NEWSLETTERS
News from the International IgA Nephropathy Network
Newsletter
March 2001
New
Committee!
The last 12 months have seen some turnover in the membership of the steering
committee which coordinates the IgA nephropathy research community. We bade
a fond and grateful farewell to Bob van Es (Leiden), Tony Clarkson (Adelaide)
and Guiseppe D'Amico (Milan), who had been members since inception and had
served the group faithfully for over 20 years. In their place we welcome John
Feehally (Leicester), Rosanna Coppo (Turin) and John Knight (Sydney). Hideto
Sakai (Tokyo) and Bruce Julian (Alabama) will stay on the committee to provide
continuity. John Feehally has been acting as convenor, and John Knight has
agreed to take on the role of secretary-treasurer
New
Committee Meets!
Those committee members who were available met at the EDTA-ERA meeting in
Nice in September 2000 and again at the ASN meeting in Toronto in October
2000. It was agreed that the group name might need to change; that a website
and a newsletter would assist in communication between members of the group,
and that a modest fee structure might be required to support these activities
and to allow the committee to confer on a regular basis by teleconference.
New
Name!
After some discussion, the committee agreed that the name of the group should
become 'The International IgA Nephropathy Network' - a phrase which captures
the complex web of friendships and research collaborations which has grown
up over the years.
New
Newsletter!
This is the first of a series of regular newsletters - perhaps two or three
a year. The newsletters will be be emailed to everyone who joins the group
and provides an email address. They will be placed on the website and on relevant
list-servs. We will make them available to the editors of national and international
nephrology society newsletters for part or full reproduction in those organs.
Distibution on paper will be possible for those who don't have email. Contributions
to the newsletter will be gladly received and should be sent to the webmaster@igan.net
or to the address below.
New
Website!
The IIgANN web site was launched in March 2001 and can be found at www.igan.net.
It features information pages for patients and their families, for clinicans,
and for researchers - with links to useful sites elsewhere on the Internet.
There is a section on the forthcoming scientific meeting in Korea, and a constantly
updated database of over 3000 articles on IgA nephropathy culled electronically
from the PubMed archive. Your suggestions on additional material to be incorporated
into the website will be gratefully received.
New
Logo!
The web site incorporates a proposed new logo for the IIgANN. It is a stylised
pen and ink drawing of a dimeric IgA molecule, with more than a passing resemblance
to an octopus, or perhaps a spider. The octopus could be seen to represent
the many arms of our research effort; the spider recalls the complex, fragile
web of scientific and personal relationships with sustain the network. Do
let us know what you think of it.
New
Symposium!
The next International Symposium on IgA Nephropathy will be held in Kyongju,
the ancient capital of Korea, on 1st-2nd November 2001. Professor Myung-Jae
Kim and his committee are looking forward to welcoming delegates and have
assembled a first rate array of invited speakers. Information about the meeting
can be found on the website at www.igan.net/korea.htm
New
Fee Structure!
Newsletters, websites committee meetings and the rest do cost money - not
a lot of money, it's true, but enough to warrant the establishment of a modest
fee structure for the network. In discussing this the committee was conscious
that incomes vary widely around the world, and that information about IgA
nephropathy research needs to be made available to everyone who might benefit
from it, not just to those who can afford it. The decision has been made to
introduce a voluntary annual subscription to the IIgANN of US$20. This can
be most easily paid by credit card on the website. If you feel the need to
send money right away, an alternative will be to send cash, a cheque or money
order to the address below.
New
Collection of Old Stuff!
Over the next few months we hope to capture some of the flavour of past scientific
meetings. If you have programs, abstracts or other materials saved from the
meetings contact the webmaster. Photos or other memorabilia would also be
very welcome, particularly if they depict now distinguished elder statesmen
in youthful indiscretions.
New
Contact Details!
The International IgA Nephropathy Network
Centre for Kidney Research
The Children's Hospital at Westmead NSW Australia 2145
phone +61 2 9845 3037
fax +61 2 9845 3038
email webmaster@igan.net
