Respiratory Genetics 2014 Conference Report

Respiratory Genetics 2014 (held 3rd-4th September in Nottingham and supported by the British Association for Lung Research, BALR) was a hugely successful meeting attracting delegates from all over the world. In a relaxed and friendly environment researchers exchanged ideas, discussed poster presentations and heard about the latest findings and opinions in the respiratory genetics field. Prof Ian Hall, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, was keen to arrange Respiratory Genetics 2014 as he felt there were no conferences aimed solely at researchers in this field and particularly not within the UK.

Highlights included presentations by Prof Miriam Moffatt and Dr Charlotte Dean (Imperial College), Prof Martin Tobin and Dr Louise Wain (University of Leicester), Prof Stuart Elborn CBE (Queen’s University, Belfast), Prof David Strachan (St George’s University, London), Prof John Holloway (University of Southampton), Dr Chris Carlsten (University of British Columbia, Canada), Dr Erik Melén (Karolinska Institute, Sweden), Prof Gerard Koppelman (University of Groningen, The Netherlands), Dr Iain Kilty (Pfizer) and from the University of Nottingham, Prof Ian Hall, Prof Simon Johnson and Dr Ian Sayers.

The BALR-supported Young Investigator Competition showcased the exciting research and clear presenting skills of five junior scientists (Mrs Elaine Fuertes (University of British Columbia, Canada), Dr Mike Portelli (University of Nottingham), Dr David Jolliffe (Queen Mary University, London), Ms Maria Soler-Artigas (University of Leicester) and Dr Heather McLaughlin (Partners Healthcare Personalized Medicine, Cambridge, MA, USA).

Due to the extremely high standard of presentations the judges had a hard time picking a winner but decided that the £350 prize should go to Dr Heather McLaughlin for her presentation in which she described the use of next generation sequencing technologies in the clinical diagnosis of inherited pulmonary disease.

The University of Nottingham had a clean sweep of the poster prizes with the BALR-supported prize for best poster (£150 plus subscription to F1000 prime for one year) won by Dr Mike Portelli and runner-up prizes (F1000prime subscription) awarded to Dr Rachel Clifford and Mr Abdul Kader Kheirallah. The £100 travel prizes were awarded to Mrs Elaine Fuertes (University of British Columbia, Canada), Dr Rachel Clifford (University of Nottingham), Dr Michael Schuliga (University of Melbourne, Australia), Dr Colin Bingle (University of Sheffield, UK) and Dr Oliver Brand (University of Nottingham).

Thanks to everyone who attended for being so sociable and enthusiastic and for making the meeting such a success! Particular thanks to University of Nottingham staff Dominic Henry (Online Store manager, Financial Operations) and Chin Koh (School of Medicine) and Glenn Hearson (Respiratory Medicine, CHN) for all their help with the website. We hope to run the conference again in 2016!