Executive Page

In a recent article published in the August 2019 issue of the EAN Pages, we presented the framework based on which the collaboration between the EAN and the EFNR is currently unfolding. The Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations, signed in 2017, is the guiding document that formally governs this partnership, which focuses on three key pillars for development: facilitating evidence-based clinical guideline production, promoting multidisciplinary education, and hosting joint sessions within the main scientific events organized annualy by these institutions. This article will focus on the latter priority for our collaboration, with the goal of disseminating relevant updates how our community benefits from the interaction between the EAN and the EFNR.

I am happy to share with you that Prof. Franz Fazekas’s health has greatly improved.  We are in regular contact with him and his wife and expect (and wish) further recovery. Unfortunately, his current condition does not allow him to resume his function as President of our Society. As a consequence, the board has decided to ask me to take over his duties from September 1, 2019. To support the board and in accord with our bylaws, Prof. D. Vodusek, who already served in the EAN board, was appointed as member at large (until the next elections in Paris). I am very thankful to the entire board, the office, and particularly to Prof. G. Deuschl for their trust, support and advice in this delicate transition period.

It is my pleasure to introduce the backbone of our society, the Scientific Panels, to you in my role as the Scientific Committee Chair. EAN Scientific Panels cover a wide range of subspecialties and play a significant role in the EAN everyday activities. These member-led groups are a perfect opportunity to network with colleagues

The 5th EAN Congress held in Oslo from June 29 to July 2 is now over and it’s time to look back. The Congress was a great success for EAN and for us in the local organising committee in Norway. Number of participants was the highest ever with 6919 registered delegates, and the number of submitted abstracts was all-time high at 2250. Number of applications for the tournament for young investigators was up about 40% for basic and more than 20% for clinical research. These figures illustrate the high and rapidly increasing activity in our society. At the same time, EAN definitely managed to make its mark on the city of Oslo with 24 EAN banners on both sides of Karl Johan, the main street of the city.

It is my great pleasure to be invited to introduce myself to you in my new role as editor of EAN Pages, starting at our Congress in Oslo. I am a neurologist based in Sheffield in the UK, running busy general and neuromuscular clinics, with a research interest in motor neuron disease. First of all, I want to thank my predecessor and friend, Professor Elena Moro, for leading us to our current position of strength at EAN Pages.

How can the EAN members be creative for the present time and visionary for the future of neurology?

Dear EAN members, It is my pleasure to share with you some exciting news about EANpages.

Dear colleagues and friends, I am very excited that the EAN-family will meet again in Oslo in less than three months. I can assure you that all preparations are full on track.

Dear Colleagues and Friends, Education is one of the major priorities for the EAN, and the Society offers several opportunities. Over the last years, the educational program at the EAN annual Congresses has been increasingly articulated in different formats (traditional Teaching Courses, Hands-on-Courses, Interactive Sessions including the EAN Brain Challenge, Case-based Workshops, Controversies, and Career Development Sessions) in order to better fit with the multifaceted aspects of Clinical Neurology.

Dear colleagues and friends, I am writing to convey my very best wishes and sincere thanks to all, as we have wrapped up an eventful year and have shifted our momentum to the challenges that lie ahead: 2019. The past 12 months have been marked by noteworthy achievement and change. As we all reflect on the past year, I think that we have many reasons to look forward with enthusiasm toward what has yet to come.

Dear colleagues and friends, the weeks before the change of the year usually serve not only to accomplish the last pending tasks but also to reflect on the past 12 months and to think about what lies ahead. I probably have this in common with many of you who profit from some slowing down of work during the holiday season as everyone is busy preparing for Christmas and the turn of the year invites to look back and to make new plans.

Dear EAN members, Dear colleagues and friends, the political landscape across Europe and around the world is currently quite shaky and experiences a lot of turmoil, confrontation and egocentric behaviour. In this situation it is comforting that the “Neurological World“ does not follow this dissolution but rather moves in the opposite direction. There is increasing readiness for close collaboration and efforts to join forces among scientific societies and these synergies are critical for convincing decision makers of the benefits of supporting health research and other measures which help to assure the well-being of Europe’s population in the future.

Dear Colleagues, I hope that you are all looking forward to the 2019 EAN congress in Oslo, and that you are planning abstracts to submit! On October the 16th I attended an inspection visit of the congress venue, along with Franz Fazekas our president, Erik Tauboll chair of the local organizing committee, members of the EAN office team and representatives from Industry partners that are sponsoring our congress.

Dear EAN-Members, Dear colleagues and friends, I hope that you all had a wonderful and relaxing summer, and that you have regained the energy needed for being successfully back to work after vacation. I always enjoy when the speed and intensity of daily activities reduce a little over summer, and I am sure that such times are also important for rethinking projects, developing new ideas, and enhancing our creativity.

In 2 weeks, my sabbatical period in the United States, which started in April 2018, will come to an end. The word sabbatical comes from “Sabbath,” which in the biblical Old Testament was described as, “In the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath of complete rest …” Today in Academics, it is obviously not simply rest. For me it was a break after 23 years of an uninterrupted hospital and university activity, 17 of which as chair or vice-chair of large neurological departments.