Dear Colleagues and Friends,
I am very pleased to announce the 11th World
Congress on Itch (WCI). For the first time ever, this
congress will be held virtually. Initially, it was planned to be held in the
exciting city of Shanghai, China, and Yan-Gang Sun had agreed to serve as a
local organizer. All of a sudden, the COVID-Pandemic that started at the
beginning of 2020 made these plans obsolete. However, a crisis makes creative,
and the IFSI board, including the IFSI officers, put a lot of time and energy
in planning a virtual World Congress of Itch.
The WCI is a biennial meeting of the International Forum of the
Study of Itch (IFSI). Our society aims to be a multidisciplinary international
society of clinicians and researchers. All of them are dedicated to improving
our understanding of itch in all aspects and especially patient care. We have
the mission to advance itch-related research, from basic science to the
development of new drugs and to present an exciting and fruitful program of
this WCI.
The scientific committee and the local organizer have developed
a short program of four hours each day. By doing this, we want to enable that
all being interested from all parts of the world, ranging from California to
Japan, can attend these 4-hour sessions together.
In 2020, IFSI started the so-called Young Investigator Council
(YIC). It was a pleasure to see that a number of young colleagues applied for
this council. This is a group of very interested and very engaged young
colleagues from countries of all over the world who also want to improve itch
research. For the first time ever, the first day of the 11th WCI
will contain the sessions of the Special Interest Group (SIG) and a newly
launched session organized by the YIC.
I am very excited to see
how this virtual 11th WCI will work out, and I wish all of us
good luck, exciting results and motivation for our future itch research.
Elke Weisshaar
President, International Forum for the Study of Itch (IFSI)
Dear
Friends and Colleagues,
Due
to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Forum for the Study of Itch (IFSI)
decided to hold its 11th World Congress on Itch (WCI)
virtually. After successfully organizing the 9th WCI in
Wroclaw in 2017, I am honored that the Department of Dermatology, Venereology
and Allergology in Wroclaw, Poland, was again selected as local organizer of
this important scientific and educational event. I promise that we will do our
best to run the 11th WCI virtually as smoothly as possible.
On
behalf of the Organizing Committee, I would like to invite you to take part in
this virtual event that will promote all aspects of itch research. Of course,
the virtual meeting will have a different structure. Invited lectures delivered
by outstanding itch experts will be an important part of the meeting. However,
the 11th WCI welcomes every contribution from young
investigators devoted to the progress of itch research.
We
plan to offer an international interdisciplinary meeting of interest to
physicians and scientists of different branches of medicine and basic science.
I do hope that this virtual congress will be an excellent platform for
discussing hot topics in the itch field. A virtual meeting offers
different possibilities. There is definitely an easier access to such event. We
count on all of you, especially paying attention to young generation of
colleagues with itch interest. Therefore, several groups are offered free
registration to the congress.
Please
do not miss the opportunity to participate in the 11th WCI. Please
join us virtually in October 2021.
Jacek C. Szepietowski
Chairman of the Organizing Committe
