Newswise — Greetings!

I am Dr. Suhayl Dhib-Jalbut, President of ACTRIMS, and on behalf of the President of ECTRIMS, Prof. Maria Trojano, it is my pleasure and honor to warmly welcome you to the sixth triennial Joint ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS Meeting - MSBoston2014.

Gathered for this Meeting are some of the most distinguished researchers, dedicated medical professionals, and relentless advocates in the field of multiple sclerosis, all of whom play an important role towards helping enhance the health and quality of life of those living with MS and those who care for them. I applaud you for your commitment and appreciate the valuable contributions you are making to the field of MS. And while we anticipate this year’s Meeting will have the largest number of participants ever, over 6,000, I do hope that my colleagues and I from the ACTRIMS and ECTRIMS Organizing Committee will have the opportunity to engage with many of you during the conference.

I am pleased to say that the joint ACTRIMS and ECTRIMS Scientific and Education Committees have put together a premiere program covering a wide range of tracks and presentation topics including genetics, pathogenesis and factors that determine MS susceptibility, to study outcomes and research advances, to the latest in regeneration and rehabilitation. For instance, we will hear more about remyelination and stem cell research, as well as emerging treatments for progressive MS where there is tremendous unmet needs. Given the breadth of this year’s program, you should find many topics that will pique your interest, stimulate your thinking and inform the work that you are currently conducting.

For this triennial, we offer attendees fourteen teaching courses taught by forty expert faculty, 42 invited scientific program speakers, 94 platform presenters, 980 poster presentations, seven late-breaking news platform presentations and 22 late-breaking news presented as e-posters. We are also taking advantage of the social media platform by hosting Burning Debates and Q&A discussions during the meeting which will be live-streamed in in ACTRIMS and ECTRIMS websites. In addition to a great scientific program, this international gathering offers an amazing opportunity to share knowledge, new findings, and best practices so that we can all build on our own professional development; implement strategies that have been successful for others; and accelerate research advances in this field. I encourage you to take this opportunity to network, exchange information and build alliance that will enable us to achieve our common goal of finding the solutions, strategies and treatment that will help those living with MS.

In particular, I would like to point out that in our midst we have many young clinicians who are filled with energy, fresh ideas and new innovations. There is much to be gained from their contagious dynamism, new concepts and approaches. We awarded 211 educational grants to highly rated abstracts submitted by our young investigators. To our younger attendees, I encourage you to take the time to speak with the veterans in the field who have extensive knowledge, research successes and much wisdom to share.

We are also happy to have many pharmaceutical and biotech companies, as well as advocacy groups who support research and education in MS. You are a major part of our formula for success. And to the media who have come from near and far, we appreciate your coverage that helps us reach broader audiences worldwide, and we are available to provide you with the insights and content to help inform your stories.

At the end of the meeting, you can check our meeting website to access presentations and full abstracts.

Knowing that we can’t be in all the session all at once, we offer delegates ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS On Demand – a digital library of content of all the sessions offered at the meeting conveniently available in your online player. I hope you will take advantage of this additional educational product.In closing, Prof. Trojano and I again wish to thank you for attending this year’s meeting which aims to help to advance research and education in MS. We sincerely salute the contributions and commitment you have made to this Meeting, to the field of MS and to those living with this disease.

We look forward to a successful meeting!

Thank you!

Meeting Link: MSBoston2014