ECCR December Newsletter

Dear members,

Welcome to the December 2020 ECCR Newsletter.

We are about to end a very difficult year.  Nonetheless, we have kept working with optimism and achieved a series of actions, which I would like to summarize.

1. ECCR Virtual Meeting 2020

The ECCR Virtual Meeting 2020 was a great success. It was a challenge for us, but the result, as acknowledged by participants, was excellent. We had great science, outstanding presentations, and a very active participation in the chat. Everybody had the opportunity to give an oral presentation, which is very important for the formative aim of ECCR. Moreover, the social event was relaxed, funny, and community building, another key aim of our council.

Some numbers:Participant registration: 261
Zoom attendance on the 9/10/2020 – total  237
Zoom attendance on the 10/10/2020 – total 166
Best oral presentations
Undergraduate Student CategoryAntonia Sanad, Berlin, Germany
 PhD Student CategoryHamdi Jama, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
André F Rodrigues, Berlin, Germany
Post-doctoral Fellow CategoryGiacomo Rossitto, Glasgow, UK
 Art in Science Competition AwardsRheure Lopes, Glasgow, UK
Livia De Lucca Camago , Glasgow, UK
Heba Shawer, Leeds, UK
The ECCR Executive Committee would like to thank again all participants, speakers, and moderators, as well as the support of Clinical Science, the Glasgow IT team, CCL, and Margaret Kinninmont for making the first virtual conference such a success.

2. ECCR Meeting 2021

The ECCR Meeting 2021 will be held from 9th – 10th October 2021 in Villa Fiorita, Treviso, Italy.
Save the date!

3. New Executive Committee Executive Committee of ECCR

President:              Marisol Fernández-Alfonso, PhD, Madrid, Spain
Vice President:      TBD
Treasurer:              Marko Poglitsch, PhD, Vienna, Austria

Matthias Barton, MD, Zürich, Switzerland
Maria Bloksgaard, PhD, Odense, Denmark
Martina Cebová, PhD, Bratislava, Slovakia
Florian Limbourg, MD, Hannover, Germany
Augusto Montezano, PhD, Glasgow, UK
Carmine Savoia, MD, Rome Italy
Maria-Christina Zennaro, MD, PhD, Paris, France

Ex-officio executive members of ECCR
Mentoring        Ana Briones, PhD, Madrid, Spain
MINDSHIFT      Koen Reesink, PhD, Maastricht, The Netherlands 

The arrival of an incoming President always means the departure of the current President.

Rhian Touyz has given new life to the ECCR and offered constant and unwavering support during the last two years. We would like to express our gratitude to Rhian Touyz for her positive, enthusiastic and encouraging Presidency. Thank you, Rhian!

4. Upcoming  activities

We are working to offer in 2021 a wide array of activities for members. We already are happy to announce following events:

4.1 Joint webinar ECCR – Turkish Society of Pharmacology – Jan/Feb 2021 TBD Covid-19 and the Cardiovascular System: From Basic Mechanisms to Clinical Perspectives
 
Cardiovascular disease as a risk factor and complication of COVID-19 – Rhian Touyz, Glasgow, UK

Covid-19, an endothelial disease – Thomas Lüscher, Zürich, Switzerland

Round Table -New Evidences and Possible Treatment Options Targeting Cardiovascular SystemCovid 19 and vascular aging –  Rosa M Bruno, Paris, France
Covid-19 and ACE2- RAAS Inhibition – Matthias Barton, Zürich, Switzerland
Covid 19 and eicosanoids – omega-3 derived pro-resolving lipid mediators – Gokce Topal, Istanbul, Turkey

4.2 Experimental Biology 2020 Symposium Form of the American Physiological Society
The Protective Arm of the Renin-Angiotensin System – April 13th, 2021 (2.00 -3.30 pm)

Chairs: Rhian Touyz, Glasgow and Thomas Unger, Maastricht

Speakers:
• The meaning of Mas – Michael Bader, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC)
• The many aspects of cross-talk between the AT2-receptor and Mas – Ulrike Muscha
Steckelings, University of Southern Denmark
• The protective ACE2/Ang 1-7/Mas axis in stroke – Colin Sumners College of Medicine,
University of Florida Gainesville
• Novel therapeutic approaches upregulating the ACE2/angiotensin-(1-7)/Mas axis –
Ludovit Paulis, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
• AT2 agonists as treatment for vascular damage associated to obesity – Marta Gil-Ortega, Universidad San Pablo CEU, Madrid

5. New web page and membership call in January 2021

We are designing and preparing a new webpage, which will go live at the beginning of 2021. Call for members will be announced in January 2021.

Until then, I wish you Merry Christmas and a Happy 2021 and I hope that you, your family and your colleagues will continue to stay safe.

Marisol Fernández-Alfonso
ECCR President