A message by ERS Conferences and Seminar Director, Prof. Reinoud Gosens
The 19th edition of the ERS Lung Science Conference was held virtually for the first time in 2021, focused on the theme of: ’Repair and regeneration in chronic lung disease and lung cancer’. Learning resources from the event, including e-Posters and session recordings, are now available to ERS members on the ERS e-learning website.
The conference took place from 11–12 March and was attended live by over 400 participants from around the world. Registrants also had access to the virtual conference platform from 8 March, containing conference e-Posters and a space for participants and faculty to interact with abstract authors.
During the event, the very best of international lung science research was presented to highlight new discoveries that are likely to impact on the future of respiratory medicine. Leading scientists working in the field of chronic lung disease and lung cancer presented outstanding talks, and among all of the excellent abstracts selected by the organising committee that were presented live, two prestigious award opportunities were available: The William MacNee Award (Young Investigator session) and the Distinguished Poster Awards.
Based on evaluations by the conference participants and faculty, we are delighted to share the details of this year’s awardees:
- William MacNee Award: Martina M. De Santis, for her presentionation, ‘’Host response towards decellularised lung extracellular matrix reinforced bioinks for 3D bioprinting lung tissue for transplantation’.
- Distinguished Poster Awards: Naoaki Watanabe, Ian Hawthorne, Róisín Mongey, Georgia A. Giotopoulou, Manuela Platé, Carolin Koss, Cinta Iriondo, and Emil Rehnberg.
Congratulations to all!
Finally, unique to the ERS Lung Science Conference and in line with our commitment to nurture future generations of world-class respiratory scientists, we organised several mentoring sessions to enable the younger delegates to discuss scientific and career questions with established investigators.
On behalf of ERS, I would like to thank again the three coordinators of the conference, Darcy Wagner, Herbert Schiller, and Sam Janes for the outstanding programme prepared and exceptional contribution in the programme, as well as all participants, speakers, poster presenters, young investigators for their precious contribution to its success!
Next year, for the 20th anniversary of the ERS Lung Science Conference, we are planning to return to Estoril, Portugal in March to present a programme focusing on: ‘Mucosal immunology of the lung: balancing protective immunity and chronic inflammation’.
We hope you can join us next year and look forward to seeing you soon in person!
Prof. Reinoud Gosens
ERS Conferences and Seminars Director