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 Introduction:
This report coincides with my first four months ‘in the job’. It has been a busy but stimulating time. I have attended the Executive Committees of both the Scientific Division and Education and Management Division and I am better informed as a result. I have travelled extensively, participated in conference calls and dealt with thousands (yes really!) of e-mails. It is great to be able to report contact with dozens of wonderful people who are working hard on behalf of the IFCC family.
Membership:
We have welcomed three new national society members into IFCC during the past four months:
- Sudanese Society of Clinical Biology
- Asociación Peruana de Profesionales del Laboratorio Clínico
- Ethiopian Medical Laboratories Association
This takes our national membership to a record high of 82. It also has enabled us to take the first steps in the direction of an African regional organization and I hope that this will thrive and develop in years to come.
Executive Board:
The first meeting of the new Executive Board was held in a hotel close to London Heathrow airport and the historic town of Windsor - home to the British Royal family. The Board addressed a large number of routine and special items some of which are listed below. The Board also approved the audited accounts for the year 2008. In common with most organizations 2008 was a difficult year but we now have a detailed understanding of the finances for the years ahead.
Strategic Direction:
The Executive Board spent the first morning of its meeting considering a wide range of possible projects for the next three years. These are being collated and prioritised before being shared with a wider audience. A common theme running through many of the suggested projects was that IFCC should look outwards and try to add value to laboratory medicine. A meeting is being held in Innsbruck on Sunday 7th June to further develop this thinking. Representatives of National Members in Europe and all Corporate Members have been invited to participate along with IFCC Divisions, Committees and Working Groups. Similar opportunities for engagement will be available during the AACC meeting in Chicago in July.
Young Scientists:
In response to a request from young scientists IFCC conducted a survey of its members to assess the level of interest in engaging more positively with younger members of the profession. There was a record return to this survey and a strong wish for this initiative to be developed. The Executive Board is working on practical ways of involving younger scientists without cutting across national initiatives. One positive development is the announcement of a new IFCC Award for young scientists, generously sponsored by Roche Diagnostics. The terms of reference for this new award are being developed.
Awards:
Congratulations to Professor Eleftherios Diamandis from Canada for winning the 2009 IFCC-Abbott Distinguished Award for Significant Contributions in Molecular Diagnostics, which he will receive at EuroMedLab 2009 in Innsbruck. Several Roche/IFCC travel scholarships have been awarded to enable individual scientists to attend the Innsbruck congress and other scientific meetings and a number of professional scientific exchange programmes have been approved to allow scientists to acquire new skills and participate in collaborative research.
Meetings:
EuroMedlab Innsbruck 2009 promises to be a huge success and there will be a report in the next issue of the IFCC e-Newsletter. The Roche Bergmeyer Conference, which takes as its theme ‘Novel biomarkers: from discovery to clinical application’, will be held from 8-10th March 2010 in Eibsee in Germany. The next IFCC General Conference will be held in Corfu, Greece in April 2010 – all IFCC functional units will be meeting and national and corporate members have already been invited.
Communication:
The new IFCC website (www.ifcc.org) was finally introduced in February. It represents a significant improvement on the previous website. There is still some tidying up to be done to make best use of the functionality but I am confident that the website will function as we require as a primary means of communication. The new IFCC Task Force on Liaison has also been working on ways to improve communication between members and I hopeful that within the next three months we will be able to encourage much more spontaneous interaction between individuals and members of the IFCC family. And finally, if you want to communicate with me please contact gbeastall@googlemail.com
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