Living with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) can bring up a lot of questions. You may wonder:
- What can I do now to support my kidney health?
- How do I know if my PKD is changing quickly?
- When should I ask about blood pressure, kidney imaging, genetic testing, tolvaptan, pain, liver cysts, aneurysm screening, dialysis, transplant, or living donation?
- What symptoms should I tell my healthcare team about?
- How can I ask better questions at my appointments?
This patient-friendly roundtable will focus on the real questions that people with ADPKD and their families often ask.
We'll talk about the new Canadian commentary on the 2025 KDIGO ADPKD guideline, but this won't be a technical lecture. You don't need to read the guideline before attending.
Instead, we'll talk about what the commentary may mean for everyday PKD care in Canada. The goal is to help you better understand your care, prepare for appointments, and have clearer conversations with your nephrologist or healthcare team.
Topics will include:
- what earlier, proactive ADPKD care can look like
- blood pressure, lifestyle, nutrition, exercise, and tolvaptan
- kidney imaging, eGFR trends, family history, and genetic information
- why ADPKD can affect more than the kidneys
- pain, cyst infections, kidney stones, liver cysts, aneurysm screening, mental health, reproductive care, dialysis, and transplant planning
- how to ask about symptoms, screening, referrals, and support
- what more consistent, informed ADPKD care could look like across Canada
The roundtable will feature Dr. Ahsan Alam and Dr. Matt Lanktree, co-chairs of the Canadian Society of Nephrology commentary. They'll be joined by Nick Ashawasega, an ADPKD patient partner and co-author of the commentary.
Nick will help bring forward the patient perspective, including lived experience, family experience, Indigenous kidney care, and barriers to care for different communities.
This event is for people living with PKD, family members, caregivers, living donors, and anyone who wants to better understand ADPKD care in Canada.
Join us for a practical community conversation, and leave with useful questions you can bring back to your healthcare team.
About the presenters
Dr. Ahsan Alam is an Associate Professor of Medicine and a staff nephrologist at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal, Quebec. He is also the medical co-director of the MUHC Multiorgan Transplant and Donation Program.
In 2015, he established the MUHC Polycystic Kidney Disease Clinic and co-founded the Quebec PKD Network to enhance PKD knowledge translation and research in the province. He is an active member of the Research Institute of the MUHC and is actively involved in PKD clinical trials and epidemiologic studies.
He was recently awarded the MUHC Department of Medicine's Clinician Impact Award for his contributions to the field of ADPKD, which have had a medical or societal impact through publication, guideline development, and work with policy makers.
Nick Ashawasega is an ADPKD patient partner, advocate, writer, and co-author of the Canadian Society of Nephrology commentary on the 2025 KDIGO ADPKD guideline. Diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease at age five, Nick has spoken openly about growing up with PKD, mental health challenges, intergenerational trauma, and the importance of sharing patient stories.
Of Indigenous and Persian heritage, he brings an important perspective on Indigenous kidney care, access to care, and the barriers faced by people living with chronic illness in communities that may be underserved or far from specialist services.
Nick has shared his PKD story through Patient Voice and in national media, including reflections on family experience with dialysis and transplant, the role of SickKids as a steady point of care during childhood, and his hope to help other young people with PKD feel less alone. He continues to use storytelling and advocacy to build awareness, connection, and hope for the PKD community.
Dr. Matt Lanktree is a clinician-scientist, Associate Professor, and medical director of the McMaster Kidney Genetics Clinic, caring for patients with inherited kidney disease at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and McMaster University.
Matt trained across Ontario, starting with computer science at the University of Waterloo, medical school and a PhD in genetics at Western University, Internal Medicine and Nephrology training at McMaster University, and a post-doctoral fellowship in inherited kidney disease at the University of Toronto with Dr. York Pei. Matt also had extra training in polycystic kidney disease at the University of Chicago with Dr. Arlene Chapman.
Matt has published over 100 articles in genetics and medicine, with ongoing studies into genetics and CKD. Matt cares for hundreds of patients with ADPKD, as well as patients with many other inherited kinds of kidney disease, and he has set his goal to use genetics to improve the care of patients with kidney disease.