APC Annual Meeting - Archive

Pancreas in Paradise
21 and 22 October 2007, Sydney, Australia

World Pancreatology Comes Down Under to a Meeting on the Exocrine Pancreas

Minoti Apte and Ron Pirola
Co-Chairs, Organising Committee

Andrew Biankin, Amanda Dawson, Paul Edwards, Paul Haber, Neil Merrett, Ian Norton, Gino Saccone, Jim Toouli, Jeremy Wilson
Members, Organising Committee

Pancreas in Paradise was a two day scientific meeting organised by the Australasian Pancreatic Club (APC) under the auspices of the American Pancreatic Association (APA), the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) and the European Pancreatic Club (EPC). The meeting was held on the 21st and 22nd of October, 2007 in the beautiful harbourside city of Sydney, Australia. The meeting was principally supported by the Sydney South West Area Health Service and Liverpool Hospital. Other major sponsors included Solvay Pharmaceuticals, the New South Wales Cancer Council and Novartis. Several other sponsors also supported the meeting. With 18 international invited speakers (from USA, UK, Germany, Japan, India and New Zealand), 15 local pancreatic experts and 150 delegates, this meeting was the largest ‘pancreas specific’ meeting held in Australia. All our invited speakers were of the highest calibre, representing different disciplines and each bringing a particular perspective to the discussions. Delegates comprised clinicians (physicians, surgeons and endoscopists) as well as basic scientists with a particular interest in pancreatic pathophysiology.

The scientific programme was built around clinical scenarios with succinct ‘state-of-the-art’ presentations by experts in the field. Topics covered included pathogenetic mechanisms, role of imaging/endoscopic interventions in diagnosis and treatment and therapeutic challenges in acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Each session allowed ample time for frank discussion, debate and lively interaction between the audience and the expert panel, a feature particularly appreciated by all delegates. A copy of the scientific programme is available here.

In addition to the expert discussions, original scientific work was presented at the meeting by young investigators, in the form of scientific posters which were displayed throughout the two day meeting. Dedicated poster discussion time was ensured by the hour long “Wine and Cheese” poster sessions on both days. In addition, poster presenters were engaged by the delegates during tea and lunch breaks. Feedback obtained from presenters indicated that they were very pleased with the attention received by their work as well as with the opportunity to discuss their findings with senior researchers in the field. Abstracts presented at this meeting will be published in an upcoming issue of Pancreas.