ASCIA 2012 Conference Report

ASCIA 2012 Program Book 934.94 KB

23rd ASCIA Annual Scientific Meeting, Wellington Town Hall, 5-8 September 2012

Congratulations and thank you to the organising committee of ASCIA 2012; Dr Shannon Brothers, Dr Marianne Empson and Pauline Brown, led by the ASCIA 2012 Chair, Dr Miriam Hurst. Thank you also to the staff at ICMSA (Rebecca and Helane), ASCIA staff (Michelle and Sandra), all speakers and chairs, delegates, sponsors and exhibitors for their support of ASCIA 2012.

In particular we would like to thank our keynote international speakers, Professor Andrew Cant, Professor Ulrich Wahn, Dr Jorg Kleine-Tebbe and Professor Carlos Camargo for their informative and entertaining presentations throughout ASCIA 2012.

Feedback has been extremely positive, especially regarding the following highlights or innovations that were introduced at ASCIA 2012: 

• A larger than usual proportion of speakers and chairs were from Australia or New Zealand (55 out of a total of 60) and certificates of appreciation were given to all of these participants, in recognition of their valued contributions to ASCIA 2012.
• There were more opportunities for other delegates to present, with 31 poster presentations and 13 clinical grand rounds (CGR) presentations.
• A record total of $15,000 worth of awards and scholarships ($500 each) were provided to 30 recipients, comprising  2 CGR awards, 13 poster awards and 15 advanced trainee travel scholarships. Congratulations to the CGR and poster award winners, who are  listed on the ASCIA website: www.allergy.org.au/health-professionals/awards-grants/ascia-award-grant-scholarship-recipients
• There were more “Plenary” style sessions at ASCIA 2012, with 2 rather than 3 speakers, presenting for 40-45 minutes each.
• A PID Workshop (including 4 case studies) was held as an interactive breakfast session.
• An Update on ASCIA Education Resources was included for the first time.
• All ASCIA 2012 poster and CGR abstracts were published in the online Internal Medicine Journal (IMJ) a week before the meeting and not in the Program Book.  These abstracts can be accessed via the ASCIA website: www.allergy.org.au/conferences/ascia-annual-conference/published-abstracts-ascia
• The Immunopathology Update and Allergy/Immunology Update meetings were held concurrently on Saturday, with most of the exhibition remaining from Wednesday to Saturday.

ASCIA 2012 included very popular social functions on each evening from Wednesday to Friday and a traditional "Powhiri" welcome. The ASCIA 2012 Gala Dinner was held at the spectacular Te Papa Museum, a highlight of Wellington.

 

Content updated March 2021