This summer, Shuvo Roy, PhD, professor in the UCSF Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and technical director of The Kidney Project, advanced global dialogue on the future of renal care at two of the field’s most prestigious international gatherings.
Roy joined top kidney researchers from around the world at the Willem Kolff Foundation’s historic symposium in Kampen, Netherlands, where dialysis was first performed. “Presenting at this symposium was particularly meaningful because it celebrates the legacy of the inventor of dialysis — a legacy we aim to build upon by moving beyond dialysis toward a curative solution,” says Roy, a founding member of USCF’s Health Innovation Via Engineering (HIVE).
Soon after, Roy gave the opening plenary talk at the European Society for Artificial Organs (ESAO) 2025 conference in Enschede, Netherlands, where he shared breakthroughs in silicon membrane technology. He also highlighted The Kidney Project’s progress toward a first-of-its-kind, fully implantable bioartificial kidney.
Together, these events underscored the urgency and promise of The Kidney Project’s mission: to create a transformative alternative to dialysis — an effort rooted in cross-disciplinary collaboration and global partnership.
“Both events reinforced that our integrated, bioartificial kidney is timely and meets a global need,” Roy says. “It was also encouraging to see that UCSF is viewed as a leader in the development of bioartificial organs. There was significant interest, especially from our European colleagues, in investing in this field and following the roadmap we’ve helped shape.”
HIVE plays an important role in Roy’s collaborations across UCSF, and he sees these international conferences as an extension of those connections. “International conferences extend our reach — enabling us to connect with global partners and draw inspiration from fields as diverse as materials science and policy. Those perspectives are vital as we work to build and scale our technology for end stage kidney disease patients.”