The inaugural COOKS  (Center for Research on Obesity and Oxalate Kidney Stones) Obesity & Kidney Stone Conference was held on July 11th and 12th at the UAB Hill Student Center. The conference brought together a broad network of scientific leaders to define the relationship between obesity and kidney stone disease.

The conference format was conducive to open discussions about the research being done to combat kidney stone disease. There were 15 speakers, 10 from UAB and 5 from other institutions. Each speaker provided a 20 minute presentation and 10 minutes of Q&A.

Dr. Ayfer Akgul, the first ever travel award recipient of the NIDDK-sponsored CAIRIBU (Collaborating for the Advancement of Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology) consortium, also attended the meeting. Congrats, Dr. Akgul!

COOKS was established in 2019 to evaluate the associations between obesity and kidney stone disease with a focus on oxalate. The Center is integrally connected to the Kidney Stone Research Center at UAB. At the Kidney Stone Research Center, experts are using mouse models to study the relationship between obesity and kidney stone disease. Working in collaboration with the Nutrition and Obesity Research Center, human subjects are being studied to describe the effects of measures of obesity on the urinary excretion of oxalate.

See the 2019 COOKS Conference agenda.

Dr. Dean Assimos and travel award recipient, Dr. Ayfer Akgul