The meeting began in the morning with an exclusive exchange between members of the Scientific Advisory Board and the DZL Academy, the Junior Network of the DZL. This was followed by the DZL Academy Reception, where participants had the opportunity to exchange views and establish new contacts in an informal atmosphere.

At the official start to the meeting, the DZL spokesperson, Prof. Werner Seeger, welcomed the participants and gave an impressive view of the main programme: 57 hours of meetings and presentations, 354 poster presentations and 97 teaser presentations awaited the participants in the coming one and a half days. On the fringes of the program were further offerings, for example an information stand run by the Lung Information Service, DZL’s partner dealing with patient enquiries.

Prizes and Awards

A particular highlight of the Annual Meeting was the presentation of more than 350 scientific posters submitted – a new record that highlights the high level of interest and commitment of the young scientists. In the evening, the 10 prizewinners from the eight disease areas and two platforms were selected for their outstanding posters and celebrated in a traditional ceremony. BREATH was extremely pleased to receive three of the prizes, which we will present in more detail here in the near future.

• Asthma and Allergies: Constanze Jakwerth (CPC-M)
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Aicha Jeridi (CPC-M), Jaco Selle (UGMLC) (shared prize)
• Cystic Fibrosis & Bronchiectasis: Ilona Rosenboom (BREATH)
• Pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Failure: Lena Ostermann (BREATH)
• Diffuse Parenchymal Lung Diseases: Ali Doryab (CPC-M)
• Pulmonary Hypertension: Luca Giordano (UGMLC), Anoop V. Cherian (UGMLC) (shared prize)
• Regeneration & Organ Replacement: Michael Gerckens (CPC-M)
• Lung Cancer: Poonam Sarode (UGMLC)
• Platform Biobanking & Data Management: Karsten Senghas (TLRC)
• Platform Imaging: Sarah Scharm (BREATH)

New this year was the presentation of the DZL Academy Publication Awards, which honors outstanding work under the fellowship scheme. In first place was Dr. Lasti Erfinanda (PROGRESS) and second place was awarded to Dr. Nastasja Merle (UGMLC). Third place was shared between Dr. Bilal Alashkar Alhamwe (UGMLC) and Dr. Sara Chocarro (TLRC).

Not only the organizers were very pleased with the way the Annual Meeting went. The international members of the Scientific Advisory Board who attended the meeting acknowledged the excellent organization and the impressive scientific niveau. This was reflected particularly in the scientific project presentations by the junior scientists. This annual event remains one of the most important platforms of the DZL and the anticipation of the 2024 Annual Meeting in Bad Nauheim is already running high.

Text: DZL Zentral

Fotos: Michael Haggenmüller