14th International Podocyte Conference

The 14th International Podocyte Conference took place in Philadelphia on the historic University of Pennsylvania campus, hosted by Katalin Susztak and Lawrence Holzman. 

Program highlights included keynote lectures from Penn Medicine luminaries Jonathan Epstein (mRNA–Based Cell Therapies for Cardiac Fibrosis), Marylyn Ritchie (Using Large Biobanks, Medical Records, and Genetic Data for Disease Understanding), and Norbert Pardi (The Future of RNA Therapeutics). A widely praised interdisciplinary patient roundtable on the topic of Barriers to Human Research in the Black Community, moderated by Opeyemi Olabisi (Duke University), brought together perspectives from Black individuals from different generations with a history of FSGS, a community engagement expert, and a patient parent for a frank discussion of their experiences and potential strategies to reduce health disparities.

On May 23, the International Society of Glomerular Disease was officially launched at the meeting and IPC attendees were the first members to join!

The Philadelphia hosts arranged a delightful spectrum of local social activities including a "Rocky" fun run at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a participant dinner aboard the historic ship "Moshulu," a reception at the Penn Museum, and a faculty dinner at the world-renowned Barnes Collection museum.

The Marilyn Farquhar Award was presented to Tobias B. Huber, and the Wilhelm Kriz Award was presented to Shreeram "Ram" Akilesh.