About ASPN

The American Society of Pediatric Nephrology (ASPN) is a national community of clinicians, educators, researchers, and trainees dedicated to improving the care of children with kidney disease. ASPN supports the next generation of pediatric nephrologists through mentorship, education, networking, advocacy, and career development opportunities.

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Membership Benefits

And it's free for trainees

Structured Training Programs

Build core competencies through ASPN's Board Review and Refresher Course, the Educational Scholarship and Teaching Course, and the Mentorship Program, which pairs trainees with experienced pediatric nephrologists to guide clinical and academic growth.

Educational Resources

Learn on your schedule with ASPN webinar recordings, The Sediment podcast, the ASPNFOAM free open-access medical education group, and the ASPN Go mobile app, all curated to strengthen your clinical and academic knowledge.

Networking Opportunities

Connect with peers and faculty through pFeNa, ASPN's trainee community, along with interest groups, committee involvement, and gatherings at the ASPN Annual Meeting and ASN Kidney Week.

Grants & Awards

Apply for ASPN travel grants and Foundation Named Travel Awards that offset the cost of presenting your work and attending national meetings, plus recognition awards that highlight trainee research and achievement.

Leadership Development Programs

Grow as a future leader through the ASPN Leadership Development Program, the JELF Advocacy Scholars Program, and hands-on roles on ASPN committees where trainees contribute to real society initiatives.

Career Development

Explore your path with the Careers in Nephrology resource hub, the ASPN employment job board, and mentorship connections that support your transition from training into fellowship and early-career roles.

Medically 3D illustration showing right kidney, x-ray style, cross section
Join the ASPN

Trainee membership is open to any resident, fellow or student who is endorsed by their program director or an ASPN member. A trainee member can participate in scientific meetings, receive the newsletter, and participate in ASPN committees, but will not have voting rights and cannot hold office in the Society.


Graduating Fellows Fees:

Newly graduated fellows will be given complimentary active membership for the remainder of the dues year ending December 31. Further, they will receive a 50% discount on regular membership rates during the first-year post-training and a 25% discount during their second-year post-training.

Become a member

Read Their Stories: Why They Became Pediatric Nephrologists

  • I chose pediatric nephrology because of the diversity of clinical care that we provide. I like that within nephrology you can tailor your career focus to what you love. Whether you want to be a primarily  inpatient nephrologists doing acute care nephrology, or work outpatient seeing glomerular diseases. Or practice somewhere you see a mix of everything to keep things interesting!

    I am very passionate about research and and there are so many excellent opportunities to pursue research within pediatric nephrology.
    Since I have started fellowship I have found the pediatric nephrology community to be incredibly welcoming, supportive and collaborative.This makes me excited to come to work every day!
    Courtney Giannini
    2nd year pediatric nephrology fellow at Colorado
  • Ironically, it was an adult elective in medical school, my last hurrah before committing to pediatrics, where I fell in love with nephrology. The pathophysiology captivated me, and that fascination only deepened once I applied a pediatric lens. Pediatric nephrology offers something rare: the chance to follow children and their families from birth to young adulthood, across the full arc of progressive chronic kidney disease, dialysis, and transplant. We see our families in clinic and in the hospital, and in doing so, form a truly special bond. The community itself mirrors that ethos, tight-knit and deeply collaborative, and it is one where there are real opportunities to contribute meaningfully to how we care for these children.
    Melissa Zhou
    3rd year pediatric nephrology fellow at Stanford
  • Pediatric nephrology combines all my favorite aspects of pediatrics – the ability to care for patients from birth to graduation, complex physiology, procedures including dialysis and biopsy, and the spectrum from outpatient care to the most critical patients in the ICU. My initial interests in nephrology began during residency, where I encountered patients in the neonatal ICU who required kidney monitoring following repeated antibiotic exposure. From here, I became very interested in kidney development, maturation, and post-natal kidney exposures during typical neonatal courses. I quickly found that my local pediatric nephrologists were just as interested and excited in this as I was, and quickly became close mentors. I realized that the field of pediatric nephrology requires you to be a great educator across the healthcare system – for ICU teams, for trainees, and most importantly for patients and their families. In addition, there are few greater joys in life than seeing a child go from dialysis to kidney transplantation. Ultimately, as an under-represented pediatric subspecialty across the country, I find tremendous value and oppurtunity in being able to provide nephrology education and care to patients and their families.  
    Benjamin Russell, MD
    Pediatric Nephrology Fellow
    Division of Pediatric Nephrology and Hypertension
    Nationwide Children’s Hospital

  • Pediatric nephrology was not in my 10-year plan when I started medical training. It took exposure on a subspeciality service and a pediatric nephrology elective to spark my interest, but once I saw glomeruli on a pathology slide after a renal biopsy, I was sold. Truly, what specialty has the opportunity to work on various problems with local pediatricians, critical care physicians, and hospitalists all in one day?  The variety is never lacking within pediatric nephrology, and it definitely keeps me on my toes.

    Kathleen Herman, DO 
    UNC Pediatric Nephrology Fellow, PGY 5