ESM in Munich: An update on Microcirculation

Dear all,
Last week saw a number of our members attending the European Society for Microcirculation meeting, organised by Professor Ulrich Pohl and held at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich (a lovely city, still recovering from the annual Oktoberfest). The BMS sponsored an very interesting symposium on microRNAs in the microcirculation (ably organised by Richard Siow and Geraldine Clough). The ESM (http://www.esmicrocirculation.eu/) consists of individual members, and those who are members via their national society, and aims to meet every 2 years and provide an update on the latest advances in the filed: the next one will be in Birmingham in 2013 so do plan on being there! As with all meetings, there is a great opportunity to mix with other microcirculationists and share ideas with those using different approaches to your own (can I avoid using the horrid phrase 'networking'?). At the organisational level, as well, it was very helpful to be able to meet with those heading up other societies, in this case exploring ways of getting better support
for the 2013 meeting. Tiring, but useful. And, yes, the beer was nice!
Best wishes,
Stuart

Welcome from the BMS President - Stuart Egginton

Welcome! I'd like to start by thanking Melissa for her efforts in setting up the BMS networking opportunities. We hope this will be helpful in encouraging personal contacts, help solve problems, facilitate exchange of useful information/ideas, and provide a mechanism for sharing items of immediate interest or 'late breaking' news. I'll add my brief communications whenever appropriate. I chaired my first BMS committee meeting last week, and thought we had a productive time (more about that in the newsletter) with a great bunch of people full of ideas and desire to help the society develop. One issue I'm keen to pursue during my term of office is increasing the profile of the BMS (we have just submitted a response to the REF consultation document; thanks to Dave Bates for taking a lead on that) and working more closely with like-minded societies (we agreed closer cooperation with the MCS, look for an email to all members about that!). 

Best wishes for the new academic year,

Stuart Egginton

http://www.microcirculation.org.uk/