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ISGD Centers of Excellence in Glomerular Disease
Glomerular diseases are a leading cause of end-stage kidney disease worldwide. Fortunately, we are in an era of rapid advancements in understanding, novel treatments, and precision medicine in glomerular disease. Designating centers of excellence is essential to ensure treatments and advancements are reaching all patients and as such, the establishment of ISGD Centers of Excellence in Glomerular Disease (ISGD COE-GD) has been a priority and core tenet of ISGD’s mission since its founding.
Following over two years of careful development, and a public commentary period this spring which gathered over 45 written submissions and involved nearly 60 global experts, a comprehensive set of 18 criteria has been finalized. These criteria ensure a rigorous, aspirational, and internationally inclusive standard. In this context, a separate designation, ISGD Partner Centers, has also been established for centers that are emerging and establishing themselves.
ISGD COE-GD Criteria
View our ISGD COE-GD criteria, full press release, and proposed white paper. Our public commentary period has currently ended for our white paper. For any additional questions or comments, please email gdcoe@is-gd.org.
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Vision
Vision
To create a visible and collaborative global network of centers dedicated to advancing care, clinical trial access, basic and translational research, and advocacy for individuals with glomerular diseases, improving outcomes and quality of life worldwide. ISGD aims to provide strategic support and resources for formation of new ISGD COE-GD or expansion of programs at existing centers.

Mission
Mission
- Patient Care
- Research Advancement
- Education
- Advocacy for Healthcare Equity

Program Goals
Program Goals
- Improving Care and Outcomes
- Training and Mentorship
- Advancing Patient Engagement
- Fostering Research Collaboration
- Promoting Standardized Care
In their words
Glomerular diseases' impact on children and adults globally is devastating; they are among the most common causes of end stage kidney disease. We are in a golden era with rapid development of understanding the pathophysiology of these diseases, numerous positive controlled trials demonstrating novel effective treatments and a movement towards proper precision medicine approaches to individualize therapy. Now more than ever we need ISGD COE-GD to enhance expertise, upskill the global nephrology community, accelerate research and perhaps above all, ensure that new findings are rapidly implemented and widely accessible; compared to the drought of the previous half century, we suddenly have a plethora of approved drugs to treat various GDs – now we need our strong advocacy to ensure equity of access.
From a very personal perspective, I have the honour and privilege to serve on the leadership of both the ISN and ISGD, believe our visions and missions closely align and believe the establishment of ISGD COE-GD offers a huge opportunity to work together more closely in order to improve the outcomes for people with glomerular disease around the world.
Prof. Liz Lightstone, ISGD COE-GD Program Lead and ISN President-elect
As pediatric nephrologists, my colleagues and I are deeply committed to ensuring that children affected by glomerulopathies receive the highest standard of care—achieving optimal treatment outcomes while minimizing adverse effects. On behalf of the European Society for Pediatric Nephrology (ESPN), I strongly support the ISGD's initiative to certify specialized centers. This certification plays a vital role in safeguarding the quality of care for our young patients and offers valuable guidance to families seeking the most appropriate treatment center for their child. We view this as an outstanding and much-needed initiative, and the ESPN is proud to endorse it.
Prof. Dr. Jun Oh, Executive Council Member, European Society for Pediatric Nephrology (ESPN)
At the PNRC, our goal is to promote clinical and translational research directed toward improving the clinical care of children with kidney disease. Establishing Centers of Excellence in Glomerular Disease is an important step to ensure our patients are able to find and receive optimal care, and to enhance collaborative efforts with all stakeholders to continually improve clinical care. As the professional society of the leading glomerular disease experts around the world, the ISGD is uniquely positioned to implement the introduction of centers of excellence in glomerular disease, both for children and adults.
Dr. William E. Smoyer, Board Member, Pediatric Nephrology Research Consortium (PNRC)
Watch this Space
More announcements coming soon!
Be on the lookout for more announcements about the ISGD COE-GD program, including the launch of applications and informational webinars.
ISGD Leadership: Tobias B. Huber, ISGD President; Laurel Damashek, ISGD Executive Director; Angel Morales, Project Manager
ISGD COE-GD Program Leads: Dr. Brad Rovin, Dr. Alessia Fornoni, Dr. Liz Lightstone, Dr. Sydney Tang
ISGD Peer Support Committee: Sharon Adler, Andrea Angeletti, Ghada Ankawi, David Arrieta, Andrew Bomback, Silke R. Brix, Corey Cavanaugh, Yongen Chang, Angela Maria Cordoba Hurtado, Seferiana Day, Manasi Desai, Andrew Ervin, David Feldman, Duvuru Geetha, Larry Greenbaum, Sangeeta Hingorani, Anuja Java, Ashley Jefferson, Vivek Jha, Tingting Li, Adrian Liew, Cynthia Lim, Laura Malaga-Dieguez, Ana Malvar Perrin, Juan M. Mejia-Vilet, Carla M. Nester, Precil Neves, Sarah Panzer, Hermann Pavenstädt, Elion PD Hoxha, Sarka Schmidhuber, Purva Sharma, James Tumlin, Suzy Velazquez, Chia-shi Wang