| FSN 59th Annual Meeting Speakers |
Florida Society of Nephrology 59th Annual MeetingJanuary 16–18, 2026 | Hilton West Palm Beachwww.floridasocietyofnephrology.com/event/FSN2026
The Florida Society of Nephrology's 59th Annual Meeting is scheduled for January 16-18, 2026, at the Hilton West Palm Beach. We have confirmed a lineup of distinguished speakers who are highly respected in their fields and recognized for their significant contributions on both a national and international level. Gerald Appel, M.D.
Dr. Gerald B. Appel is the Director of the Glomerular Kidney Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center of The New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. He has been a Tenured Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons since 1989. He received his undergraduate BA from Cornell University graduating in three years with distinction in all subjects and as a member of phi beta kappa. He received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine , NY in 1972, where he was elected to the medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. He then completed Fellowships in Nephrology at both Columbia-Presbyterian Med. Ctr.(1975-1976) and at Yale-New Haven Medical Center, New Haven, Connecticut (1976-1978). He has spent the rest of his career at Columbia University. Dr. Appel has served as an officer and President of The NY Society of Nephrology , he has served on the Medical Advisory Board and as the Chairman of the Research Committee of the National Kidney Foundation ( NKF ) of NY-NJ and The Kidney and Urology Foundation of America, and as Chair of the Council of Glomerulonephritis of the NKF of the United States. Dr Appel has been listed in New York Magazine as one of the “Best Doctors in New York” annually between 1992 and 2020, and is listed in “Best Doctors in America,” He has served on the editorial board of a number of journals including the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Clinical Nephrology, and the editorial board of Up-To-Date. He has been the director of a number of educational courses including The Columbia U Internal Medicine Course in NYC , Renal Biopsy in Medical Diseases of the Kidney in NYC, and for many years directed the annual course in The Treatment of Glomerular Diseases at the American Society of Nephrology meetings ( 1998-2010 ). Dr Appel has authored and co-authored 375 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He has received numerous awards including the Albert Douglas Award of the Medical Society of NY State for excellence in clinical teaching, The Lester Honig Award of the NY-NJ Kidney Foundation, the Distinguished Service Award of the Nephcure Foundation, and twice the Teacher of the Year Award by Columbia University’s medical school classes. He has given numerous named lectures including recently the Dornfeld Lecture at George Washington U. , The Hugh Carrol Lecture in NYC, The Kasperak Lecture at the Cleveland Clinic and the Chandos Lecture at the UK Society of Nephrology. He annually has spoken to large groups at the American Society of Nephrology, The National Kidney Foundation, and the International Society of Nephrology. At any given time he is the PI or Co-PI on 10-15 grants at Columbia U. He was awarded The Donald Seldin Award for life-time achievement by the National Kidney Foundation of the U.S. in 2012. In 2000 he founded the first center devoted to the study and treatment of glomerular disease in the United States. His former “glomerular fellows” now work at and/or direct glomerular centers at major institutions across the country. His career has been devoted to the care and welfare of patients with glomerulonephritis, lupus, and the nephrotic syndrome. Alessia Fornoni, MD, PhD
Dr. Alessia Fornoni is a Professor of Medicine, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, and Biochemistry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She serves as the Director and Chair of the Peggy and Harold Katz Drug Discovery Center. Dr. Fornoni gained experience in drug development at Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel and is the founding scientist of several start-up companies. Her research is supported by grants from the NIH, industry, and private foundations. She has received numerous prestigious awards, including membership in the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI, 2017), the Association of American Physicians (AAP, 2021), and the Florida Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (ASEMFL, 2023). Dr. Fornoni serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Investigation and Kidney International and was the Deputy Editor of JASN in 2024. She began her term as the At-Large Councilor for the ASN Council in January 2025. As a recipient of multiple mentorship awards, Dr. Fornoni has guided trainees who now hold leadership positions in academic institutions worldwide. As the Assistant Dean for Research Training and Development, Co-Director of the MD/PhD MSTP program and the CTSI K12 program, and Director of an NIH-funded summer school in Nephrology, she is deeply committed to mentoring students and junior faculty on their paths to successful academic careers. Through her pioneering work on insulin signaling, cholesterol metabolism, and sphingolipid-related pathways, Dr. Fornoni has uncovered novel pathogenetic mechanisms and therapeutic approaches for glomerular disorders, which have successfully progressed to ongoing clinical trials. She serves as a grant reviewer for the Alport Foundation. Crystal A. Gadegbeku, MD
Nelson Leung, M.D.
Dr. Leung graduated from Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska and completed his internship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He completed his Internal Medicine residency and Nephrology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He has an academic rank of professor of medicine and is the David L. and Colleen B. Kessenich Professor of Multiple Myeloma. Dr. Leung has a joint appointment in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension and the Division of Hematology. He is the current Program Director of the OncoNephrology fellowship and the head of the Onconephrology Section in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at the Mayo Clinic. His main interests are in monoclonal gammopathy related kidney diseases, thrombotic microangiopathies and amyloidosis. He has published over 500 manuscripts and is the leading authority on renal amyloidosis, myeloma cast nephropathy and monoclonal immunoglobulin deposition disease. He introduced the concept of monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance and has made substantial contributions in the treatment of paraprotein related kidney diseases. He is a founding member of the International Kidney and Monoclonal Gammopathy Research Group and American Society of OncoNephrology. He is also an active member of the International Myeloma Working Group, International Myeloma Society, and International Society of Amyloidosis. He is a current member of the American Society of Nephrology Workforce and Training Committee and co-chair of the ASN core curriculum on Onconephrology. He is a member of the American Society of Hematology Committee on Guidelines on Diagnosis of Amyloidosis. He sits on the editorial board of Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation and is a reviewer for multiple Hematology and Nephrology journals. Glen Markowitz, M.D.
Dr. Glen Markowitz received his undergraduate degree from Brandeis University in 1990 and his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1994. After three years of residency in anatomic pathology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, he spent a year as the Renal Pathology Fellow at Columbia University in 1997-8, training under Dr. Vivette D’Agati. He subsequently joined the faculty at Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons in 1998 and has remained on the faculty since that time, achieving the rank of Professor of Pathology & Clinical Pathology in 2008 and assuming the role of Vice Chairman for Operations in 2011. During 2015, he is serving a 1-year term as the President of the Renal Pathology Society, the largest organized body of renal pathologists in the world, with a current membership that exceeds 550. Dr. Markowitz’s areas of academic interest include toxic forms of renal injury, dysproteinemic renal disease, and membranous glomerulopathy. He has published more than 160 articles and many additional chapters. Robert A. Montgomery, MD, DPhil, FACS
Dr. Robert A. Montgomery is the Chairman and Professor of Surgery at NYU Langone Health and the Director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute. He received his Doctor of Medicine with Honor from the University of Rochester School of Medicine. He received his Doctor of Philosophy from Balliol College, the University of Oxford, England in Molecular Immunology as a Fulbright Scholar. Montgomery completed his general surgical training, multi-organ transplantation fellowship, and postdoctoral fellowship in Human Molecular Genetics at Johns Hopkins. For over a decade he served as the Chief of Transplant Surgery and the Director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Montgomery was part of the team that developed the laparoscopic procedure for live kidney donation. He and the Hopkins team conceived the idea of the Domino Paired Donation (kidney swaps), the Hopkins protocol for desensitization of incompatible kidney transplant patients, performed the first chain of transplants started by an altruistic donor which has resulted in 10,000 transplants. In 2021, he led the team that performed the first gene edited pig-to-human xenotransplant and has performed 8 pig heart and kidney xenotransplants into humans. Brad H. Rovin, M.D.
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