ERS Opening Ceremony in Amsterdam: hottest basic science starts here!

On 24th September ERS opening ceremony was held in RAI. More than 20.000 respiratory specialists are going to attend the conference.

The evening started with the speech of Co-chair of the ERS Congress, Dr. Elizabeth Bell, who welcomed all the participants and wished a fruitful stay in the innovative city.  

Marc Decramer, President of the ERS mentioned the increasing of ERS membership as one of the key moments for the lung health awareness. Dissemination of information, expending the network and improving the knowledge are those classical aims followed throughout the years by ERS. Events 2010, such as World Spirometry Day, Ministerial “Chronic Disease” and European Parliament Event with FERS were mentioned as those crucial. During 5 days pulmonary specialists will have a range of possibilities to follow various events, such as:

-          attend postgraduate high quality courses;

-          discuss e-posters;

-          get access to new educational publications

Prof. Marina Saetta received Presedential Award for competitive spirit, 128 publications and being a remarkable research fellow, while Prof. Dario Olivieri got Educational Award as an expert in interstitial lung diseases. U-BIOPRED Art Contest Winner got to be 16 years old girl from Holland who managed to reflect with her painting how does an asthma patient feel.   

Spirometry Button was passed on to the next President of ERS, Klaus Rabe who will be ERS President and will be busy with World Spirometry Day on 27 June 2012.

It is undoubtful that Amsterdam 2011 Programme impresses by its variety and richness:

·         49 Symposia,

·         7 hot topics,

·         332 free communication sessions,

·         13 practical workshops,

·         25 evening symposia

Science and the city- the perfect match! 
Enjoy it!
Liudmila CORLATEANU, 
Press Representative 

European Respiratory Society Fellows’ Get-Together at Amsterdam Congress

The popular ERS Fellows' Get-Together session will take place for the fourth consecutive year at this year's ERS Annual Congress in Amsterdam on Saturday, 24 September in Room 3.2 (13:00-16:30). 

The session format will be a series of interactive poster board presentations and talks, followed by a panel discussion.

It will be an opportunity for ERS/Marie Curie Fellows to share their experiences with candidates interested in applying for an ERS Fellowship, and will provide a valuable platform for young Congress delegates to network with experienced ERS Officers.

The session will target, in particular: 

ERS Fellowship recipients and candidates

Fellows' Host and Home Supervisors
Members of the ERS Evaluation Committee
Young investigators and scientists
Lung Science Conference mentors and mentees
Non-members and members under the age of 35
ERS Officers and Assembly Heads

This year's session has a specific focus on the Society's EU FP7 co-funded Marie Curie Fellowship Programme, RESPIRE, which has been a successful collaboration, with an application for further funding in February 2012 currently being considered.

The session will be chaired by Prof. Robert Bals (Research Director) and Prof. Laurent Nicod (Scientific Committee Chair), and moderated by Prof. Oliver Eickelberg (Conferences and Seminars Director). Poster discussions will be co-chaired by former Scientific Committee Chair Prof. Benoit Nemery, who highly contributed to launch the RESPIRE project in 2007-2008.
 
Nine Fellows will present their scientific research output and experiences from the ERS/Marie Curie Fellowship Programme: Laura Chimenti (Italy), Jeong-Hee Choi (South Korea), Prajakta Dandekar (India), Frances de Man (France), Arnaud Goolaerts (Belgium), Maha Zohra Ladjemi (France), Frederic Lador (Switzerland), Laura Nunez-Naveira (Spain), Rodolfo De Paula Vieira (Brazil).

Prof. Johan C. De Jongste (The Netherlands) and Prof. Marc Humbert (France) will provide commentary from their perspective as ERS Home Supervisor and ERS Host Supervisor to Marie Curie Fellows. In addition, Dr. Alan Craig from the European Commission's Research Executive Agency will outline the overall aims of the EU Marie Curie Programme, highlighting its potential to help researchers, regardless of nationality, to move within or outside Europe for training.

ERS Secretary General Dr. Mina Gaga will focus on the initiation of an ERS Junior Members Committee, to engage younger ERS members and help to shape the future of the Society. The afternoon event will be rounded off with a panel session discussion and concluding remarks on the ERS Funding Programmes and the Junior Members Committee.

Join the ERS Fellows' Get-Together session