Science transforming kidney care 

The plenary session at the Irish Nephrology Society (INS) Annual Scientific Meeting 2026 was introduced by INS President Prof Donal Reddan.

Prof Reddan commented on how the meeting goes from strength to strength each year and for the 2026 conference, there were over 160 delegates, which is a record attendance for the event.

He also acknowledged the importance of industry support for the conference, and encouraged delegates to engage with industry representatives.

Prof Reddan introduced Dr Joel Topf, who presented a talk titled, ‘Fear of four to five – Potassium: Arrhythmia, outcomes, and the evidence.’ Dr Topf presented a wide-ranging overview of study data and discussed a number of trials, including the Salt Substitute and Stroke Study trial.

“One of the big revolutions we have had in nephrology over the past 10 years is, we have had interventional trials,” he pointed out.

Dr Topf commented: “It is amazing what we are learning about potassium. When we are doing the proper trials and large population-based analyses and real outcomes, we are moving the needle a little bit.” 

“I think we have traditionally had a fear of hyperkalaemia; we know the risk of hyperkalaemia goes up in our patients with advanced CKD. But I think we have under-recognised concerns about hypokalaemia, and this is an important question to consider… but the future looks bright and there is a lot of interesting stuff happening, and the only way we move forward is by doing the proper randomised, placebo-controlled trials.”

This year’s Plenary Talk was delivered by Dr Samir Parikh, President of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and Professor of Medicine, University of Texas, US.

Dr Parikh gave a fascinating lecture on his own professional and personal journey in medicine. He also spoke about the ASN and how it is striving, along with colleagues internationally, to transform kidney care.

He explained the work that his laboratory performs to enhance understanding of acute kidney injury (AKI) and the importance of the “physician-scientist” role in helping to shed light on a number of important questions, such as why there is a lack of cell death in AKI compared to some other conditions, why AKI has no genetic basis, and other clinical questions relevant to patient care.

He outlined the mission of the ASN, which is to transform kidney care, research, and education: “ASN Kidney Week is the premier nephrology meeting in the world, convening over 12,000 kidney professionals from around the world,” he said.

“JASN, CJASN and Kidney360 are the most-read kidney journals… and ASN Kidney News reaches more than 17,000 people in the US, making it the largest distribution for a nephrology publication.

“ASN Kidney Health Guidance provides practical, expert-driven clinical practice points based on emerging evidence to drive improvements in kidney health.”

He also outlined the ASN’s strategic plan for 2026–2027.

“We want to see a world without kidney diseases; that’s our vision,” he said.

“Our mission is to transform kidney care and improve lives through science, education, advocacy, and collective action. Our mantra is, what is in the best interests of people living with kidney diseases and their families?”

He concluded: “Our mission as nephrologists is to do something with the mandate we have. That might be with patients, or when we interact with trainees to make sure that we’re not modelling burnout, but modelling that enthusiasm that we all feel.”