A Brief History
(by SM Kurt Lee, M.D., FACP)
The Chinese American Society of Nephrology (CASN) was founded by a group of nephrologists of Chinese heritage in 1988. The founding members are Drs. Laurence Chan, Todd Ing, Charlie Chen, Victoria Lim, James Chan, and Kai Lau. The first annual meeting was held on December 12, 1988, in San Antonio, Texas and Dr. Todd Ing was elected as the first president.
The second annual meeting was held on December 4, 1989, in Washington, D.C. and a list of officers were elected during that meeting.
The third annual meeting was held on December 4, 1990, in Washington, D.C. During that meeting, the manpower of Asian-American nephrologists were discussed.
The fourth annual meeting was held on November 17, 1991, in Baltimore, Maryland. During that meeting, Dr. Leishi Li from China presented a lecture entitled "An Overview of Nephrology in China". Dr. Larry Chan was elected as the President of the organization during that meeting.
The fifth annual meeting was held on November 15, 1992, in Baltimore, Maryland.
The sixth annual meeting was held on November, 13, 1993, in Boston, Massachusetts. During that meeting, a panel discussion on "Delivery of ESRD in the Far East" was held. A panel of scientists and nephrologists in practice from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, Japan, and from the Peoples Republic of China were invited and each one of these scientists delivered a 30 minute discussion about the delivery of ERSD in their respective countries. In addition, Dr. F.K. Lin, from Amgen company, was awarded the first science award from our organization in recognition for his contribution to Molecular Biology in relation to the practice of Nephrology.
The seventh annual meeting was held on October 27, 1994, in Orlando, Florida. During the meeting, two major topics were discussed: 1. Career Pathway and Opportunities for Nephrologists in North America, and 2. Medical Business Ventures in South China.
A panel discussion was held and Dr. George Wu presented the Medical Business Ventures in South China. In addition, four committees (i.e. membership; awards; development and newsletter) were established during the meeting.
The eighth annual CASN meeting was held on Nov. 5, 1995 in San Diego, California. A symposium entitled "Spectrum of Renal Disease in Asian-AmericansÕ was presented. The panel of speakers were selected from the membership and each one of the speakers gave a short oral presentation on the different aspects of renal diseases in the Asian-Americans. A detailed report on this meeting was published in CASN newsletter. The speakers included Drs. Kurt Lee, James Chan, George Wu, John Wang, Larry Chan, K.N. Lai and Leishi Li.
The ninth CASN meeting was held on November 5, 1996 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Yuet Wai Kan was an invited speaker who delivered a lecture on "Molecular biology". Dr. Kan was awarded the second "Science Award of the Chinese American Society of Nephrology".
The tenth CASN annual meeting was held in San Antonio, Texas on November 2, 1997. A symposium on IgA nephropathy in Asians and Asian-Americans was presented. Dr. Alfred Cheung hosted the symposium with guest speakers from Taiwan (Dr. Lin), Singapore (Dr. Choong), Hong Kong (Dr. Lai), and Chicago, USA (Dr. Haas). Clinical presentations, pathology and treatments of IgA nephropathy were discussed.
The eleventh annual meeting was held on Oct 12, 1998 in Philadelphia, PA. The meeting was a huge success with a high turnout rate of our membership. Dr. Shan-Yan Lin, President of the Chinese Society of Nephrology, presented a lecture on "Nephrology Services in China." Dr. George Wu from the University of Toronto described his experience with a large population of Chinese dialysis patients. Dr. John Wang from Cornell University in New York city updated his experience with the renal transplant patients in New York City. Dr. Todd Ing from Loyola University in Chicago highlighted the role of Chinese-American scientists in the advancement of scientific knowledge. Dr. Kurt Lee from Biotronics Kidney Center in Texas concluded the meeting by stating the fact that Chinese-American nephologists would play a greater role in the renal community in the future as the number of Asian-American dialysis patients grows at a higher rate than other ethnic groups in the United States. This was due to the "graying of the baby boomers," a large influx of Asian immigrants in the 1960's or 1970's and the longer survival of the existing Asian-American patients.
The twelfth annual meeting was held on November 6, 1999 at Miami Beach, Florida. The title of the meeting was "Nephrology Societies from Asia".
Dr. Shan-yan Lin from China gave a presentation on the "Current dialysis registration work in China". Dr. Kai-Foon Chau representing the Hong Kong Society of Nephrology gave an impressive presentation regarding the work of the Hong Kong Nephrology Society. Dr. John Wang from New York City presented "The Work of Chinese American Society of Medicine in the United States". Dr. Kong-Seng Wong, representing the National Kidney Foundation of Singapore presented their work in Singapore. Dr. Choung Hui Lin representing the Singapore Society of Nephrology also gave a presentation about the history of this professional society in Singapore. Dr. Wu-Chang Yang representing Taiwan Society of Nephrology gave a very impressive presentation about the work of the nephrologists in Taiwan.
The thirteenth annual CASN meeting was held in Toronto, Canada on October 15, 2000. The meeting was sponsored, in part, by Ortho Biotech Company. The topic was "Herbal Medicine and the Kidney". Dr. Hai-yan Wang from Peking University School of Medicine spoke on "The Beneficial Effects of Chinese Herbs". Dr. Fa-Lei Zheng from Peking Union Medical College discussed "Preliminary Study in Aristolochic Acid Nephropathy". In addition, Dr. Jing Zhou, the recipient of the "ASN 2000 Young Investigator Award" spoke about her life and education in China, Finland and US.
The president and board of directors appointed Dr. Chen Hsu from Ann Arbor to head the effort of recruiting new members. We will emphasize that English is the official language, and that the ability to speak Chinese is not a requirement to be a member. In addition, Dr. X. Joseph Zhou from Dallas, Texas will spearhead an effort to create a web page of our Society.
CASN Mission
- To foster and promote the professional growth of nephrologists and nephrology related scientists of Chinese heritage.
- To encourage the exchange of ideas among nephrologists and nephrology related scientists of Chinese heritage concerning nephrology and related practice in the pursuit of scientific knowledge in this filed, to the benefit of its members and the public at large.
- To provide educational, research, and professional opportunities for nephrologists and nephrology related scientists of Chinese heritage.
- To promote the professional well-being of nephrologists and nephrology related scientists of Chinese heritage.
- To provide a social environment for the change of ideas and information among nephrologists and nephrology related scientists of Chinese heritage.
- To promote an exchange of ideas and information between nephrologists and nephrology related scientists of Chinese heritage in the United States and their counterparts in the Peoples Republic of China and in Taiwan.