Research in chronic kidney diseases (CKD) has reached an exciting inflection point. Discoveries in CKD and related disciplines have, for the first time in a generation, enabled the development of a comprehensive understanding of the convergence of disease mechanisms that drive the progression to organ failure and the links between kidney diseases and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This Keystone Symposia conference on Chronic Kidney Disease: Emerging Mechanisms, Consequences and Targeted Treatments will be a critical accelerator for our efforts to save kidneys and lives, by aligning the rapidly progressing knowledge streams within CKD research. The conference program will explore a reformulated view of the kidney’s cellular architecture through the lens of multi-scalar data generated by global kidney research networks. The meeting will discuss how the unprecedented deep tissue-level understanding of CKD biology in humans is driving forward a precision medicine-oriented drug discovery approach, from systems level target identification to definition of appropriate model systems. The impact of pursuing these emerging therapeutic targets will be examined from a molecular and societal level through the interplay of kidney failure with genetic,?environmental and social determinants of health. The conference will also provide an opportunity to evaluate successes and failures in the current CKD drug development pipeline and present innovative strategies for next-generation clinical trial design. For the first time, CKD trials will be used as discovery engines to define the mode of action of the targeted intervention in humans, using the kidney atlas knowledgebases to close the discovery loop. The core programming of this meeting will be enhanced by its pairing as a joint meeting with our longstanding Keystone Symposia conference focused on liver disease: Fueling MASH: Metabolic Drivers and Inflammatory Crosstalk. By connecting two communities focused on different organ systems, the joint conference will highlight new insights in mechanistic biology and therapeutic interventions, especially incretin-based therapeutics, which should foster cross-disciplinary learning and collaboration. Through shared keynote and joint scientific sessions, meals and poster sessions, participants will have an opportunity to network and share cross-disciplinary insights, encouraging innovative collaborations towards illuminating new biology and therapeutic avenues in these overlapping areas. 

Unique Career Development Opportunities