President's Newsletter

September 2022

08 September 2022 (Last updated: 11 Apr 2023 09:36)

On behalf of the BDIAP, firstly I hope that all members had an enjoyable Summer. This will be my last newsletter as President and I hope that you have found these regular updates of some value. I will be handing on the baton to Professor Ian Roberts and I wish him well for the next 2 years. I am also delighted to announce that Dr Jan von der Thüsen who works at Erasmus Hospital and is our current Dutch Councillor has agreed to be President-Elect, taking over from Ian in 2024. In relation to Officers within the division, Dr Nafisa Wilkinson is stepping down as Officer in charge of our Innovation Subcommittee, to be succeeded by Dr Paul Craig. We thank Nafisa for her work over the past 9 years and welcome Paul to his new position. In terms of administrative staff, Nabila Jamaluddin has left for pastures new and we have advertised for a replacement to work alongside Sam Kiely.

Upcoming BDIAP Meetings

In relation to our meetings, after a summer hiatus caused by the postponement of our joint meeting with the Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland to 2023, we have our November meeting on Upper Gastrointestinal Pathology on 18-19 November taking place in London at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The AGM will take place during the symposium on Friday 18 November.

Applications for bursaries to attend the meeting can be made here. The deadline for bursary applications is Friday 16 September.

We are also hosting a networking reception for delegates after the lectures on Friday 18 November, for delegates to mingle amongst drinks and nibbles.

Access to educational material from the meeting will be made available to BDIAP Schools and Low and Middle Income Countries, further information is available here.

We are also launching our “bite-size” educational sessions for trainees and young consultants using a digital platform and thanks go particularly to our trainee councillor Dr Abhisek Ghosh for his hard work getting this off the ground. The initial session will be on reporting bronchial biopsies, given by myself on 20 October so please sign up here! Although these sessions are primarily aimed at trainees they are available and free for all members. We intend for these sessions to be monthly and hope that this will be a successful initiative going forward.

The 34th International Congress of the IAP is being held in Sydney, Australia from 11-15 October, which will be a hybrid meeting so educational material will be available if you cannot make it to Australia. Reduced registration rates are available for BDIAP members.

We are also pleased to announce we are planning greater interaction with our member countries annual pathology meetings, and further details will follow in future newsletters.

The 14th Joint Meeting of the BDIAP and The Pathological Society will take place Tuesday 27 - Thursday 29 June 2023. Further details to be announced soon.

BDIAP Bursaries

Following on from our strategy day last year, we changed focus in relation to some of our funding strategies in relation to bursaries. Innovation Grants will be made available for BDIAP Member Country Members and are intended to assist study in other departments relating to Histopathology/Molecular Pathology in the UK or overseas. The aim is that the recipient of a grant should learn about specialist pathological techniques that are not available at their own institution or pursue an area of sub-specialisation at a specialist centre recognised for that area of specialty. The opportunity should have a major educational component that can be applied to future practice. There will be up to 6 grants per year to a maximum of £5,000, and we hope this will encourage trainees to develop subspecialisation and academic skills. The grants will be launched shortly and we will keep members informed by email.

Bursaries have recently been relaunched and all available opportunities can be found via the link below.

Bursaries

BDIAP Schools and International Activities

In relation to our international committee, we have helped fund Dr Richard Byers provide pathology support in Africa and his report can be found here. Richard has continued providing weekly online slide based teaching to residents in Kenya and Zambia over the summer and is presently providing haempath teaching for 3 weeks in Zambia, and will continue weekly sessions online once back in the UK.

Meetings are due to take place remotely with colleagues in Sri Lanka and Bosnia and an in person meeting is scheduled to take place in East Africa. We thank Dr Eduardo Calonje and all the speakers who volunteer their time for their work in making these events happen.

If any members wish to undertake any educational commitments on behalf of the division, please contact us with your area of interest, so you can be added to the list of potential speakers. Expenses will of course be paid for any travel!

Finally, as this is my last newsletter, I thank everyone on Council for their support during my Presidency, especially Sam working tirelessly behind the scenes. Despite COVID stopping a lot of face-to-face interaction, it has been a lot of fun and an honour.

Professor Andrew Nicholson
President
BDIAP