MONDAY 20TH MAY 2013

9.00 – 11.00
ROOM GOLD
Symposium 1
BIOMARKERS OF RENAL FUNCTION AND INJURY
Chair:  J. Delanghe (Belgium)

• Beyond creatinine standardization.
  J. Delanghe (Belgium)
• Specific proteins as renal function markers.
  A. Grubb (Sweden)
• Markers for acute kidney injury.
  M. Haase (Germany)

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM SILVER
Symposium 2
FUTURE AND QUALITY OF POCT        
Chair: I. Watson (UK)

• Ensuring POCT quality in the community.
  S. Sandberg  (Norway)
• Evidence-based best practice for POCT. 
  J. Nichols (USA)
• As a patient, how good do I want POCT to be?”.
  I. Watson (UK)

9.00 - 11.00
AUDITORIUM
Symposium 3
TESTING FOR DRUGS OF ABUSE          
Chair:  R. De La Torre (Spain)

• Analytical toxicology of emerging drugs of abuse.
  F. Peters (Germany)
• Biomarkers of ethanol consumption.
  L. Morini (Italy)
• Oral fluid drug testing.
  S. Wille (Belgium)

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM BROWN 3
Symposium 4
EPIGENETICS IN CANCER          
Chair:  C. Kroupis (Greece)

• Epigenetic biomarkers in solid tumor detection, prognosis and management.
  K. Heichman (USA)
• Epigenetic biomarkers for early detection of aerodigestive tract cancers in biological fluids.
  L. Liloglou (UK)
• Global hypomethylation: detection methods and clinical significance.
  M. Fernandez Fraga (Spain)

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM BROWN 1-2
IFCC SESSION
HARMONIZATION IN AUTOIMMUNE TESTING
Chair: I. Young (United Kingdom)

• The importance of autoantibody testing in autoimmune rheumatic disease.
  P. L. Meroni (Italy)
• Role of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies.
  C. Kallenberg (The Netherlands)
• Role of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies.
  G. J. M. Pruijn (The Netherlands)
• Harmonisation of autoantibody measurement.
  J. Sheldon (UK)

15.00 - 17.00
ROOM SILVER
EFCC SESSION
THE RECOGNITION OF PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS ACROSS EUROPE
Chair: S. Zerah (France)

• Professional mobility across European borders.
  G. Wieringa (UK)
• The EU Directive on recognition of professional qualifications.
  R. Jansen (The Netherlands)
• The EC4 Register of Specialists in Laboratory Medicine.
  J. P. Brochet (France)
• Implications for the professions.
  S. Zerah (France)

TUESDAY 21ST MAY 2013

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM GOLD
Symposium 5
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN THYROID DISEASE     
Chair: L. Thienpont (Belgium)

• Molecular genetic approaches to the diagnosis of thyroid cancer.
  Y. Nikiforov (USA)
• Subclinical thyroid disease: is it clinically important? 
  B. Velkeniers (Belgium)
• Quality and standardization issues in thyroid function testing.
  G. Beastall (UK)

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM SILVER
Symposium 6
LABORATORY TESTING IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE    
Chair:  E. Theodorson (Sweden)

• Advances in the pathogenesis and diagnosis of Alzheimer disease.
  R. Quirion (Canada)
• Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease.
  R. Blankenstein (The Netherlands)
• Biomarker-based dissection of neurodegenerative diseases.
  B. Olsson (Sweden)

9.00 - 11.00
AUDITORIUM
Symposium 7
CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE MASS SPECTROMETRY           
Chair: P. Wallemacq (Belgium)

• LC-MS/MS for endocrine and metabolite testing in clinical laboratories.
  M. Vogeser (Germany)
• “Trick or treat” for determination of immunosuppressive drugs by LC-MS/MS.
  P. Wallemacq (Belgium)
• Trueness of results remains an issue in clinical use of LC-MS/MS systems.
  C. Seger (Austria)

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM BROWN 3
Symposium 8
MICRO RNAs: FROM BENCH TO BEDSIDE     
Chair: M. Ferrari (Italy)

• microRNAs in the spotlight: understanding cancer gene dependency.
  C. Croce (Italy)
• The role of microRNAs in metastasis: novel discoveries and future challenges.
  G. Calin (USA)
• MicroRNAs as promising novel biomarkers in the clinical laboratory.
  E. Lianidou (Greece)

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM BROWN 1-2
EFCC SESSION
THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF THE CLINICAL EVALUATION OF BIOMARKERS
Chair: C. Cobbaert (The Netherlands)

• PE sensor - Introduction of a novel biomarker.
  P. Bossuyt (The Netherlands)
• Manufacturer’s and regulatory perspectives.
  T. Bush (USA)
• Clinical and laboratory perspectives.
  A. R. Horvath (Australia)
• Policy and economic perspectives.
  C. Hyde (UK)

15.00 - 17.00
ROOM SILVER
IFCC SESSION
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND THE VALUE OF LABORATORY MEDICINE
Chair: E. Delvin (Canada)

• IFCC public relations: strategy and activities.
  E. Jacobs (USA)
• Value of the laboratory in clinical medicine.
  K. Adeli (Canada)
• Demonstrating the value of laboratory tests: a clinical and economic perspective.
  B. Jordan (Switzerland)
• Role of social media and the Internet in public relations and education.
  P. Veervart (Australia)

WEDNESDAY 22ND MAY 2013

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM GOLD
Symposium 9
BIOMARKERS OF PROSTATE CANCER          
Chair:  C. Sturgeon (UK)

• PSA in screening for prostate cancer.
  C. Bangma (The Netherlands)
• Biomarkers currently being explored for prostate cancer.
  C. Sturgeon (UK)
• Added value of new tests for prostate cancer detection.
  A. Semjonow (Germany)

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM SILVER
Symposium 10          
NOVEL ASPECTS IN COAGULATION TESTING         
Chair: G. Lippi (Italy)

• Genetic and biochemical risk factors for arterial and venous thrombosis: two sides of a coin?
  A. D'Angelo (Italy)
• Laboratory assessment and monitoring of the new oral anticoagulants. 
  E. Favaloro (Australia)
• Standardization and clinical utility of thrombin-generation assays.
  E. Berntorp (Sweden)

9.00 - 11.00
AUDITORIUM
Symposium 11          
GASTROENTEROLOGY DISEASE IN 2013       
Chair:  M. Plebani (Italy)

• Epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease in children.
  P. Henderson (UK)
• Pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease.
  P. L. Lakatos (Hungary)
• Laboratory testing in gastroenterology.
  D. Basso (Italy)

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM BROWN 3
Symposium 12          
NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING IN LABORATORY DIAGNOSTICS   
Chair: M. Neumaier (Germany)

• Genomics, epigenomics and transcriptomics: building an integrated view of disease using next generation sequencing data.
  E. Stupka (Italy)
• Bioinformatics for next generation sequencing: from data management and error correction to medical interpretation.
  T. Rattei (Austria)
• Multigene analysis in the molecular diagnostic of genetic disorders.
  B. Weber (Germany)

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM BROWN 1-2
IFCC SESSION
EVIDENCE IN ACTION: TRANSLATING GUIDELINE RECOMMENDATIONS INTO CLINICAL PRACTICE
Chair: R. Christenson (USA)

• Does this medical test work better? Effectiveness of HbA1c POCT for management of diabetes.
  C. Price (UK)
• Determining what works best: the Laboratory Medicine Best Practice Initiative.
  R. Christenson (USA)
• Translating evidence into practice: successes and challenges.
  S. Kahn (USA)
• Evidence-based initiatives from New Zealand.
  C. Florkowski (New Zealand)

15.00 - 17.00
ROOM SILVER
EFCC SESSION
CLINICAL GUIDELINES AND CARDIAC MARKERS
Chair: P. Laitinen (Finland)

• Checklist of laboratory issues in clinical guideline development.
  K. Moberg Aakre (Norway)
• Guideline from the European Atherosclerosis Society: clinical view on laboratory checklist and issues.
  M. Langlois (Belgium)
• Cardiac troponin: the sense of more sensitive assays.
  M. van Dieijen-Visser (The Netherlands)
• Current guidelines on cardiac markers: how should they be introduced and how should the implementation be evaluated.
  P. Collinson (UK)

THURSDAY  23RD MAY 2013

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM GOLD
Symposium 13          
CONTROVERSIES IN DETECTION AND MONITORING OF DIABETES    
Chair:  A. Mosca (Italy)

• What’s diabetes in 2013.
  D. Leslie (UK)
• HbA1c in the diagnosis of diabetes. 
  A. Mosca (Italy)
• Desirable requirements for POCT for diabetes in hospital settings.
  D. Bruns (USA)

9.00 - 11.00
SILVER ROOM
Symposium 14          
LABORATORY ASSESSMENT OF MATERNAL/FETAL UNIT           
Chair:  R. Frydman (France)

• Non invasive approaches for the genetic analysis of the foetus.
  D. Lo (Hong Kong)
• Biochemical markers for early pregnancy screening for pre-eclampsia.
  J. C. Forest (Canada)
• Recurrent abortion: a predictable issue.
  R. Frydman (France)

9.00 - 11.00
AUDITORIUM
Symposium 15          
LABORATORY TESTING IN BONE AND JOINT DISEASE    
Chair:  A. Griesmacher (Austria)

• Laboratory testing in bone disease: an introductory overview.
  R. Eastell (UK)
• How useful is the laboratory in bone and joint disease in the clinical practice?
  B. Obermayer-Pietsch (Austria)
• The need of standardization of bone marker assays.
  H. Morris (Australia)

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM BROWN 3
Symposium 16          
EMERGING ISSUES IN SEPSIS    
Chair: J. Bienvenu (France)

• Sepsis: epidemiological and clinical aspects.
  J. L. Vincent (Belgium)
• New concepts in pro-/anti-inflammatory response in sepsis.
  G. Monneret (France)
• Emerging biomarkers for targeted and tailored therapy in sepsis.
  J. Pugin (Switzerland)

9.00 - 11.00
ROOM BROWN 1-2
Symposium 17
LABORATORY MANAGEMENT AND PATIENT SAFETY     
Chair:  W. Huisman (The Netherlands)

• The new edition of ISO 15189 with emphasis on patient safety aspects.     
  W. Huisman (The Netherlands)
• Laboratory medicine quality indicators and patient safety.
  M. Plebani (Italy)
• Issues on laboratory management in the Arab Region.
  G. Shannan (Syria)