Search

The first International Conference on Unconventional Animal Models of Alzheimers Disease and Aging (UAMAA) took place on December 13-16, 2023, in Santiago, Chile. The Alzheimers disease (AD) research field is currently in search for new and unconventional models that could hold greater translational potential than transgenic mouse models. Thus this UAMAA conference is timely and significant. The event consisted of 6 sessions with talks from 28 world-class scientists from all over the world. These animal models of interest include the degu (Octodon degu), the dog (Canis familiaris), and certain species of nonhuman primates that may better recapitulate neuropathology and cognitive impairments in human AD. Our conference has provided a formal forum to discuss and highlight new research directions, alternative animal models, and innovative approaches for the AD and aging research field.

The article discusses the 1st International Workshop on Liana Forest Ecology, which focused on the impact of lianas on carbon and water cycling in tropical forests. Lianas, woody vines that climb trees, are increasing in abundance due to forest disturbance and climate change. The workshop brought together scientists from 14 countries to discuss topics such as liana distribution, hydraulics, life histories, reproductive phenology, and the role of lianas in carbon and nutrient cycling. The workshop highlighted the need for further research to understand the ecological consequences of increasing liana density in tropical forests. [Extracted from the article]

The 66th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Radiation Research Society took place in Tokyo, Japan, from 6 to 8 November 2023. The meeting covered a wide range of radiation research topics, including basic mechanisms involved in radiation effects, translational research, and epidemiology. Some sessions were jointly organized with the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Here, we report on some plenary and keynote talks presented at the meeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Española de Cardiología (18855857) is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The 57th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Developmental Biologists was held at Miyako Messe and ROHM Theater Kyoto from June 19 to 22, 2024. After the COVID‐19 pandemic, this was the first meeting where all restrictions were removed. This year's theme was “Breaking Through Boundaries.” It was set to be enjoyed by everyone across academic fields and nationalities. About 600 people from 16 countries participated in this meeting. Four workshops, 117 posters, 16 oral sessions (80 titles), 7 symposia, 2 plenary lectures, and various other formats ware included. I would like to share some of the lively discussions and wonderful sessions that I attended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on workshop was presented by Kerry Carmichael, Jonathan Nye, Lauren Roughton and Grainne Ulyatt. Topics include aim of the workshop was to give an overview of the advantages of using a continuous improvement approach in wound care; and making small incremental changes in practice and then reassessing the quality of care provided to patients.

The article presents the discussion on Made Easy workshop held at the Wounds UK Annual Conference in Harrogate, UK, on 6th November 2023. Topics include good skincare regimen looks like to prevent and manage medical adhesive-related skin injury (MARSI); and repeated removal of medical adhesives can further weaken the barrier function of neonatal skin.

The article presents the discussion on Professor Steven Jeffery at the annual Wounds UK conference in Harrogate, on 7 November 2023. Topics include bioengineered wound therapy with a porcine urinary bladder matrix (UBM) may facilitate healing of chronic wounds; and M1 phase is prolonged and progression to the M2 phase is suppressed, making people with diabetes prone to chronic wounds.

The African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, and the Western clawed frog, Xenopus tropicalis, have been foundational model organisms for establishing key principles of embryonic development. Today, the utility of Xenopus has been greatly expanded for studying a wide range of biological processes both in health and disease. Here, we describe the latest advancements from the Xenopus community, which span the molecular, cellular, tissue, and organismal scales. Key Findings: Instrumental in elucidating the mechanisms of early vertebrate development and functional genomics of birth defects. Central to understanding the cellular and molecular basis of regeneration. Key model to study cell, cilia, and mechano‐biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Association for Human Pharmacology in the Pharmaceutical Industry’s annual meeting focused on current and impending challenges facing the United Kingdom’s (UK) pharmaceutical industry and how these opportunities can inspire innovation and best practice. The UK pharmaceutical landscape is still evolving following Brexit and learnings from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As such, the UK’s clinical community is in a unique position to steer innovation in a meaningful direction. With the continuation of remote forms of working, further opportunities have arisen to support novel practices away from the clinic. The keynote speaker reflected on clinical development over the past 40 years and how the industry must continue to concentrate on patient welfare. The future of drug development was discussed regarding challenges associated with developing translational gene therapies, and the status of investment markets analyzed from a business strategy and consulting perspective. The patient viewpoint was a core theme throughout the conference with patient-centric blood sampling and decentralized clinical trials providing suggestions for how the industry can save costs and increase efficiency. Moreover, the patient perspective was central to a debate over whether ethics requirements should be the same for oncology patients taking part in first-inhuman studies as those for healthy subjects. Discussions continued around the changing roles of the Qualified Person and Principal Investigators which underpins how sponsors may want to run future trials in the UK. Lessons learned from conducting challenge trials in healthy volunteers and patients were discussed following a presentation from the serving Chair of the COVID-19 challenge ethics committee. The current state of interactions with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency were also explored. It was considered how the immediate future for the UK clinical trials community is inevitably still linked with Europe; the newly implemented European Medicines Agency Clinical Trials Information System has been met with lukewarm responses, providing a promising opportunity to ensure UK Phase I units continue to play a vital role in global research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 38th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Surgical Research took place in La Jolla, CA, USA, on 14–16 September 2022. For more than 40 years, the Academy has promoted the advancement of professional and academic standards in education and research in the arts and sciences of experimental surgery. The diverse membership includes technicians, veterinarians, medical doctors, and biomedical researchers from industry, academia, and complementary disciplines supporting discovery and translational research. At the annual meeting, this experimental surgery community shared the latest in research and surgical techniques, along with professional development that included cutting-edge lectures, hands-on training, and qualification exams for certifications. Over 130 participants from 26 different states and 3 countries were in attendance for the scientific program and social events. Two scientific tracks featuring three keynotes were presented together with a poster session. Participants could practice hands-on surgical techniques in dry and wet labs that ranged from applied surgical anesthesia to minimally invasive surgical skills, followed by in-depth discussion roundtables focused on improving study design and best practices in anesthesia and analgesia. The social program provided participants the opportunity to connect in person with potential mentors and collaborators. We present the highlights from this meeting in this report, together with selected abstracts that illustrate the diverse scientific expertise of the Academy and promising new surgical research.

Background: Digital measures offer an unparalleled opportunity to create a more holistic picture of how people who are patients behave in their real-world environments, thereby establishing a better connection between patients, caregivers, and the clinical evidence used to drive drug development and disease management. Reaching this vision will require achieving a new level of co-creation between the stakeholders who design, develop, use, and make decisions using evidence from digital measures. Summary: In September 2022, the second in a series of meetings hosted by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Biomarkers Consortium, and sponsored by Wellcome Trust, entitled “Reverse Engineering of Digital Measures,” was held in Zurich, Switzerland, with a broad range of stakeholders sharing their experience across four case studies to examine how patient centricity is essential in shaping development and validation of digital evidence generation tools. Key Messages: In this paper, we discuss progress and the remaining barriers to widespread use of digital measures for evidence generation in clinical development and care delivery. We also present key discussion points and takeaways in order to continue discourse and provide a basis for dissemination and outreach to the wider community and other stakeholders. The work presented here shows us a blueprint for how and why the patient voice can be thoughtfully integrated into digital measure development and that continued multistakeholder engagement is critical for further progress.

The Association for Human Pharmacology in the Pharmaceutical Industry’s annual meeting focused on current and impending challenges facing the United Kingdom’s (UK) pharmaceutical industry and how these opportunities can inspire innovation and best practice. The UK pharmaceutical landscape is still evolving following Brexit and learnings from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As such, the UK’s clinical community is in a unique position to steer innovation in a meaningful direction. With the continuation of remote forms of working, further opportunities have arisen to support novel practices away from the clinic. The keynote speaker reflected on clinical development over the past 40 years and how the industry must continue to concentrate on patient welfare. The future of drug development was discussed regarding challenges associated with developing translational gene therapies, and the status of investment markets analyzed from a business strategy and consulting perspective. The patient viewpoint was a core theme throughout the conference with patient-centric blood sampling and decentralized clinical trials providing suggestions for how the industry can save costs and increase efficiency. Moreover, the patient perspective was central to a debate over whether ethics requirements should be the same for oncology patients taking part in first-in-human studies as those for healthy subjects. Discussions continued around the changing roles of the Qualified Person and Principal Investigators which underpins how sponsors may want to run future trials in the UK. Lessons learned from conducting challenge trials in healthy volunteers and patients were discussed following a presentation from the serving Chair of the COVID-19 challenge ethics committee. The current state of interactions with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency were also explored. It was considered how the immediate future for the UK clinical trials community is inevitably still linked with Europe; the newly implemented European Medicines Agency Clinical Trials Information System has been met with lukewarm responses, providing a promising opportunity to ensure UK Phase I units continue to play a vital role in global research.

The 11th International Fission Yeast Meeting took place at Astel Plaza in Hiroshima, Japan, from May 28th to June 2nd, 2023. This highly anticipated gathering, originally scheduled for May 2021, had been postponed for 2 years due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Researchers from 21 countries, including 211 overseas and 157 domestic participants (overall gender ratio is roughly 60% male vs. 40% female), eagerly awaited the opportunity to meet in person, as virtual interactions had been the only means of communication during this challenging period. The meeting featured four kick‐off special lectures, 101 regular talks, and 152 poster presentations. Additionally, a discussion session on upfront frontier research in fission yeast provided an interactive platform for both speakers and attendees. Throughout the event, participants shared cutting‐edge knowledge, celebrated significant research findings, and relished the invaluable experience of an in‐person meeting. The vibrant and friendly atmosphere, characteristic of this esteemed international conference, fostered collaboration and reinforced the significance of studying this exceptional model organism. Undoubtedly, the outcomes of this meeting will greatly contribute to our understanding of complex biological systems, not only in fission yeast but also in general eukaryotes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cameroon is committed to reaching HIV epidemic control through coordinated efforts by the Ministry of Public Health, the National AIDS Control Committee, bilateral/multilateral institutions and implementing partners. The third edition of the Cameroon HIV Research Forum (CAM-HERO) was held in Kribi from December 1st to 3rd, 2022, with the theme "Research for Health Care and Policy on HIV/AIDS." The conference brought together local and international scientists and clinicians, policymakers, and regulatory authorities to 1) disseminate HIV research findings and HIV policy; 2) foster operational research collaboration; 3) build research capacity through training on basics of research methods and CAM-HERO young investigator Awards; and 4) initiate a guideline for promoting HIV/AIDS research in Cameroon. The main activities included training on research methodology and basic principles in bioethics, presentations of selected abstracts, and awards for top research. A total of 35 abstracts (16 oral presentations, 16 posters, and 3 late-breaker-abstracts) were selected for presentation following a rigorous review. The conference ended with evidence-based recommendations and a way-forward statement for the development of a National Guide for HIV/AIDS research in Cameroon, with the aim of improving the quality and quantity of research agenda and projects nationwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the International Union of Immunological Societies General Assembly in 1972, Portugal was represented by the immunologist that would later become the first President of SPI, Machado Caetano, who took part in this event as an observer [[3]]. Keywords: Meeting report; Portuguese Society of Immunology; SPI EN Meeting report Portuguese Society of Immunology SPI 1 4 4 07/17/23 20230701 NES 230701 Abbreviations EFIS European Federation of Societies for Immunology SPI Portuguese Society of Immunology A brief history of the Portuguese Society of Immunology In the early 1970s, the awareness of the need to promote training in immunology in Portugal emerged in connection with the evidence of the scarcity and lack of organization of teaching in the field. [Extracted from the article]

Multiple facets of cutting-edge mycorrhizal research: 11th International Conference on Mycorrhiza (ICOM 11), Beijing, China, 1-5 August 2022 AM, arbuscular mycorrhizal; EM, ectomycorrhizal. gl Mycorrhizas and global change ICOM 11 facilitated an interesting discussion on how mycorrhizal fungi are affected by and respond to global change. Interestingly, almost all non-AM forming plants that specifically retain a portion of this gene set have been shown to host other kinds of intracellular symbioses such as intracellular bacteria, orchid mycorrhizas, or ericoid-like mycorrhizas (Radhakrishnan I et al i ., [8]). Keywords: 11th International Conference on Mycorrhiza (ICOM 11); arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF); ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF); global change; hyphosphere; Meeting report; mycorrhizas EN 11th International Conference on Mycorrhiza (ICOM 11) arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) global change hyphosphere Meeting report mycorrhizas 1771 1774 4 05/02/23 20230601 NES 230601 Mycorrhizal fungi form mutualistic relationships with most plants on Earth (Steidinger I et al i ., [13]) and play key roles in plant health and development. [Extracted from the article]

The Third Franco‐Japanese Developmental Biology Meeting has been held to reinforce the partnership and facilitate the international collaborations and the academic exchanges between the French Society of Developmental Biology (SFBD) and the Japanese Society of Developmental Biology (JSDB). Nearly 200 participants attended, and we actively discussed interdisciplinary knowledge throughout the meeting period. The meeting realized not only the tightest connection between these two communities ever, but also a great contribution to international interdisciplinary academic communications and scientific communications with the public. In order to celebrate and maintain this massive momentum to push forward the entire field of developmental biology, we share the atmosphere with the entire international community and next generations through this report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Kadim is the property of Kadim and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The American Transplant Congress 2022, which took place between June 4th and June 8th of 2022, was a hybrid meeting with in‐person attendance in Boston‐MA and a real‐time virtual experience via an online platform. First, we identified abstracts discussing machine perfusion preservation for all organs, a hot topic and approach that may develop into the new gold standard of organ preservation in the near future. A total of 39 abstracts on organ machine preservation were presented at the meeting. Next, we selected abstracts which focus on advances including new approaches to organ preservation, promising biomarkers, ex‐situ treatment including cellular therapies, and novel research areas. Here, we summarized the latest developments on machine perfusion preservation in both experimental and clinical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) play a vital role in shaping the hydroclimate of many regions globally, and can substantially impact water resource management, emergency response planning, and other socioeconomic entities. The second International Atmospheric Rivers Conference took place at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, during 25–28 June, 2018, in La Jolla, California, USA. It was sponsored by the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E). A total of 120 people attended the Conference with 94 abstracts submitted and 30 participating students. In addition to the conference, the Student Forecasting Workshop was organised in the same week. During this workshop, students were exposed to AR forecasting tools, and learned examples of how these tools could be used to make decisions for various applications. The main goals of this conference were to bring together experts from across the fields of hydrology, atmospheric, oceanic, and polar sciences, as well as water management, civil engineering, and ecology to advance the state of AR science and to explore the future directions for the field. The conference was organised into traditional oral and poster presentations, along with panel discussions and Breakout Groups. This format allowed enhanced interaction between participants, driving progress within the scientific community and the enhanced communication of societal needs by various stakeholders. Several emerging topics of research were highlighted, including subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) prediction of ARs and an overview of the AR Reconnaissance campaign. In addition to providing a forum to disseminate and debate new results from scientific talks and posters, the conference was equally effective and useful in linking scientists to users and decision-makers that require improved knowledge on ARs to manage resources and prepare for hazards. The third International Atmospheric Rivers Conference will be held in Chile in 2020, and hosted by the University of Chile, Santiago.

The 2017 Dagstuhl Seminar on Computational Proteomics provided an opportunity for a broad discussion on the current state and future directions of the generation and use of peptide tandem mass spectrometry spectral libraries. Their use in proteomics is growing slowly, but there are multiple challenges in the field that must be addressed to further increase the adoption of spectral libraries and related techniques. The primary bottlenecks are the paucity of high quality and comprehensive libraries and the general difficulty of adopting spectral library searching into existing workflows. There are several existing spectral library formats, but none captures a satisfactory level of metadata; therefore, a logical next improvement is to design a more advanced, Proteomics Standards Initiative-approved spectral library format that can encode all of the desired metadata. The group discussed a series of metadata requirements organized into three designations of completeness or quality, tentatively dubbed bronze, silver, and gold. The metadata can be organized at four different levels of granularity: at the collection (library) level, at the individual entry (peptide ion) level, at the peak (fragment ion) level, and at the peak annotation level. Strategies for encoding mass modifications in a consistent manner and the requirement for encoding high-quality and commonly seen but as-yet-unidentified spectra were discussed. The group also discussed related topics, including strategies for comparing two spectra, techniques for generating representative spectra for a library, approaches for selection of optimal signature ions for targeted workflows, and issues surrounding the merging of two or more libraries into one. We present here a review of this field and the challenges that the community must address in order to accelerate the adoption of spectral libraries in routine analysis of proteomics datasets.

In the following brief report, we highlight the advances in the neuro-oncology space from the ASCO 2022 Annual Meeting. We put into context the phase 2 and 3 trials and how these may alter the standard of care going forward. In addition, we highlight some other earlier work that will lead to future and potentially practice-changing trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 35th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Surgical Research took place in Clearwater Beach, Florida on 25–27 September 2019. This meeting brings together the experimental surgery community to share the latest in research and surgical techniques and fosters professional development through education, training, and certification. The Academy is made up of a diverse group of technicians, veterinarians, medical doctors, and biomedical researchers from industry, academia, and complimentary disciplines supporting discovery and translational research. Over 165 participants from 30 different states and 6 countries were in attendance for the scientific program and social events. Four keynotes were presented together with breakout and poster session tracks. Participants were able to work on applied skills in practical courses that included hands-on surgical technique wet-labs complimented with dry-lab suture technique and surgical anesthesia, plus workshops and roundtables focused on improving study design and publication best practices. Attendees were able to enjoy sun and fun while connecting with potential mentors and collaborators during the social program. We present the highlights from this meeting in this report together with selected abstracts that illustrate the diverse scientific expertise of the Academy and promising new surgical research.

To attain the HIV 95-95-95 goals by 2030 in Cameroon, high quality research to inform policy and patient care is of utmost importance. In the context of limited workforce and resources, collaborations, sharing of locally-adapted strategies and other field experience, leveraging on existing and innovative platforms would facilitate a coordinated and optimal AIDS response at country level. The second edition of the Cameroon HIV Research Forum (CAM-HERO) conference took place both physically and virtually on November 18 and 19, 2021 in Kribi, on the theme "Research for Policy and Care". This scientific event brought together Cameroonian HIV/AIDS researchers, experienced clinicians and regulatory authorities to foster i) the dissemination of research findings and facilitate translation into policy, ii) operational research collaboration, iii) identification of new research areas, and iv) capacity building. To achieve the set objectives during this event, a consensus on research priorities for accelerating the achievement of three 95 HIV goals in Cameroon were summarized; meeting sessions included 31 abstract presentations, 13 discussions, and presentations on various aspects of HIV research including ethics, administrative procedures and needs for capacity building; training of young scientists on guidelines for research proposal development toward ethical clearance was done; and a platform for discussion between researchers and regulatory authorities was conducted around the design and setting-up of a national HIV/AIDS research agenda. CAM-HERO 2021 brought together HIV researchers, experts and junior scientists around major programmatic challenges, evidence to translate into practice, research priorities on HIV/AIDS. Collaborations were reinforced, capacities were strengthened, and footprints were established towards a consensus on a national HIV/AIDS research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer heterogeneities hold the key to a deeper understanding of cancer etiology and progression and the discovery of more precise cancer therapy. Modern pathological and molecular technologies offer a powerful set of tools to profile tumor heterogeneities at multiple levels in large patient populations, from DNA to RNA, protein and epigenetics, and from tumor tissues to tumor microenvironment and liquid biopsy. When coupled with well-validated epidemiologic methodology and well-characterized epidemiologic resources, the rich tumor pathological and molecular tumor information provide new research opportunities at an unprecedented breadth and depth. This is the research space where Molecular Pathological Epidemiology (MPE) emerged over a decade ago and has been thriving since then. As a truly multidisciplinary field, MPE embraces collaborations from diverse fields including epidemiology, pathology, immunology, genetics, biostatistics, bioinformatics, and data science. Since first convened in 2013, the International MPE Meeting series has grown into a dynamic and dedicated platform for experts from these disciplines to communicate novel findings, discuss new research opportunities and challenges, build professional networks, and educate the next-generation scientists. Herein, we share the proceedings of the Fifth International MPE meeting, held virtually online, on May 24 and 25, 2021. The meeting consisted of 21 presentations organized into the three main themes, which were recent integrative MPE studies, novel cancer profiling technologies, and new statistical and data science approaches. Looking forward to the near future, the meeting attendees anticipated continuous expansion and fruition of MPE research in many research fronts, particularly immune-epidemiology, mutational signatures, liquid biopsy, and health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to provide a summary report on recent research advances in ovarian cancer prevention, screening, and early detection that were presented at the 11th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium in Seattle, Wash.MethodsAt the symposium, researchers from around the world participated in the poster, invited oral presentation and keynote presentation, and discussed the latest advances in the areas of cancer prevention, screening, and early detection.ResultsIn the Scientific Session for Prevention, Screening, and Early Detection, Usha Menon, PhD (University of College London), presented exploratory studies from the ongoing UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening trial. Karen Lu, MD, presented her studies on BRCA testing and salpingectomies as prevention strategies. Eight speakers were selected from the abstracts for short oral presentations, and the topic ranges from Ovarian Cancer Early Detection Program by Saul Rivkin, MD, to the ultra-deep sequencing of somatic mutations in TP53 in normal and cancer patients by Rosana Risques, PhD. Fourteen additional poster presentations, ranging from the potential role of cancer stem cells in recurrence to retrotransposons in ovarian cancer development, round up the session.ConclusionsAlthough progress is being made in the areas of prevention, screening, and early detection, these advances have not yet translated into tangible clinical benefits for patients with ovarian cancer. A wide array of research topics presented in the session provides a glimmer of hope that better understanding of genetic risk factors, refining screening strategies, and developing new methods for early detection will eventually lead to improved outcome for patients with ovarian cancer.

Biallelic germline pathogenic variants in one of the four mismatch repair genes (MSH2, MSH6, MLH1 and PMS2) cause a very rare, highly penetrant, childhood-onset cancer syndrome, called constitutional mismatch repair deficiency (CMMRD). The European consortium "Care for CMMRD" (C4CMMRD) was founded in Paris in 2013 to facilitate international collaboration and improve our knowledge of this rare cancer predisposition syndrome. Following initial publications on diagnostic criteria and surveillance guidelines for CMMRD, several partners collaborating within the C4CMMRD consortium have worked on and published numerous CMMRD-related clinical and biological projects. Since its formation, the C4CMMRD consortium held meetings every 1-2 years (except in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid 19 pandemic). The sixth C4CMMRD meeting was held in Paris in November 2022, and brought together 42 participants from nine countries involved in various fields of CMMRD healthcare. The aim was to update members on the latest results and developments from ongoing research, and to discuss and initiate new study proposals. As previously done for the fifth meeting of the C4CMMRD group, this report summarizes data presented at this meeting., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Abstract A consensus meeting was held in Toronto on February 9–10, 2020 to discuss ways to improve cornea donation and transplantation access in Canada. The meeting brought together eye and tissue bank representatives, health authority and hospital leadership, transplant ophthalmologists, organ donation organizations, transplant recipients, donor families and several national organizations. Through facilitated discussions in multidisciplinary, gender-balanced, and geographically balanced small groups, participants identified opportunities for improvement in the Canadian cornea donation and transplantation system. Discussion occurred around broad themes of donor tissue demand, supply, access, utilization, interprovincial sharing and cost recovery, interprovincial knowledge sharing and research. This event marked the first time in 10 years in which the Canadian cornea transplantation community came together.

The Second International Conference of the World Society for Virology (WSV), hosted by Riga Stradiņš University, was held in Riga, Latvia, on June 15–17th, 2023. It prominently highlighted the recent advancements in different disciplines of virology. The conference had fourteen keynote speakers covering diverse topics, including emerging virus pseudotypes, Zika virus vaccine development, herpesvirus capsid mobility, parvovirus invasion strategies, influenza in animals and birds, West Nile virus and Marburg virus ecology, as well as the latest update in animal vaccines. Discussions further explored SARS-CoV-2 RNA replicons as vaccine candidates, SARS-CoV-2 in humans and animals, and the significance of plant viruses in the 'One Health' paradigm. The presence of the presidents from three virology societies, namely the American, Indian, and Korean Societies for Virology, highlighted the event's significance. Additionally, past president of the American Society for Virology (ASV), formally declared the partnership between ASV and WSV during the conference. • The World Society for Virology (WSV) is a non-profit organisation established in 2017, with no membership fees collected. • Its second on-site conference was held from June 16–18, 2023, at Riga Stradiņš University. • Featuring fourteen keynote speakers, the conference covered diverse virological topics. • The participation of esteemed virology society presidents highlighted the conference's global significance. • A milestone: the formal partnership declaration between ASV and WSV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: ESOT; European Society of Organ transplantation; ex-situ perfusion; ex-vivo perfusion; machine perfusion; meeting report; organ preservation EN ESOT European Society of Organ transplantation ex-situ perfusion ex-vivo perfusion machine perfusion meeting report organ preservation 321 326 6 01/13/22 20220201 NES 220201 INTRODUCTION The congress of the European Society of Organ Transplantation (ESOT) is a biennial meeting hosted by ESOT. There was no abstract on heart machine perfusion.1 As machine perfusion and organ preservation were a central theme, there were dedicated brief and full oral sessions on "Organ perfusion, a platform to preserve, predict, and protect" and "Organ perfusion, current and future outcomes", and dedicated Focus Group meetings were held with the title of a relevant topic in hospital and transplant logistics "Does organ perfusion buy us time?" ESOT, European Society of Organ transplantation, ex-situ perfusion, machine perfusion, meeting report, organ preservation, ex-vivo perfusion During NMP, SCS pancreases had inferior perfusion hemodynamics compared to the other dynamic preservation groups and also organ edema was most severe in SCS organs compared to others. [Extracted from the article]

The American Transplant Congress 2021 was a virtual meeting and occurred between June 4 and June 9 through an online platform. We highlighted abstracts discussing machine perfusion preservation, a hot topic that may become the gold standard of organ preservation in the future. A total of 33 abstracts on organ machine preservation (3 for heart, 4 for lungs, 18 for liver, and 8 for kidneys) were presented at the meeting. We selected 23 abstracts that showed advances including new approaches to organ preservation, promising treatments and biomarkers, cellular therapy, and novel research areas. Here, we summarize the new developments concerning machine perfusion in both experimental and clinical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This communication summarizes the presentations given at the 1st international conference of the World Society for Virology (WSV) held virtually during 16–18 June 2021, under the theme of tackling global viral epidemics. The purpose of this biennial meeting is to foster international collaborations and address important viral epidemics in different hosts. The first day included two sessions exclusively on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. The other two days included one plenary and three parallel sessions each. Last not least, 16 sessions covered 140 on-demand submitted talks. In total, 270 scientists from 49 countries attended the meeting, including 40 invited keynote speakers. • The World Society for Virology is a non-profit organization established in 2017. • WSV had its 1st public conference in June 16–18, 2021, which was held virtually. • It covered developments in a large variety of areas in virology. • It had 270 participants from 49 countries. • It included 40 invited keynote speakers and 140 additional presenters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 35th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Surgical Research took place in Clearwater Beach, Florida on 25–27 September 2019. This meeting brings together the experimental surgery community to share the latest in research and surgical techniques and fosters professional development through education, training, and certification. The Academy is made up of a diverse group of technicians, veterinarians, medical doctors, and biomedical researchers from industry, academia, and complimentary disciplines supporting discovery and translational research. Over 165 participants from 30 different states and 6 countries were in attendance for the scientific program and social events. Four keynotes were presented together with breakout and poster session tracks. Participants were able to work on applied skills in practical courses that included hands-on surgical technique wet-labs complimented with dry-lab suture technique and surgical anesthesia, plus workshops and roundtables focused on improving study design and publication best practices. Attendees were able to enjoy sun and fun while connecting with potential mentors and collaborators during the social program. We present the highlights from this meeting in this report together with selected abstracts that illustrate the diverse scientific expertise of the Academy and promising new surgical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this report, select key studies presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2021 annual meeting are reviewed. Two major phase III randomized controlled trials were presented at the meeting: GEINO 1401 and EORTC 1709/CCTG CE.8. Both are reviewed in this report. Moreover, important phase II trials, including Alliance A0716701, and key phase I trials are included. All trials presented cover important advances in the understanding of primary brain tumor management. In addition, case series papers, trials in progress and select work on exploratory CSF biomarkers are reviewed. Altogether, research presented at ASCO 2021 highlights important advances in neuro-oncologic topics that may inform future research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On October 14–15, 2019, the 1st Symposium to Promote Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Research in Guatemala was held in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The Symposium hosted more than 50 attendees, including health care professionals, policy makers, researchers, and leaders of nongovernmental organizations. The meeting’s objectives were to (1) share clinical and health delivery experiences, (2) disseminate local research, and (3) establish consensus priorities for future research. In this report, we review the state of CKD nephrology in Guatemala, summarize experiences shared during the meeting from representatives of the clinical settings in Guatemala where CKD care is provided, and describe consensus priorities for future research.

This paper presents a report on outcomes of the 10th Computational Modeling in Biology Network (COMBINE) meeting that was held in Heidelberg, Germany, in July of 2019. The annual event brings together researchers, biocurators and software engineers to present recent results and discuss future work in the area of standards for systems and synthetic biology. The COMBINE initiative coordinates the development of various community standards and formats for computational models in the life sciences. Over the past 10 years, COMBINE has brought together standard communities that have further developed and harmonized their standards for better interoperability of models and data. COMBINE 2019 was co-located with a stakeholder workshop of the European EU-STANDS4PM initiative that aims at harmonized data and model standardization for in silico models in the field of personalized medicine, as well as with the FAIRDOM PALs meeting to discuss findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) data sharing. This report briefly describes the work discussed in invited and contributed talks as well as during breakout sessions. It also highlights recent advancements in data, model, and annotation standardization efforts. Finally, this report concludes with some challenges and opportunities that this community will face during the next 10 years.

The 34th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Surgical Research was held from September 26–28, 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina. The Academy’s community joins together at the annual meeting to promote and advance professional and academic standards, education, and research related to the art and science of experimental surgery. Over 150 participants from 26 different states and 4 countries attended and reflected the diverse membership of technicians, veterinarians, medical doctors, and biomedical researchers and broad network between industry and academia. Presentations included 4 invited keynote speakers and together with breakout and poster sessions. These tracks were complimented with practical courses that included wet labs for participants to practice hands-on surgical technique and dry lab workshops covering surgical anesthesia as well as proper study design and path to publication. In addition, social activities helped attendees to connect with potential mentors and collaborators at the meeting. We present the highlights from this meeting in this report together with selected abstracts that illustrate the diverse scientific expertise of the Academy and promising new surgical research.

The 14th International Podocyte Conference took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA from May 23 to 26, 2023. It commenced with an early-career researchers' meeting on May 23, providing young scientists with a platform to present and discuss their research findings. Throughout the main conference, 29 speakers across 9 sessions shared their insights on podocyte biology, glomerular medicine, novel technologic advancements, and translational approaches. Additionally, the event featured 3 keynote lectures addressing engineered chimeric antigen receptor T cell- and mRNA-based therapies and the use of biobanks for enhanced disease comprehension. Furthermore, 4 brief oral abstract sessions allowed scientists to present their findings to a broad audience. The program also included a panel discussion addressing the challenges of conducting human research within the American Black community. Remarkably, after a 5-year hiatus from in-person conferences, the 14th International Podocyte Conference successfully convened scientists from around the globe, fostering the presentation and discussion of crucial research findings, as summarized in this review. Furthermore, to ensure continuous and sustainable education, research, translation, and trial medicine related to podocyte and glomerular diseases for the benefit of patients, the International Society of Glomerular Disease was officially launched during the conference., (Copyright © 2024 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The 24th edition of the annual NAT conference (Nantes Actualités Transplantation) and the 4th edition of the biennial LabEx IGO meeting (Immunotherapy Graft Oncology) were held jointly around a common theme: "New horizons in immunotherapy", on May 31st and June 1st 2021 to highlight new findings in the fields of transplantation, autoimmunity and cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research is a vital component for the development of any country. In Cameroon, HIV Operational research is rapidly growing, however, it faces some intractable problems which can only be solved through an urgent, strategic, efficient, and collaborative approach involving key stakeholders. The Kribi meeting (09 and 10th December 2020) brought together under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Health leading HIV research organisations and connected HIV researchers and actors from different sectors. These actors disseminated and discussed recent research findings and worked out mechanisms to advance HIV research development, developed new ideas and identified priority research areas, with emphasis on translational research. The official launching and consolidation of Cam-HERO was a critical step and it is hoped that these synergistic efforts will catalyse attainment of the 95-95-95 goals in Cameroon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 24th edition of the annual NAT conference (Nantes Actualités Transplantation) and the 4th edition of the biennial LabEx IGO meeting (Immunotherapy Graft Oncology) were held jointly around a common theme: “New horizons in immunotherapy”, on May 31st and June 1st 2021 to highlight new findings in the fields of transplantation, autoimmunity and cancer.

A consensus meeting was held in Toronto on February 9–10, 2020 to discuss ways to improve cornea donation and transplantation access in Canada. The meeting brought together eye and tissue bank representatives, health authority and hospital leadership, transplant ophthalmologists, organ donation organizations, transplant recipients, donor families and several national organizations. Through facilitated discussions in multidisciplinary, gender-balanced, and geographically balanced small groups, participants identified opportunities for improvement in the Canadian cornea donation and transplantation system. Discussion occurred around broad themes of donor tissue demand, supply, access, utilization, interprovincial sharing and cost recovery, interprovincial knowledge sharing and research. This event marked the first time in 10 years in which the Canadian cornea transplantation community came together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 33rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Surgical Research was held from October 4 to 6, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The meeting welcomed >160 participants from 27 different states and five countries representing the organization's diverse membership of technicians, veterinarians, medical doctors, and biomedical researchers. The Academy's annual meeting is focused on promoting the advancement of professional and academic standards, education, and research related to the art and science of experimental surgery. Presentations included four invited keynote speakers and 30 selected lectures and posters. A primary strength of the meeting was that lectures were complimented with practical sessions that included four wet lab and two dry lab half-day courses. Likewise, participants were brought together in workshops emphasizing research workflow from starting experimental design to readying results for publication. In this report, we present the highlights from this meeting and some selected abstracts that illustrate the diverse scientific expertise of the Academy and progress in surgical research.

Regeneration, the ability to restore lost parts of the body, is a widespread phenomenon in animals. While this ability is somehow limited in classical developmental model organisms, a variety of animals are able to regenerate complex structures such as limbs or important parts of their body, upon injury. Despite the recent emergence of regenerative studies using a large variety of metazoans, we still lack a general view of the evolution of animal regeneration. In the context of the 7th EvoDevo meeting that took place in June 2018 in Galway, Ireland, the "Evolution of regeneration in Metazoa" symposium gathered scientists studying the regenerative potential of evolutionarily distant animal species. Research Highlights: The "Evolution of regeneration in Metazoa" symposium took place during the 7th EvoDevo meeting in Galway (IRL).It gathered scientists studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying regeneration of evolutionary distant animal species [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Association for Human Pharmacology in the Pharmaceutical Industry (AHPPI) annual meeting focused on impending change, innovation, and future challenges facing early phase drug development as we move into the second decade of the 21th century. The meeting opened with discussion around the technical revolution in pharmaceutical medicine over the 4 decades since the AHPPI was founded and how transformative technologies have accompanied the introduction of processes such as physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling. During the meeting examples were presented of how in terms of the development of new therapies, the classic phases of clinical drug development are becoming a thing of the past and the lines between the phases have begun to blur, particularly in the field of oncology. The contribution that monoclonal antibodies have made to medicine and the next chapter in their design and use was also discussed. A representative of the UK’s Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency discussed the increasing numbers of requests to approve complex innovative design trials, how novel trial designs are impacting on the traditional linear “phase” approach to drug development and the common pitfalls associated with them. Guidance was provided from a regulator’s viewpoint on what was meant by the term “novel design” and how to submit successful trial applications for such complex trials. In an Oxford-style debate, the audience discussed the motion that “there is no longer a need to include placebo subjects in early clinical trials.” The keynote speaker focused on delivering change in complex environments such as the field of drug development. The afternoon session included presentations on the challenges associated with drug product design, the complexities within non-oral dosage forms and proposed new methods of formulations for drug delivery. Presentations were also given on advances in mechanistic and computational pharmacokinetic modeling and how they have proved to be valuable tools to rationalize and facilitate the process of drug development.