The 18th UIP World Congress of Phlebology will take place in Melbourne, Australia from February 4-8, 2018. It is the largest international gathering of the phlebology community. Phlebology is a multi-disciplinary field studying disorders of venous origin. Three VASCERN members are keynote invited speakers at this event: Prof Miikka Vikkula (Chair of our VASCA-WG), Prof Laurence Boon (VASCA-WG) and Prof Vaughan Keeley (PPL-WG).

To register or find more information on this event click here!

The European Joint Programme (EJP) Cofund on Rare Diseases will have its second meeting on the 5-6 of February, 2018 in Paris, France to work on the writing of the application for this instrument that aims to support coordinated national research and innovation programmes. Professor Claire Shovlin (Chair of the HHT-WG) will be in attendance for VASCERN at this event.

The Joint Research Centre of The European Commission will host a training workshop on Rare Disease Registries from February 8-9th, 2018 in Baveno, Italy.

Prof Leo Schultze Kool (Patient Registry WG Chair) and Dr. Alessia Paglialonga will be attending for VASCERN.

The 3rd International Congress organized by UNSED, French National Union of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, will take place in Paris, France on February 9th, 2018. Prof Xavier Jeunemaitre (MSA-WG Co-Chair) will be one of the speakers at this event, where he will give a presentation on the latest news in vascular EDS.

More information here

The 26th EURORDIS Round Table of Companies Workshop, entitled "Rare disease therapies: do you get what you incentivise?" will take place on February 21st, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium.

This workshop will bring together stakeholders interested rare diseases and orphan drug development to discuss the role of incentives in rare disease therapies development,  the shortcomings of the current system and the strategies that the rare disease community can use to fulfill important unmet medical needs.

See the preliminary Programme here

For more information, click here

The International Symposium entitled "Revisiting Fibromuscular Dysplasia and Related Vascular Diseases" will take place in Brussels, Belgium from February 22-24, 2018.

This exciting event will unite the top experts in Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD) including the meeting's Co-President, Prof Alexandre Persu, who is an expert in FMD and in charge of the Hypertension Clinic at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Cardiology Department, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels), a centre we hope to include in the upcoming expansion of the VASCERN network.

VASCERN members Prof Bart Loeys, Prof Xavier Jeunemaitre and Prof Miikka Vikkula will also be in attendance!

To register click here

Full programme here

Additional information here

Rare Disease Day 2018 will take place on February 28th, 2018! This yearly International event aims to to raise awareness for Rare Diseases with the general public and policy-makers and everyone is encouraged to take part!

There will be numerous events all around the world, including a Rare Disease Day 2018 event in Paris, France organised by the French Rare Disease Networks. The "Rare Disease Village" will take place in Paris under the canopy of the Forum des Halles. Visitors will be able to participate in a wide variety of interactive activities including a central area dedicated to adaptive sports, rare disease quizzes with prizes, a photobooth and various workshops on different themes such as "Dare Diseases and Nutrition" and "Introduction to Rare Disease Research". This event aims to reach out to the general public in order to raise awareness for rare diseases.

VASCERN will equally be in attendance at this event in order to inform the public about VASCERN and the European Reference Networks (ERNs) in general. We look forward to seeing you  there!

For a list of events near you click here

All information at https://www.rarediseaseday.org/

The official 2018 Rare Disease Day video is now available (in 24 languages)! Find it here

The RE(ACT) CONGRESS, the International Congress on Research of Rare and Orphan Diseases, will take place in Bologna, Itlay from July 7-10, 2018.

All information about the RE(ACT) CONGRESS & registration available here.

For a limited time, a special registration rate for the RE(ACT) Congress 2018 is available. The special price is 250 Euros (only payable by credit card and not applicable to private companies). To benefit of the special rate, please register on the registration page and insert the promotional code “HAPPYCRAZYRATE” at the end of the form.

All information on this conference here

More information at www.research4rare.de 

Announcement

The 10^th International Research Symposium on Marfan Syndrome (MFS) and Related Disorders (RD) will take place from the 3rd-5th of May, 2018 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

This symposium brings together the world’s leading experts (including members from the VASCERN HTAD WG) to discuss the most recent and innovative research on MFS and RD. A wide variety of topics will be discussed including sessions on  "Genetic and Environmental Modifiers of MFS and RD Phenotypic Variability" to "Medical and Holistic Treatment Options for Pain in MFS".

Early bird registration ends on February 1st, 2018! To register for this event, click here

Find the schedule for the event here

For further information, click here

ECRD – the European Conference on Rare Diseases & Orphan Products is the largest multi-stakeholder gathering in Europe for the rare disease community covering research, development of new treatments, healthcare, social care, public health policies and support at European, national, regional and international levels.

All information & registration available here

Deadline to register: 27 April 2018
Early-bird cut off date: 15 March 2018

Programme

The VASCERN HHT-WG will have a face-to-face meeting in London, UK on May 29th, 2018. Further details on this meeting TBA.

ISSVA 2018

This biannual meeting, which is attended by a wide array of specialists including intervention radiologists, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, ENT surgeons, pediatricians, pediatric surgeons, oncologists and pathologists, presents the latest developments in this fast moving area.

All information and registration on the event page here

The 8th International Lymphoedema Framework (ILF) Conference will take place from the 6^th-9^th of June, 2018 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This conference, hosted by the ILF and the Dutch Lymphoedema Framework (NLNet) will be a great opportunity for healthcare professionals, researchers, patients, and industry to discuss the latest advances in the treatment and care of lymphoedema and to raise awareness in order to make it a priority on all national health agendas.

There will also be a Children's Day on June 9th, where children can participate in a variety of workshops all centered around the theme ‘Children and edema: a dynamic duo’.

Register here

For more information, click here!

The EURORDIS summer school is taking place in Barcelona from the 11 - 15 June 2018. This year, the summer school will focus on educating patients and researchers on the regulatory process of orphan medicinal products in Europe in order to strengthen their advocacy skills. The last day to register for the English edition is November 30^th, 2017 and the last day to register for the Spanish edition is December 15^th, 2017.

All information here

The latest advances in human genetics will be explored at the the 51st European Human Genetics Conference in Milan, Italy from June 16-19, 2018. Participants from all over the world will be in attendance and VASCERN members, Prof Laurence Boon (VASCA WG) and Prof Miikka Vikkula (Chair of VASCA WG) will be speakers at this exciting event.

Deadline to submit an abstract: Friday, March 9, 2018

Early bird deadline: Friday, April 6, 2018

Link to programme here

For further information visit the event website here

VASCERN Days 2018 (2 days annual seminar) will take place on October 11-12, 2018.

Location is to be confirmed!

Europe’s largest Orphan Drug Congress will be back for an 8th session from November 6-8, 2018 in Barcelona Spain. This congress allows the rare disease community a chance to discover the latest developments and technologies in the orphan drugs industry.

All information and registration on the event page here