TTS 2018 State -of-art SPEAKERS revealed

The Scientific Program Committee has put together an amazing cutting edge program for all transplant professionals.

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TRANSPLANT INFECTIOUS DISEASE NOVEMBER 17 WEBINAR

MULTI-DRUG RESISTANT ORGANISMS IN SOLID ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2017 - 9AM EST (MONTREAL TIME) / 10PM SINGAPORE

Speaker: Ban Hock Tan, MD, MBBS, FRCP Senior Consultant, Dept. Infectious Diseases Singapore General Hospital Singapore

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TRANSPLANT INFECTIOUS DISEASE NOVEMBER 30 WEBINAR

ENDEMIC MYCOSIS IN TRANSPLANT POPULATIONS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2017 - 10AM EST (9AM BIRMINGHAM CST)

Speaker: John Baddley, MD, MSPH, FRCP Professor of Medicine Director, Transplant Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Department of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases; Birmingham, AL, USA

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TRAINEE TRACK WEBINAR WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2017

TRAINEE TRACK WEBINAR EPITOPE MATCHING: WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT IS ITS RELEVANCE?
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2017, 11AM EST (MONTREAL TIME)

Speaker: Peter Nickerson, BSc (Med), MD, FRCPC, FCAHS Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine and Immunology Vice-Dean of Research Rady Faculty of Health Sciences University of Manitoba Medical Director of Transplant Manitoba and Medical Advisor Organ Donation and Transplantation Division Canadian Blood Services Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

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Young Members Corner

Steven Wisel, MD

Attending a transplant conference as a trainee surely yields many immediate professional benefits. Presenting your progress in basic science and clinical research provides the opportunity to represent your institution, receive feedback from world leaders in the field, and bolster a burgeoning CV as fellowship applications approach. However, the enduring value of attending a conference often occurs once your eight minutes at the podium have elapsed. Conferences and meetings are a chance to become a part of the transplant community and to develop your own community of peers.

The transplant community is filled with giants. It is always a thrill to brush shoulders with true pioneers in the field. But giants rarely work in isolation. There is also a vibrant community of students, residents, and fellows thriving alongside their mentors. Unsurprisingly, these are intelligent, engaging, and interesting individuals – taking after the finer traits of their mentors of course! This group of peers not only represents “so-and-so’s mentee”, but the next generation of leaders in the field, future collaborators, and the familiar faces at conferences over the next 30 years.

I was able to attend the Young Members Committee networking event at TTS 2016 in Hong Kong, which was well attended by transplant practitioners across the spectrum. It was a truly rare opportunity to meet fellow trainees from across the globe and get to know them well. Although we train in different parts of the world, the shared stories of the training experience revealed many common bonds and forged quick friendships. I look forward to seeing these friendly faces and meeting new colleagues in Madrid at TTS 2018. Hope to see you there!

FEATURED ARTICLE - Transplantation

Submitted by Dr Karen Keung, Editorial Fellow, Transplantation.

Recurrence of CMV Infection and the Effect of Prolonged Antivirals in Organ Transplant Recipients
Natori Yoichiro, Humar Atul, Husain Shahid, et al.
Transplantation. 2017;101(6): 1449–1454.

In this study the authors performed a single center retrospective analysis to evaluate the epidemiology and risk factors for CMV recurrence in organ transplant recipients, up to 6 months following discontinuation of therapy. Two hundred eighty-two subjects (primarily lung 42.6%, liver 29.8% and kidney 16%) with their first episode of asymptomatic CMV viremia or symptomatic CMV disease requiring antiviral therapy were included. CMV viremia or disease occurred at a median duration of 5.6 months posttransplant and the incidence of recurrence following initial successful therapy was 29.5% (median of 47 days). D+/R- serostatus, lung transplant, and treatment phase viral kinetics were all independent predictors of recurrence, but notably prolonged antiviral treatment beyond initial clearance was not associated with a reduced risk. This warrants further prospective evaluation.

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Deadline Reminders

Young Investigator and International Mentee-Mentor Awards - December 8, 2017

TTS and partnering affiliated societies are offering many awards for TTS 2018. All awards require abstract submission, please visit our website for more details.

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TTS Officer / Council Nominations - January 31, 2018

TTS is seeking nominations for three Officer positions that will be vacated in 2018: President-Elect, Vice President and Treasurer. In addition, five of the 12 Councilors-at-large will be changing.

Click here for to nominate someone today! (Requires login)

Medawar Prize Nominations - January 31, 2018

The Medawar Prize, named after Society co-founder Sir Peter Medawar, is recognized as the world's highest dedicated award for the most outstanding contributions in the field of transplantation.

Click here for to nominate someone today!

IN THE NEWS

Subset of stem cells identified as source for all cells in blood and immune systems

November 2 - Researchers have identified a specific subset of adult blood stem cells that is exclusively responsible for repopulating the entire blood and immune system after a transplant.

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Researchers create functional intestines from stem cells

October 31 - A team of researchers from the Harvard Medical School have created functional small intestine segments using stem cells.

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Kidney Graft Loss Risk Not Associated With Vitamin D Deficiency

November 2 - Kidney transplant recipients with low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels are at no greater risk for allograft function decline, according to a new study presented at the American Society of Nephrology's Kidney Week 2017.

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Swedish Ethics Review Board: Macchiarini Is Guilty

October 30 - [Swedish Ethics Review Board] calls for the retraction of six publications by surgeon Paolo Macchiarini regarding the synthetic trachea transplantations that led to the death of at least three patients.

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Causes of Most Kidney Transplant Patient Deaths Reported as Unknown

November 4 - Causes of death are reported as unknown for most kidney transplant recipients who die with a functioning allograft, according to a study presented at the American Society of Nephrology's Kidney Week 2017 meeting.

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Scientists grow replacement skin for boy suffering devastating genetic disorder

Seven-year-old boy suffering illness causing untreatable wounds over 80% of his body has had his skin replaced by new, genetically modified epidermis

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NIH Creative Minds: Building a CRISPR Gene Drive Against Malaria

Researchers have used Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly that sometimes hovers around kitchens, to make seminal discoveries involving genetics, the nervous system, and behavior, just to name a few. Could a new life-saving approach to prevent malaria be next? Valentino Gantz, a researcher at the University of California, San Diego, is on a path to answer that question.

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Can Artificial Cells Take Over for Lost Insulin-Secreting Cells?

People with diabetes have benefited tremendously from advances in monitoring and controlling blood sugar, but they’re still waiting and hoping for a cure. Some of the most exciting possibilities aim to replace the function of the insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells that is deficient in diabetes. The latest strategy of this kind is called AβCs, short for artificial beta cells

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