This four and a half day annual workshop is held on the UCSD/VASDHCS campus. Led by Dr. Volker Vallon, faculty from UCSD and UAB organize an annual workshop designed to practice animal handling and phenotyping techniques for commonly used methods to study kidney function in the rat and mouse. The format includes lectures (about 2 hours a day), demonstrations and hand-on practical training (about 6 hours a day). Participants receive a detailed workshop folder including all workstation handouts and lecture slides. This workshop is limited to 9 participants for the maximum interaction and time for training and discussion.
The 13th workshop took place June 8-12, 2026.
The 13th workshop has been held from June 8 - 12, 2026 focusing on hands-on whole kidney and single nephron function analysis and models of acute and chronic kidney disease. The number of participants is limited to 9 for maximum training and interaction. A few comments provided by this group of participants/most favorable aspects: “Hands-on Work. A demo followed by trying. That is why we are here”; “I particularly enjoyed both the hands-on aspect of the workshop and also how the techniques were presented in the context of an animal research question”; “surgical stations”; “The surgical procedures on Thursday were great to see and fantastic to try”; “So much hands on experience was amazing”; “The skillset of all the instructors. The surgical expertise of the instructors and the explanation. The explanation and experimental detailing, from very small steps”; “Very well organized. Good introductions on Monday that set the tone for the week”; “It was fun to analyze our own data”; “The expertise, not just from the fantastic staff but also the other attendees with their backgrounds”; “The people I was able to meet as well as the instructors and lab team”; “The knowledge and commitment of the people”; “The hospitality from all the people”. “I truly learned a lot of powerful things relevant and important for my projects”; “It is truly amazing how much we get to do and learn at this course”.
In case you are interested, please contact Dr. Volker Vallon (vvallon@ucsd.edu) for information on next workshop.
Previous participants include graduate students, postdocs, research assistants, research associates, scientists, and faculty from 73 institutions from 13 countries (Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Switzerland and the USA).