June, 2013
* CALL TO ACTION - Contact Your House Member *
Last night the U.S. Senate passed the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act by a unanimous vote. As you know, the American Society of Transplantation (AST) and Washington, DC office have advocated strongly for this bill on Capitol Hill. The Society was most instrumental in securing key Majority support for the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives and has been working collectively with all stakeholders to build bipartisan and bicameral support for the bill. AST is also hosting a meeting of all the HOPE Act stakeholders next week in our DC...
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A case for bariatric surgery among obese renal transplant candidates
By Maria Frisch
Approximately 1 in 3 U.S. adults are obese or have a body mass index of 30 or higher. England and Canada aren't far behind at every 1 in 4. This is unfortunate, given the common association between obesity and excess morbidity and mortality. This association is particularly true in renal transplant surgery. Thus, consideration of presurgical bariatric surgery may be warranted in cases where prescribed dietary therapy and physical activity has failed....
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In addition to welcoming Dr. Dan Salomon as the AST President, the AST is pleased to welcome three new members to its board: Dr. Larry B. Melton, Ph.D.; Dr. Ronald G. Gill, Ph.D.; and Dr. David P. Nelson. Dr. Kenneth A. Newell, Ph.D., was also voted as president elect. The results of the board of director elections were announced during the Town Hall Meeting at ATC in Seattle on May 20. Welcome to our newest board members, and congratulations to Dr. Newell!
Congratulations to the 2013 Pay It Forward Member-Get-A-Member Campaign Winners!
The following three people encouraged their colleagues to join the AST and because of them, the AST community continues to grow.
Christopher Martin, BS (Pharm) - Grand Prize: Apple iPad and complementary membership dues for 2014
Mourad Alsabaugh, MD - 2nd Prize: $500 AST Bucks
Nicolae Leca, MD - 3rd Prize: $250 AST Bucks
Do you have a colleague that would enjoy all of the wonderful benefits of AST membership? Spread the word and encourage them to join! Visit
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Blood tests OK for fibrosis diagnosis in hepatitus C
MedPage Today
Blood testing can accurately identify clinically significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and may be an alternative to liver biopsy in some patients, a new study found. The analysis of 172 studies comparing various blood tests to biopsy in HCV patients revealed that some of the simplest, cheapest blood tests performed as well as more expensive, complex tests, reported Dr. Roger Chou, and Ngoc Wasson, MPH, from the Evidence-Based Practice Center at Oregon Health and Science...
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The AST and ASTS have released a joint statement regarding the recent media attention to the OPTN lung allocation policy.
Read the statement here.
Senior Achievement Award in Clinical Transplantation
Russell Wiesner, MD
The Senior Achievement Award in Clinical Transplantation recognizes outstanding contributions to clinical transplantation over the course of a clinical career. Dr. Wiesner is a leader in hepatology and liver transplantation. He was a major force in the development and implementation of the meld-based organ allocation system for livers. He has contributed to more than 270 peer-reviewed publications while playing an active role in AST and UNOS.
Mentoring Award
Rita Alloway, PharmD
The AST Mentoring Award is intended to...
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AST/Novartis Basic Science Faculty Development Grant
Dr. Jamil Azzi
Research Title: The Novel Role of P13Ky Pathway in Alloimmunity and Tolerance
Dr. Azzi is an instructor in medicine from Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is particularly interested in achieving allograft tolerance, and developed an early interest in exploring innovative and safer immunosuppressive strategies. His previous research experiences lead him to conclude that finding tolerogenic strategies relies on targeting key players in the survival of memory and regulatory cells. Dr. Azzi’s goal is to improve patient care as an...
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May, 2013
Discarded human kidneys as a source of ECM scaffold for kidney regeneration technologies
NCBI
In the United States, more than 2600 kidneys are discarded annually, from the total number of kidneys procured for transplant. It has been hypothesized that this organ pool may be used as a platform for renal bioengineering and regeneration research. The purpose of the current study was to test if the same strategy can be applied to discarded human kidneys in order to obtain human renal ECM scaffolds. The results show that the sodium dodecylsulfate-based decellularization protocol completely...
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We're pleased to now offer AST-branded apparel, exclusively from the
AST Store! Pick up one of our new fleece jackets, polo shirts or baseball caps, embroidered with the AST logo. Items start at just $20!
