companion meeting of the RPS will be on a diverse group of renal topics of great interest to the membership.
Dr. M. Schwartz, incoming RPS President, has appointed Dr. Tito Cavallo as Program Chair for next year, and the ASN meeting will be on AL-amyloidosis dealing with pathogenesis, amyloidogenic protein conformation, and new diagnostic and therapeutic advances. The program is being prepared. Dr. C. Alpers, as member of the ASN Post-Graduate Education Committee will present this proposed Symposium to the ASN for approval.
Dr. C. Jennette also discussed the need for more RPS presence at international venues, including International Society of Nephrology meetings. The idea is to develop programs/symposia and activities sponsored by RPS. Dr. Jennette will continue exploring options.
Dr. A. Magil, Chair of the Membership Committee, reported that 6 new members were approved: Dr. Haruyoshi Yoshida, Dr. Shamila Mauiyyedi, Dr. Judy King, Dr. John Hicks, Dr. David George, and Dr. Bashar Dabbas. One Emeritus member was also approved: Dr. B.S. Bhagavan.
Dr. L. Racusen, Chair of the Training/Education Committee led an extensive and active discussion pertaining to training and employment opportunities in Renal Pathology. It was decided that the American Board of Pathology will be contacted to explore whether a subspecialty Board in Renal Pathology was a feasible possibility. The fact that there is not a subspecialty Board in Renal Pathology affects adversely funding fellowship training programs in Nephropathology. There was significant skepticism among members as to whether the ABP would be supportive of this idea. The idea of combined training programs such as Renal/Transplant Pathology, Renal/Pediatrics Pathology, etc. was also discussed without any definitive conclusions reached.
Dr. J. Pullman, Research Committee, discussed the results of the survey that was sent to the RPS members. Seventy-two responses were received. A draft of the results will be compiled in the next few months and shared with the membership. Hopefully, the information obtained from this study will generate a "standard of care", as it pertains to Nephropathology.
Dr. S. Rosen, Chair of the Nominating and Awards Committee, reminded the membership that a single Young Investigator Award is to be given every year from now on. Next award will be at the next USCAP meeting with abstracts from trainees from 2000 ASN and 2001 USCAP participating in the competition. Dr. C. Alpers, as immediate Past President then, will be in charge of the Awards Committee. Dr. Alpers and his Committee will also select the next Churg Award awardee. It was clarified that the recipient does not need to be an RPS member.
Other topics discussed at the meeting included the issues of controls for immunofluorescence stains in renal biopsies, and it was agreed that each new antibody lot should be tested against known positive and negative controls and properly documented. Likewise, the protocol should be clearly written in the laboratory standard operating procedure. It is not necessary to run controls every day.
A second subject was brought up regarding a consensus meeting to be organized to address a revision of the WHO classification of lupus nephritis. Dr. Seshan is in charge of this project. She will select an international group of expert renal pathologists interested in lupus nephritis to participate in this endeavor.
Finally, a discussion ensued regarding the importance of Pathology involvement in drug studies dealing with renal diseases. Institutional IRB committees must seek pathology approval and strongly encourage involvement of renal pathologists to guarantee proper evaluation of results. Proper funding for technical work and percent effort for pathology faculty members involvement should be integral parts of these projects.