We are currently finalising plans for ESPE 2021 Online (our Annual Meeting this year) and hope soon to give you the opportunity to submit your abstracts and register for the Meeting, so look out for news on that before long. In the meantime, if you haven’t yet viewed the content from ESPE Connect Online 2020, you are still able to register to watch all of the available sessions at your convenience.
Our Programme Organising Committee is also busy thinking ahead to ESPE 2022, when we plan to meet together again in Rome. As always, we want the programme to be as useful, relevant and topical for you as possible and very much welcome your suggestions for sessions at the Meeting. If you have a topic or a speaker that you think would make a great addition to the programme, please do suggest it here. The call for suggestions will close in April 2021.
Another element of our educational and scientific offering is the ESPE Science Symposium. We are very much looking forward to the postponed Symposium on CAH in the Netherlands in October. Don’t forget to register to secure your place. We are also offering 25 free places to early career clinicians and scientists.
Meanwhile, we are looking ahead to the 2022 Science Symposium and welcome applications from a group or team who would like to host it. If you would be interested in delivering a 1.5 day symposium for up to 100 attendees on your area of interest and research, we would be delighted to hear from you. The successful applicants will receive up to €35,000 to deliver the event. Please see our website for more information and submit your application by 30 June.
As you know, we sadly had to cancel our ESPE Schools last year. Our Winter, Summer and Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism (DOM) Schools are now going ahead this spring in a virtual format, thanks to our steering committees who have been busy adapting them. The Winter School starts this weekend (27 February) and the Summer and DOM Schools will take place in May. We are hopeful that ESPE Schools held in the autumn will be able to take place in person and are currently welcoming applications for our Caucasus & Central Asia School in October in Georgia. If you or a colleague are trained or training in paediatrics and wish to attend this free, interactive, residential course with a high quality of teaching, please do apply by 30 April. Teaching will be conducted in English, with slides displayed in English and Russian.
A little reminder that the ESPE Turner Syndrome Working Group is conducting research into female and male pubertal induction. If you are able to spare a few minutes to complete their surveys, you will be helping to contribute to new guideline development in this area.
Many of our members like to be involved with our committees, to share their experience and expertise, to meet new people, learn and enhance their CVs and to help deliver our really important activities to the benefit of the field and our patients. If you are interested in joining an ESPE Committee, take a look at the current vacancies on our Communications, Science and Summer School Commmittees. We look forward to receiving your applications.
Finally, it was with sadness that we heard of the passing of one of our colleagues, internationally recognised paediatric endocrinologist Jean-Louis Chaussain. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues and you can read more about his life and achievements on our website.
Wishing you all the very best,
Anita
ESPE Secretary General