EASD: Enormous scientific meeting in Vienna in 2009

From September 29 - October 2, 2009, about 17,000 participants from 120 countries convened at Vienna's Reed Messe. This largest annual meeting on diabetes offered plenty of discussions on current topics: in 1367 presentations, important new findings were made available. The Programme Committee succeeded in putting together an outstanding programme. The internationally renowned diabetes researcher Prof. Thomas Pieber acted as Chairman of the Local Organising Committee.

The poster exhibition presenting 1000 scientific posters proved to be very popular; on more than one occasion during the poster tours, the studies and their results sparked lively discussions (see photo).

Within the context of the EASD Meeting, a large exhibition of European Patients' Associations was set up, offering an opportunity to establish contacts between Kazakhstan and the UK, between Russia and Greece.  Especially noteworthy was the enthusiasm of associations from Eastern Europe, which had very lively booths.

As part of the social programme, the 'Museum Nights' were a particular success: the six musea –  Kunsthistorisches Museum, Sigmund Freud Museum, Narrenturm (Fools' Tower), Leopold Museum, MUMOK and Albertina – offered exclusive access to participants during prolonged opening hours on two days.

To great applause, three diabetes experts were appointed as honorary members of the society: Prof. Werner Waldhäusl (Vienna) was, for many years, Austria's most prominent diabetes researcher. Prof. Jörn Nerup from Denmark made two groundbreaking discoveries in the field of diabetes, both of which have greatly added to the understanding of Type1 diabetes. Prof . Oscar Crofford (USA) was especially lauded for his research into the significance of an improved metabolism for  the emergence of sequelae typical of Type1 diabetes, which brought him world-wide acclaim.

More than 400 members of the press attended the meeting. Journalists were especially interested in the discussion of diabetes and cancer. For more than two hours, they followed lectures on the topic, together with 7000 delegates – 3000 of which filled the lobby's blue carpet.

All in all, the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes was a tremendous success, and the 'more than 17.000 participants and more than 400 journalists had nothing but praise for the organisation of the congress', Dr. Viktor Jörgens (Executive Director EASD) stated.