International Society
of Inflammation and Allergy of the Nose.

ISIAN BOARD MEETING

June 16th 2008

27th ISIAN (combined with ERS) MEETING, CRETE

Board Members Attending: Drs. Papavassiliou, Kozlov, Rettinger, Onerci, Kamel, Palmer, Vincente, Min, M. Rautianien, Stamm, Moriyama, Xu, Van Cauwenberge, Kennedy

Guests: Drs Silvain Lacroix, Elie Serrano, Wang De Yun, Simon Carney

In the Absence of Dr. Gendeh, the meeting was opened by Dr. Kennedy because of the tight meeting agenda. Dr. Kennedy gave the general secretary's report. At the last meeting, a decision had been made to increase the ISIAN Board representation from North Africa and Europe, and potential candidates including Drs. Han DeMin and Dr. Geng Xu had been discussed as potential additional members from China, and Drs. Mohammed Hassab and Reda Kamel had been discussed as potential candidates from Egypt. Subsequently, Drs. Kamel and Xu had accepted the invitations to join the board and were welcomed.

Dr. Anthony Papavassiliou provided a brief review of the combined 27th ISIAN and combined ERS meeting. At that point Dr. Papavassiliou reported that there were, at least 712 participants (a figure that was updated later during the meeting to 786 participants from 54 countries). The breakdown of attendees was as follows:

Dr. Papavassiliou discussed some of the issues in holding the meeting in a resort location, and outlined the overall program.

Dr. Palmer provided a brief overview of the site, attractions, scientific and social programs for the combined 28th ISIAN, IRS Meeting, ARS Meeting and AAOA Course in Philadelphia in 2009. The meeting is scheduled for April 16-19, 2009 and will be held at the City Center Sheraton hotel, with additional accommodation available at the Four Seasons. The meeting will have 3 1/2 days of scientific sessions and incorporate a basic allergy training course and a resident rhinology competition with significant monetary rewards to the winning team. Social events include an opening reception at the hotel, a Gala Dinner at the Constitution Center, and a faculty dinner. In addition an excursion is planned to Atlantic City for those who wish to participate in some gambling at the major casinos. Pre and post congress excursions will be available to Washington DC and to New York. In addition to plenary sessions, round tables, miniseminars, instructional courses and debates, demonstration dissection and hands-on dissections are planned, although enrolment for hand on dissection will be very limited. Acclarent have also expressed a desire to provide hands on training in balloon sinuplasty.

Dr. Lacroix presented a brief overview of the combined ERS/ISIAN meeting planned for Geneva in June 2010. He discussed the location attractions, accommodation options, convention facilities and the availability of public transportation in Geneva. It was stressed by the Board that the ISIAN needs be involved in the scientific program organization and should have at least two half day sessions for which it is responsible. Dr. Lacroix assured the Board that this was his plan and that he would work with Dr. Kennedy and the Board to ensure that this occurs.

Dr. Moriyama discussed the plans for the 2011 meeting which will be held in Tokyo April 6th(Wed) to April 9th(Sat), 2011 around the time of the cherry blossoms in Japan. He discussed the location attractions, options for activities in Tokyo and meeting hotel (ANA Intercontinental Hotel). At this point, the scientific program has not been developed.

As 2012 ERS President, Dr. Elie Serrano presented the proposal for a combined ERS ISIAN meeting in Toulouse. In addition to discussing the location attractions, he assured the Board that they would be responsible for at least 2 x 1/2 day portions of the program which would be under the auspices of the ISIAN. In executive session at the end of the meeting, the Board voted to proceed with a combined ISIAN/IRS meeting in 2011.

Three proposals were presented for the meetings in 2013. The first from Dr. Reda Kamel presented the possibility of a meeting in Sharm El Sheik in October/November 2013. The attractions of the area, and the hotel/convention site were presented. There was some discussion about the political stability of Egypt, given the growing fundamentalist movement. Dr. Kamel assured the board that he felt that the political future was stable. It was pointed out to the Dr. Kamel, that should the board decide to hold a future meeting in Sharm El Sheik, this decision would not be irrevocable should the political situation change. The second from Dr. Xu, presented the option for a meeting in Guangzhou, China. Guangzhou is a rapidly developing major city in Southern China approximately 150 miles from Hong Kong and two attractive potential hotel options were presented. Finally, Dr. Simon Carney presented the option for a meeting in Adelaide, Australia. He felt that, given the distances involved, this would likely be a smaller meeting, but the scientific and regional advantages of this as a potential site were all presented. It was also recommended that Wytske Fokkens also be invited to the ISIAN Board meeting in Philadelphia to present the potential for a combined ISIAN/ERS meeting in Amsterdam in 2014.

In executive session, the proposals were each discussed. The proposal for a meeting in Sharm -El-Sheik was chosen by the board as the most appropriate location for the 2013 meeting, given that the 2011 meeting will be held in the far east, and the non-European meeting prior to that will be held in the US. However, it was also discussed that should the political situation change significantly in Egypt, this decision would be subject to change. A decision was made to defer any decision regarding the 2015 meeting, and to discuss all options again in Philadelphia. However, it was discussed that although there is significant attraction to holding a first ISIAN meeting in China, Hong Kong or Beijing would likely be more attractive to the Board and to participants as destination locations.

The meeting was then adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

David W. Kennedy, M.D.,

ISIAN General Secretary.

Addendum: Following the meeting, the approval of 2013 meeting location in Sharm El Sheik was discussed with Dr. Kamel, along with the concerns regarding Egyptian political stability. It was recommended that he should not make large financial commitments well in advance of the meeting lest the political stability change significantly and the decision regarding the meeting location need to be re-visited. However, in the current political climate, the Board was enthusiastic about this meeting site. The recommendation that Hong Kong and Beijing also be considered as potential meeting sites was also transmitted to Dr. Xu.