On 27 April 2023, the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University and the Lithuanian Kidney Foundation organised an international scientific-practical conference “Let’s Meet #Nephronauts”. The conference was aimed both at medical students interested in the fields of nephrology, urology, vascular surgery, rheumatology, as well as resident doctors of these and other specialties.
The conference, which took place at the Neringa Hotel, was attended by nephrology experts, resident doctors and medical students from all over Lithuania: Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University, Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) and LSMU Hospital Kauno Klinikos. There were also guests from Latvia (Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital, Riga Stradinis University and Pauls Stradinis Clinical University Hospital) and Poland (Gdansk Medical University). Both oral and electronic poster presentations were available during the conference. The jury nominated student research which they considered to be the best in their field.
According to one of the main organisers of the conference, Kamilė Čeponytė, coordinator of the Nephrology Research Group of the VU FM Student Research Network (SRN), the idea to organise the conference was born spontaneously. “During my first meeting with Prof. Marius Miglinas, the president of the Lithuanian Kidney Foundation and the head of the Nephrology Scientific Group, I mentioned my wish to try to organise an international scientific conference for students interested in nephrology. As far as I knew, there had not previously been such an event in the Nephrology Research Group. Prof. Miglinas was very supportive of the event. He encouraged me not to let the idea go and I then received a proposal to organise the event in a contact format. The aim of the event was to promote interest in nephrology, the scientific activity of students, and to strengthen contacts and cooperation with like-minded colleagues from neighbouring countries—Poland and Latvia, as well as to exchange scientific news, knowledge and experience in clinical practice.”
On the left: M.D., PhD Z. Heleniak (The Medical University of Gdańsk), prof. M. Miglinas, K. Čeponytė, M. Vitkauskaitė. On the right: conference moments. / Personal archive.
Ms. Čeponytė thanked Marta Monika Janušaitė, a nephrologist at the Nephrology Centre of Santaros Klinikos, and Monika Vitkauskaitė, a nephrology resident, who helped to organise the event, as well as the sponsors of the event—the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the company Medita. She added, “We have received excellent news from the Medical University of Gdansk: in 2024, they plan to take over our initiative and organise an international scientific-practical conference in Gdansk. We have been invited to take part in the event as members of the Scientific Group on Nephrology of Vilnius University; members of the Scientific Group on Nephrology of Riga Stradinis University have also been invited. We hope that the wonderful initiative we have started—an international scientific-practical conference for students and resident doctors—will become a strong tradition, bringing together both young nephrology enthusiasts and experts in this field.”
During the conference, a tour of the State Pathology Centre (SPC) was organised for the guests from Latvia. They were warmly welcomed by the Director of the SPC, Prof. Dr Arvydas Laurinavičius, who introduced them to the activities and organisation of the SPC, including the provision of specialised services to Latvian medical institutions, and told them about the research and projects carried out at the SPC.
The conference abstract book, which included 21 accepted abstracts of a high scientific and clinical standard, is available here.