ERN-Lung at the ERS Congress in Milan (Sept 9-13, 2023)
This annual congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) was the first one after the COVID restrictions and everyone was really looking forward to not only the scientific novelties, but the networking opportunities.
The preparation for ERN-Lung’s special session on excellence in rare diseases care and research started well ahead of the congress: common visual was elaborated with ERS and used in various social media channels to promote the event.
The session took place on Wednesday and despite the very last day of the congress it was very well attended.
It was Marlies S. Wijsenbeek and Marc Humbert who chaired the session and gave a general overview of the concept of ERN-Lung, and walk through the audience on the structure, main projects and aim of the network.
Gergely Meszaros outlined the various type of memberships, the steps to be taken to become part of the network and briefly covered the ERN-Lung goes East project which will be one of the main initiatives ERN-Lung will focus on in the coming years.
Adam Torbicki sent a very direct message to colleagues when he said we are only one click from each other. By highlighting some examples from the past – when colleagues were one call from each other – in his presentation he demonstrated how cross-border collaboration really works and how patients can benefit from it.
Helge Heberstreit was the advocate of ERN Lung during his presentations: he emphasized the advantages of being part of a network of excellence and he did not forget mentioning the CPMS (clinical patient management system).
Elisabeth Humbert-Dorfmüller covered a very popular and successful project of ERN-Lung, the ERN-Lung academy. She informed the attendees of the objective of the program and that it is mainly focusing on young physicians. The achievement of the program was impressive: 43 participants, even from Ukraine took part in the program. It was good to hear that the academy continues and looking forward to new applicants.
Many questions were raised during the session and the discussion continued even after the official program.
Apart from this session, ERN-Lung was mentioned many times independently from this special program as the one which endorsed posters and guidelines, which is beneficial for our visibility and plans on expansion.
We are very satisfied with current year’s results; however, we are aiming for more programs, coverage and visibility on the next ERS congress, which will take place in Vienna, 7-11 September, 2024.
