From Kidney Stones to Precision Prevention
Kidney stone disease is no longer considered merely an episodic urological condition. It is increasingly recognized as a complex, recurrent, and heterogeneous disorder shaped by metabolic, nutritional, genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Growing evidence also highlights its association with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the broader cardio-kidney-metabolic (CKM) continuum.
The 7th edition of the ICONEKT Online Academy, “Let’s Talk About Kidney Stones”, will explore how emerging scientific knowledge can be translated into individualized prevention strategies and more precise patient-centered care.
Beyond the Stone
The challenge is no longer simply to remove a stone. The key clinical questions have become:
- Why is this patient forming stones?
- Which metabolic, genetic, or environmental factors are driving the disease?
- Which lithogenic phenotype is involved?
- How can recurrence be prevented?
- How can we minimize renal and systemic complications?
- What strategies can improve long-term kidney and metabolic health?
Addressing these questions requires moving from an episodic treatment model toward a comprehensive preventive approach tailored to each patient.
Scientific Focus of the 2026-2027 Programme
The programme will provide an updated and multidisciplinary overview of:
- Metabolic and urinary evaluation of stone formers
- Identification of lithogenic phenotypes
- Personalized nutrition and lifestyle interventions
- Medical prevention of stone recurrence
- Genetic and rare metabolic stone disorders
- Kidney stone disease within the cardio-kidney-metabolic continuum
- Chronic kidney disease and systemic complications associated with nephrolithiasis
- Emerging therapeutic approaches
- Digital health technologies, remote monitoring, and precision prevention
Through expert lectures, real-world clinical cases, and interactive discussions, internationally recognized specialists will critically review current evidence and discuss its implementation in daily clinical practice.
Our Mission : sharing knowledge to improve clinical practice and advance kidney stone care from episodic intervention to personalized, longitudinal, and preventive medicine.
Programme 2026-2027
All sessions are held online on Thursdays from 18:00 to 19:00 (Brussels time).
Accreditation SPF/INAMI for Belgian accreditation has been requested.
8 October 2026
The Future of Kidney Stone Monitoring: Digital Technologies and Precision Prevention
Agnieszka Pozdzik, MD, PhD
Nephrologist, Department of Internal Medicine, Nephrology and Endocrinology; Nephrolithiasis Clinic, CHU HELORA; Faculty of Medicine, University of Mons (UMONS), Mons, Belgium.
This opening session will examine how connected monitoring, longitudinal data and clinically supervised digital tools can shift recurrence prevention from periodic assessment to individualized, proactive care.
Format: Expert lecture and discussion
19 November 2026
Parathyroid Disorders and Kidney Stones: A Case-Based Approach to Diagnosis and Management
Naim Maalouf, MD
Professor of Internal Medicine and Associate Director, Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research, Division of Endocrinology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Using clinical cases, this session will clarify how parathyroid dysfunction alters mineral metabolism and stone risk, translating diagnostic reasoning into targeted treatment and recurrence prevention.
Format: Combined expert lecture and case-based discussion
10 December 2026
Luminal Tubular Mineral Plugs in Idiopathic Stone Formers: How Do They Differ from Randall’s Plaque?
James C. Williams Jr., PhD
Professor, Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
This session will contrast intratubular mineral plugs with interstitial Randall’s plaque, linking distinct pathways of crystal retention to the microstructure and pathogenesis of idiopathic stone disease.
Format: Expert lecture and discussion
21 January 2027
Genetics of Monogenic Stone Disease: From Molecular Diagnosis to Precision Management
Professor John A. Sayer, MD, PhD
Clinical Professor of Renal Medicine and Deputy Dean of Clinical Medicine, Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University; Consultant Nephrologist, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
This session will show how phenotype-driven genetic testing can identify monogenic stone disorders, refine counselling and surveillance, and enable mechanism-based clinical management.
Format: Combined expert lecture and case-based discussion
18 February 2027
Nephrolithiasis in Young Women: Could Estrogen Influence Stone Risk?
David Tovbin, MD, PhD, with Naim Maalouf, MD, as expert discussant
Forum for Treatment and Prevention of Nephrolithiasis, Israeli Society of Nephrology and Hypertension, Giv’atayim, Israel; Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
This session will critically examine sex-specific patterns of nephrolithiasis and the potential influence of estrogen on urinary risk factors, mineral metabolism and prevention in younger women.
Format: Expert lecture and moderated discussion
4 March 2027
Registries and Specialist Networks in Rare Stone Disease: What Can They Offer?
Shabbir Moochhala, PhD, FRCPE
Consultant Nephrologist, Royal Free Hospital; Honorary Associate Professor, UCL Department of Renal Medicine, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
This session will examine how disease registries and international specialist networks can accelerate diagnosis, harmonize phenotyping, generate real-world evidence and expand access to expert care for patients with rare stone disorders.
Format: Expert lecture and discussion
15 April 2027
Long-Term Follow-Up After Urological Stone Treatment: From Stone-Free Status to Recurrence Prevention
Giovanni Gambaro, MD, PhD
Professor of Nephrology and Senior Scientist, Nephrology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
This session will reposition post-procedural follow-up as a preventive care pathway integrating residual stone burden, metabolic recurrence risk and structured uro-nephrological surveillance.
Format: Expert lecture and discussion
27 May 2027
AI in Healthcare Across the Atlantic: Navigating Regulatory Differences Between the EU and the USA
Matteo Capriulo, Attorney-at-Law, PhD
Director, Association des Médecins anciens étudiants de l’Université libre de Bruxelles (AMUB), Brussels, Belgium.
This session will compare the evolving EU and US regulatory frameworks governing clinical AI, highlighting their implications for medical device qualification, health-data governance, accountability, cross-border collaboration and the safe implementation of AI in healthcare.
Format: Expert lecture and multidisciplinary discussion
17 June 2027
Heat Exposure and Kidney Stone Disease: Translating New Evidence into Climate-Ready Prevention
Charles D. Scales Jr., MD, MSHS, FACS
Associate Professor of Urology and Population Health Sciences, Vice Chair of Research, Department of Urology, and Associate Dean for Clinical Research Initiatives, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Drawing on novel analyses, this session will examine how heat exposure and dehydration shape stone risk and how environmental evidence can inform practical, climate-resilient prevention.
Format: Expert lecture and discussion
How to Join ?
Please register here to secure your spot in the series.
Once registered, you will receive detailed information about the webinar by Team’s link.
We look forward to your participation and to another successful year of advancing medical education together.
An International Collaborative Educational Initiative
Let’s Talk About Kidney Stones is organized within the framework of the International Collaborative Network on Kidney Stones (ICONEKT), an international educational and scientific platform bringing together clinicians, researchers, and healthcare professionals committed to advancing knowledge, fostering collaboration, and improving the prevention and management of kidney stone disease worldwide.
Scientific and Organising Committee
Agnieszka Pozdzik, MD, PhD
Nephrologist, Department of Internal Medicine, Nephrology and Endocrinology; Nephrolithiasis Clinic, CHU HELORA; Faculty of Medicine, University of Mons (UMONS), Mons, Belgium; Founder and Scientific Lead, ICONEKT
Ides M. Colin, MD, PhD
Head of Endocrinology and Diabetology; Nephrolithiasis Clinic, CHU HELORA; Faculty of Medicine, University of Mons (UMONS), Mons, Belgium
Naim Maalouf, MD
Associate Director, Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research; Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
Khashayar Sakhaee, MD
Department of Internal Medicine and Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA