President’s post-meeting blog

I would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to all whose strenuous efforts ensured that this year’s joint meeting between the BMS and MCS was such a success. In particular, Chris Garland and his team are to be congratulated on organising an excellent scientific programme and great social events in such a lovely setting. It was very pleasing to see record numbers of attendees, posters and exhibitors – all very positive signs for the future of our discipline. We greatly appreciate the support of MCS officers in promoting closer links between our societies, and it was highly appropriate that we were able to celebrate adopting a common journal (with the enthusiastic support of both memberships) in this manner. A special issue of Microcirculation to celebrate this will appear shortly. Of course we can’t stand still, and many interesting discussions were had about possible ways forward and new ventures, and thanks to Donald Singer we had interviews with plenary lecturers posted on the web during the meeting (hopefully the first wave of an enhanced public image for the society). Watch this space for more news!

Best wishes,

Stuart Egginton

MicroCirc2012, Keble College: Oral and Poster Presentations

MicroCirc2012 was a truly excellent conference, held at Keble College, Oxford from 4^th-6^th July.  It was organised by Chris Garland on behalf of The British Microcirculation Society and The Microcirculatory Society and ran incredibly smoothly, with most delegates staying in college and enjoying the facilities there, including two excellent dinners.

As well as the interesting and informative plenary and key note lectures from experts in the field of microcirculation there were 30 short oral communications, many of which were given by early career scientists including intercalating medics and PhD students. These oral communications were very well attended and each presentation was followed by a very lively discussion session which greatly added to the import of the conference, and the positive experience of all involved.  Early career scientists/clinicians were eligible for the best oral presentation award which was judged by a panel of experts from both societies and was awarded as follows:

Living Systems Best Oral Presentation award: Dr Andrew Salmon (University of Bristol). Altered endothelial glycocalyx links albuminuria and widespread vascular dysfunction.

The poster sessions of the conference were particularly lively and interactive, with 124 posters displayed over the three day period.  There was a great atmosphere in all poster sessions with people coming together to discuss numerous different aspects of the microcirculation; from angiogenesis, endothelial progenitor/stem cells, calcium channels, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and pregnancy to name just a few. Everyone was able to discuss their posters with experts in the field providing a great opportunity for the early career investigators to gain feedback on their research and to learn about other aspects of the microcirculation or diseases associated with it. As a reflection of these wonderful poster sessions, all posters from early career researchers were judged by experts from both societies and several prizes were awarded as follows:

BMS Poster Prize 1: Rhiannon Baggot (University of Wolverhampton, UK). VEGF-induced angiogenesis is negatively regulated by the plasma membrane calcium ATPase.

BMS Poster Prize 2: Sebastian Oltean (University of Bristol, UK). VEGF₁₆₅b slows diabetic nephropathy progression in type 1 diabetes rodent models.

Terence Ryan Best Clinical Poster: Augusto Montezano (Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Canada). Aldosterone-induces vascular pro-inflammatory and fibrotic effects through Nox1-dependent mechanisms independently of blood pressure changes.

Wiley Blackwell Poster Prize: Timea Beleznai (University of Oxford, UK).  Pressure-dependent role for TRPV4 channels in modulating spontaneous endothelial cell calcium events in rat cremasteric arterioles.

Moor Instruments Innovation in Technology Prize: James Bell (Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, UK). Structural Changes in Loaded Blood Vessels.

Congratulations to all who took part in both the oral and poster presentations for helping to make this a wonderful conference for all who attended. Thank you also to all judges for helping to award prizes to our excellent early career scientists.  We look forward to seeing you all at future BMS and associated conferences.


Kindly written by Dr Carolyn Staton.