The PKD Foundation of Canada is proud to be hosting it's first Virtual PKD Summit this September! The summit will consist of 3 half days filled with educational events catered towards PKD patients and their loved ones, on September 3, 10th and 17th.
The Virtual PKD Summit 2021 is an opportunity for the PKD medical community, renal healthcare professionals, PKD patients, their families and loved ones to connect and hear presentations from top Canadian and International Key Opinion Leaders in the field of PKD. We hope you can join us!
Day 1: September 3rd Agenda
| Time (EST) | |
| 9:00am-9:30am | Housekeeping with the PKD Foundation of Canada's Executive Director, Jeff Robertson |
| 9:30am-10:30am |
What's New in PKD Research Join us as Dr. York Pei provides us with an update on current and pending advancements in diagnostic and prognostic testing and novel therapeutics related to Autosomal Dominant PKD (ADPKD).
Speaker: Dr. York Pei, Senior Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI) Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto Nephrologist, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network Toronto, ON |
| 10:30am-11:30am |
Understanding Living Donor Kidney Transplantation |
| 11:30am-11:45am | Break |
| 11:45am-12:45pm |
Nutritional Management of ADPKD Dr. Thomas Weimbs, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), and his research team have discovered that diets that induce ketosis in mouse, rat and cat models slowed or reversed the growth of polycystic kidneys. Could this research be the key to slowing down the progression of PKD in humans? Join us as Thomas Weimbs, Ph.D. discusses his research. |
Register Here!
About the Speakers:
Dr. York Pei, Senior Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI)
Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto
Nephrologist, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network
Toronto, ON
Dr. Pei is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Staff Nephrologist at the Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network. He obtained his research training in Clinical Epidemiology at McMaster University and later on, in Human Molecular Genetics in Toronto.
The major theme of his research program is to identify genetic factors involved in the initiation or progression of common kidney diseases as potential targets for novel diagnostic tests and therapies. His research focuses on genetic, genomic and translational research of three common kidney disorders: Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease, IgA nephropathy and idiopathic nephrotic syndrome; and is supported by grants from the PKD Foundation of Canada, the Kidney Foundation of Canada, Physicians Incorporated Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Paula Neves, PhD, Lead, Centre for Living Organ Donation at UHN
Dr. Paula Neves is the Lead of the Centre for Living Organ Donation founded by UHN Transplant (now the Ajmera Transplant Centre) in 2018 to increase access to living organ donation for people in need a life-saving kidney or liver transplant and those who want to give a transformative gift of life. The Centre raises awareness through presentations and webinars, a newsletter, a strong online presence, and events such as Living Donation Week, September 12-18, 2021 (#LDW2021). It also provides information and referral, education, and peer support to living donors, recipients and caregivers during their donation and transplant journey. In addition the Centre partners with researchers and organizations to address financial and other barriers to living donor transplantation - most recently helping to create the CST Living Donor Circle of Excellence, working with patient partners to launch a new YouTube channel promoting organ health in the African, Caribbean and Black communities and sponsoring a study on socioeconomic disparities in liver transplantation. Paula completed a PhD in Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She holds a Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University, and undergraduate degrees in Arts and Social Work from the University of Manitoba. She serves on several volunteer boards and committees, including the boards of the Christie Gardens Foundation and Hope Air.
Dr. Thomas Weimbs, PHD
Professor, University of California Santa Barbara
Thomas Weimbs is a professor at the University of California in Santa Barbara (UCSB) where he directs a research laboratory focused on polycystic kidney disease (PKD). He received his doctoral degree from the University of Cologne, Germany, and then conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California in San Francisco. In 1999, he started his first independent research laboratory at the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic as an assistant professor. There, he started to research PKD after he was approached by a local family affected by PKD who financially supported PKD research in his newly-founded laboratory. Their family foundation still supports PKD research in Dr. Weimbs’ lab today. In 2005, Dr. Weimbs moved his laboratory back to California to join the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at UCSB. His laboratory studies molecular mechanisms underlying PKD with an emphasis towards developing new therapies. Research from Dr. Weimbs’ lab has led to a better understanding of PKD and led to novel methods to deliver therapeutics specifically to polycystic kidneys. Some of the most recent research has led to the discovery that dietary interventions and commonly available, and safe, dietary supplements can prevent cyst growth in animal models of PKD. Research in Dr. Weimbs’ laboratory has been funded by grants from federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, by private foundations, including the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, the Amy P. Goldman Foundation and the Jarrett Family Fund, as well as several biotech companies.
Register Here!