Newsletter #57 - April/ May 2022

The VASCERN PPL-WG will have a face-to-face meeting in Brussels, Belgium

In the context of EJP RD’s ERN Workshops, a face-to-face workshop on “Translational research on bone impairment in rare diseases” aimed at giving an update on translational research on bone impairment in rare diseases and bringing together experts and trainees to facilitate collaborations is being organised by Justine Bacchetta of the Faculty of Medicine of Lyon.

The in-person event will take place over two days on June 9th – 10th at the Faculty of Medicine of Lyon in Lyon, France.

The workshop is open by prior registration and selection to senior scientists, senior physicians, postdocs, medical fellows, and PhD students who are employees of or affiliated to an ERN Full Member or affiliated Partner institution. 

The training workshop is free of charge and consists of interactive presentations and discussions on different areas of interest. On the second day, a “meet the experts” session will encourage small group talks, exchanges, and networking.

Registration closes on March 27th, and those selected to participate from among the applicants will be informed by April 4th of their selection.

More information and registration here: https://www.ejprarediseases.org/event/ejp-rd-ern-workshop-translational-research-on-bone-impairment-in-rare-diseases/

The VASCERN NEUROVASC-WG will have a face-to-face meeting in Paris, France

In the context of EJP RD’s ERN Workshops, a face-to-face workshop entitled “Functional exploration of genetic variants in cardiac diseases” aimed at presentation of functional explorations of variants of interest identified using Drosophila, C. elegans, Zebrafish and iPSc models to understand the molecular bases of genetic diseases, in particular heart and muscle diseases, is being organised by Philippe Chevalier of the Hospices Civils de Lyon.

The in-person event will take place over two days on June 14th – 15th at the Hospices Civils de Lyon in Lyon, France.

The workshop is open by prior registration and selection to cardiologists, molecular biologists, post-docs, medical fellows, and PhD students and who are employees of or affiliated to an ERN Full Member or affiliated Partner institution.

The training workshop is free of charge and consists of interactive presentations and discussions.

Registration closes on May 1st, and those selected to participate from among the applicants will be informed by May 9th of their selection.

More information and registration here: https://www.ejprarediseases.org/event/ejp-rd-ern-workshop-functional-exploration-of-genetic-variants-in-cardiac-diseases/

The VASCERN VASCA-WG Monthly Meeting will take place on June 15th, 2022 at 4.00 pm (Paris time).

The 70th International Congress of the European Society for CardioVascular and Endovascular Surgery (ESCVS) and for the 7th International Meeting on Aortic Diseases (IMAD) will take place in Leige, Belgium from June 20-23rd, 2022.

Call for Abstracts are open until the March 15th, 2022

Submit your abstract to the 70th ESCVS congress here

Submit your abstract to the 7th IMAD here

More info here

The VASCERN PPL-WG Monthly Meeting will take place on June 20th, 2022 at 5.30 pm (Paris time).

The VASCERN HHT-WG Monthly Meeting will take place on June 24th, 2022 at 5.00 pm (Paris time).

The ECRD is recognised globally as the largest, patient-led rare disease policy event in which collaborative dialogue, learning and conversation takes place, forming the groundwork to shape goal-driven rare disease policies and allow for important and innovative discussions on a national and an international level to take place.

Leading, inspiring and engaging all stakeholders to take action, the Conference is an unrivalled opportunity to network and exchange invaluable knowledge with over 1500 stakeholders in the rare disease community – patient advocates, policy makers, researchers, clinicians, healthcare professionals, healthcare industry representatives, academics, payers, regulators and Member State representatives.

The next ECRD will take place fully online from 27 June to 1 July 2022.

This 11th edition follows a pivotal two-year Rare 2030 Foresight Study, supported by the European Parliament and European Commission, that guided a large-scale and multi-stakeholder reflection on rare disease policy in Europe through 2030.

The concluding recommendation of Rare2030 was the need for a new European policy framework on rare diseases with measurable and actionable goals. Current actions at Member State level alone, or legislative changes in specific areas are not enough. We need a new European collective strategy for rare diseases to bring Member States’ commitment to rare diseases under a common umbrella and mark a step forward in the post-COVID world.

This ECRD will be a critical opportunity for all stakeholders to consider how to transform this exhaustive review of the strategy on rare diseases into a proposal of concrete actions ultimately creating the ecosystem required to address the unmet needs and persisting inequalities across Europe.

Poster abstracts submissions for the ECRD 2022 are now open until 31st March 2022.

Submit your abstract here: https://www.rare-diseases.eu/posters/

More information on: https://www.rare-diseases.eu

The VASCERN HTAD-WG Monthly Meeting will take place on June 27th, 2022 at 5.00 pm (Paris time).

In the context of EJP RD’s ERN Workshops, a face-to-face workshop entitled “Modelling & Simulation: Research Methodologies for Small Populations in Rare Diseases” aimed at facilitating discussion and exchange of knowledge on the M&S methodologies and strategies as innovative and promising enough for facing complex multifactorial or rare diseases and conditions that require highly specialised treatments and resources is being organised by Donato Bonifazi of the Consorzio per Valutazioni Biologiche e Farmacologiche (CVBF).

The in-person event will take place over two days on July 4th – 5th at the Hotel Excelsior in Bari, Italy.

The workshop is open by prior registration and selection to PhD students, post-doc researchers, senior scientists, young clinicians, investigators and academics and who are employees of or affiliated to an ERN Full Member or affiliated Partner institution.

The training workshop is free of charge and the training methodology will be based on lectures, seminars, and practical sessions, aimed at providing concrete research skills.

Registration closes on May 10th, and those selected to participate from among the applicants will be informed by May 23rd of their selection.

More information and registration here: https://www.ejprarediseases.org/event/modelling-simulation-research-methodologies-for-small-populations-in-rare-diseases/

Save the Date: THE MARFAN FOUNDATION's What’s New in Genetic Aortic and Vascular Conditions - An international educational meeting for affected people and their families that was planned to take place Sunday April 24th, 2022 in Paris, France has been postponed and will now take place on Sunday August 28th, 2022.

VASCERN members will be presenting at this event including Professor Bart Loeys (HTAD and MSA WG member).

Registration coming soon.

Save the date for the Marfan Foundation's Science in Paris event which will take place in Paris, France from August 29th-September 1st, 2022. This four-day meeting will feature three separate, but connected, meetings which aim to enhance collaboration and discovery to ultimately benefit patients and families. These meetings are:

• August 29, 2022 - DEFY Foundation 5th Scientific Meeting on Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
  Registration for this meeting is free, thanks to generous support from the DEFY Foundation
• August 30-31, 2022 - 11th International Symposium on Marfan, Loeys-Dietz, and Related Conditions
  (Aortic Summit Poster Session)
• September 1, 2022 7th  - GenTAC Aortic Summit

Registration opens on April 1st, 2022.

For more information read the event's brochure here

As part of the training activities proposed by EJP RD, the International Summer School on Rare Disease Registries and FAIRification of Data is a 5-day training programme organised by Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) in close collaboration with EJP-RD task partners, aimed at the international research community, clinicians, medical specialists, registry curators, database managers, healthcare professionals and rare disease patients’ representatives.

The in-person training will take place from September 26th – 30th at ISS in Rome, Italy. The training course may be adapted to an online format in case of uncertainty due to the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic, or of other adverse conditions that might occur.

The training course consists of two modules, and registration is possible for either module separately or for the course as a whole:

• “Rare Disease Registries”, September 26th – 28th
• “FAIRification of Data”, September 29th – 30th

Registration is currently open but will close on April 13th. As each training module is limited to 30 attendees, those chosen to participate from among the applicants will be informed by May 3rd, with a reserve list open until May 20th (if the training is delivered face-to-face) or September 9th (in case of online delivery).

More information and registration here: https://www.ejprarediseases.org/event/international-summer-school-on-rare-disease-registries-and-fairification-of-data/

VASCERN DAYS 2022 will be held from 6 to 7th of October 2022 in Paris, France.

More information to come soon.

As part of the training activities proposed by EJP RD, an international course entitled “Training for patient representatives and advocates on leadership and communication skills” is a 2-day training programme organised by Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) in close collaboration with EJP-RD task partners, open to patient representatives involved in the 24 European Reference Networks (ERNs), including members of the European Patients Advisory Groups (ePAGS), and other RD patient advocates.

The in-person training will take place from November 10th – 11th at ISS in Rome, Italy.

The training course may be adapted to an online format in case of uncertainty due to the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic, or of other adverse conditions that might occur. In case of face-to-face delivery, the organisers have foreseen

• hotel accommodation for all selected participants
• 4 travel and accommodation fellowships for participants living and working in an EU-13 Country or in Turkey.

Registration is currently open but will close on April 13th. The training is limited to 30 attendees, those chosen to participate from among the applicants will be informed by May 3rd, with a reserve list open until May 20th (if the training is delivered face-to-face) or September 9th (in case of online delivery).

More information and registration here: https://www.ejprarediseases.org/event/training-for-patient-representatives-and-advocates-on-leadership-and-communication-skills/