The Conrad L. Pirani Lectureship was established in 1984 to honor one of the foremost pathologists in the field of medical diseases of the kidney. Dr. Pirani is credited with being among the first to apply modern, in-depth clinicopathologic correlation to the study of human renal biopsies and diverse forms of experimental renal disease. As the author of over 200 papers, as a member of the editorial board of numerous journals, as lecturer in the "Short Course" and "Long Course" on Renal Pathology at the International Academy of Pathology, and as a dedicated inspiring teacher throughout his academic career, he was a seminal influence on the field of nephropathology. Together with Dr. Jacob Churg, Dr. Pirani received the prestigious John Peters Award of the American Society of Nephrology in 1987 for his lifetime contributions. In 1984, to honor Dr. Pirani on his retirement from the directorship of the Nephropathology Laboratory of Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons, an annual Conrad L. Pirani Lectureship was founded. The first lecture in this series, entitled "The Kidney in Multiple Myeloma, Amyloidosis and Other Dysproteinemias" was given in October, 1984 by Dr. Liliane Morel-Maroger Striker. Subsequent lecturers have included Dr. Jacob Churg, Dr. Giuseppe Andres, Dr. Renee Habib, Dr. Robert McCluskey, Dr. Morris Karnovsky, Dr. Gloria Gallo, Dr. Ramzi Cotran, Dr. C. Craig Tisher, Dr. William G. Couser, Dr. Giuseppe D'Amico, Dr. Michael Kashgarian, Dr. Fred G. Silva, Dr. Helmut G. Rennke, Dr. Giuseppe Remuzzi, Dr. J. Charles Jennette, Dr. Eli A. Friedman, Dr. Vivette D. D'Agati, Dr. Gerald B. Appel, Dr. Wilhelm Kriz, Dr. Robert B. Colvin, Dr. Richard J. Glassock, Dr. Charles D. Pusey and Dr. Pierre Ronco.