SECRETARY’S
MESSAGE from Geoffrey Head
This month there continues to
be a lot of news with the Annual Scientific
Meeting taking shape and looking like an event not to be missed (see Jaye’s Section). The executive has been busy on a number of fronts
with the establishment of links to a number of like minded societies (see Kate’s
section). Perhaps
the most important issue that affects us all while we are busy refereeing
NH&MRC grants is the level of funding that is becoming more and more
pressing. The predictions about success rate are alarming estimated to be as
low as 14% by 2010. The Will’s funding has been implemented but is now static.
Previous campaigns have been successful but only when a sufficient number of
interested parties lobby the government for increased funding. Thus it is vital
to maintain the competitive edge established by the Will’s funding in recent
years by lobbying government for a further increase. There is call to action by ASMR which I would like to
encourage all members of the HBRCA to adopt. There are a number of ways in
which you can help including writing to members of parliament, the Health
Minister, Prime Minister, Treasurer etc. Visit you local member. The agenda for
the 2006 budget is set in October and we need to have our impact well before
then. For more details see below. BTW if you
are organising small workshops, symposia, focus groups and would like to
publicise it amongst the membership please let us know. Also if you are hosting
an eminent colleague or group from overseas you may wish to advertise this
amongst our members.
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE from Stephen Harrap
Lots of things are
happening at the moment in the Council as you will no doubt be aware. Among these
are efforts to raise the profile of the Council both professionally and through
the lay press. We have established a link with a journalist at the Financial
Review who is very interested in receiving ideas for stories in her columns
regarding blood pressure. So, if you have something relevant that you think
might suit the Fin Review and its readers, let us know through Geoff Head via
the Secretariat. Even if you don't have anything right now, we would very much
welcome your expertise where appropriate if journalists call the Council with
queries about articles they are writing. With any luck we can build a mutually
beneficial relationship with the media.
MEETING
NEWS from Jaye Chin Dusting
HBPRCA 2005 ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC MEETING
In keeping with the new
Executive Council's remit to increase the visibility and relevance of the
HBPRCA in clinical care and management, a clinical workshop has been scheduled
for the Friday evening of the Annual Scientific Meeting (ie Dec 9th). This
will be in place of the traditional Saturday workshop (hence for those who are
already juggling their diaries for December, please note: there will be NO Saturday workshop this
year). The target audience for
the Friday evening clinical workshop are GPs and other persons who have
clinical care responsibilities. Of course all members of the Council are
warmly welcomed. The theme for this year's workshop will be
"Treating High Blood Pressure in the Patient with Complications" and
will cover advice from the experts on treating high blood pressure in the
diabetic patient, the pregnant woman, the stroke patient and the elderly.
In the next instalment, I hope to have news for you on new initiatives currently under discussion with the Foundation of HBP. Stay tuned.
Click
here for information about other scientific meetings of
interest.
SOCIETY LIAISONS from Kate Denton
We are working toward establishing ongoing, mutually beneficial
relationships with like-minded professional societies with an interest in blood
pressure research. Currently, we are
exploring possibilities for closer cooperation with society’s such as the British and European
Hypertension
Societies, the Council
for High Blood Pressure Research (USA) and the like. Initially we are trying to organise
reciprocal arrangements for members to attend meetings (i.e. local member
registration fees) and support for travel by our student and young
investigators. This initiative is at an
early stage but thus far we have had an enthusiastic response from the British
and European Hypertension Societies. Suggestions of other like-minded Societies
that could be approach are welcomed.
MEMBERSHIP NEWS from Doug McKitrick
March 31st was the annual
subscription due date for the HBPRCA. However, if you have overlooked paying
its not too late! Simply go to the HBPRCA website (http://www.hbprca.com.au/) and follow the link on the left for access to the
secure payment site or to download a form for return by post. If you don’t have
internet access, can’t remember if you have paid, or just need a bit of help,
contact the Secretariat by phone, fax or post (details below)
Don’t forget to encourage
your graduate students and post docs to take out membership with the Council. This
year special initiatives are being introduced specifically intending to benefit
student and early career members.
Clinical
and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology (CEPP) is available Free to members of the HBPRCA!
CEPP aims to make a substantial
contribution to effective and productive communication between scientists
throughout the world who are working in these interrelated disciplines. The
journal provides a medium for the rapid publication of original research
papers, short communications, rapid communications and theoretical articles
(hypotheses) on the results of clinical and experimental work in pharmacology
and physiology. Invited review articles are published occasionally.
To
access the journal online visit http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/
and log in or register if you are a new user. Once you are logged in follow the
three simple steps below:
1. Click
on the blue ‘My Synergy’ tab and the top of the screen and then click the blue
‘Access’ tab in the middle of the screen.
2. Enter
CEPHBPTRIAL2005 in the ‘Access Token’ box exactly as it appears here. You will
only need to enter this code the first time you use Blackwell Synergy
3. Now click
‘Continue’
You will have access to all content in CEPP every time you log in
until 31st of December 2005.
Manuscripts
can be submitted to CEPP via http://cepp.manuscriptcentral.com/
MONASH
MICRO IMAGING WORKSHOP
This year, Monash University will be running workshops in microscopy techniques. In addition to training workshops, they also offer biological and biomedical microscopy support through consultation, project development, collaboration and contract research relating to all of the above techniques. If you are interested in attending anything mentioned above, find out more by contacting the organisers or downloading a copy of the brochure.
AUSTRALIAN
SOCIETY FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH
MEDICAL RESEARCH FUNDING THE COLLEGE
ASMR needs your help during 2005, to
ensure that medical research in our country remains competitive and translates
to better health and economic outcomes for all Australians.
The much welcomed doubling of the
NHMRC budget ($613.7 million over five years) instigated by the Howard
Government in response to the 1999 Health and Medical Strategic (Wills) Review,
is now complete. The Investment (Grant)
Review of Health and Medical Research released in December of last year is the
first report card on performance flowing from this investment and has been
extremely positive. The Government’s
decision to invest in this sector has been validated by both health and
economic returns to the Australian community and they should be congratulated.
ASMR believes that every organisation committed to a healthy medical research
endeavour in Australia must come together in a bipartisan campaign to create
awareness of the critical significance of this issue. The agenda for the
2006 Federal Budget is set in October 2005. Between
now and October, ASMR aims to stimulate a political campaign including both
patient groups and medical researchers.
The primary aim of this campaign is to impress the importance of medical
research on our politicians and to articulate the case for further investment.
You need to act now:
¨ Visit
your local member twice in 2005. Once
before June and again before October.
¨ Before
September, write to:
-
your local member
-
the Health Minister
-
the Treasurer
-
the Prime Minister
Points of focus:
•
Medical research is vital to Australia’s future,
it
–
underpins the health of all Australians
–
delivers exceptional returns on investment
–
creates knowledge-based jobs
(use examples from your field)
Please click
here to view information on the ASMR Campaign to
increase Health and Medical Research Funding.
Please click here to view the April
edition of the ASMR Newsletter.
Please click here for the Minutes
of the Meeting of the ASMR Board of
Directors with Affiliate Member organizations held on March 31st in
Melbourne.
With best wishes,
A/Professor Geoffrey A. Head
_____________________________
Website
Laura
Buckland at
Meetings
First
t 61 3
9739 7697
f 61 3 9739 7076
e mailto:hbprca@meetingsfirst.com.au
European Society of Hypertension
15th European
Meeting on Hypertension
Fiera Milano
Congressi Center - Milan, ITALY June 17-21, 2005 Click here for meeting
website Click
here for European Society of Hypertension website Reduced-fee registrations and
accommodation close April 15, 2005 |
3rd World Congress of Nephrology on Hypertension And The Kidney
July 1-3, 2005 Esplanade Convention Centre
– Perth, AUSTRALIA Click here for
meeting website Website http://www.eventedge.com.au:8080/hypertension2005/ Registrations are not yet open for this meeting |
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American Society of Hypertension
20th Annual
Scientific Meeting San Francisco
Marriott Hotel, San Francisco, USA Saturday, May 14 -
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 Click here for meeting website Click
here for society American Society of Hypertension website |
4th Asia-Pacific Congress of Hypertension June 2005
In conjunction
with the 14th Annual meeting of the Korean Society of Hypertension Millennium Seoul
Hilton Hotel, Seoul, KOREA Wednesday, June 1
– Friday, June 4, 2005 Click here for meeting
website Click here for Korean Society of Hypertension website |
Joint International Meeting of The Physiological Society & FEPS
Bristol
University, Glasgow, SCOTLAND Wednesday, July
20 – Saturday, July 23, 2005 Click here for meeting
website Click
here for the Physiological Society website Click here for the
Federation of European Physiological Societies website |
International Society on Hypertension in Blacks
20th Annual
Meeting Caribe Hilton
Hotel Friday, July 15 -
Tuesday, July 19, 2005 Click
here for meeting website Click here for
International Society of Blacks website |
International Society on Thrombosis & Haemostasis
Sydney Convention
and Exhibition Centre, Sydney, AUSTRALIA Saturday, August
6 – Friday, August 12, 2005 Click
here for meeting website Click
here for society website |
European Society of Cardiology
Annual Scientific
Meeting Stockholmsmässan,
Stockholm, SWEDEN Saturday,
September 3 – Wednesday, September 7, 2005 Click here for the meeting
website Click
here for the society website |
Canadian Cardiovascular Society
Annual Scientific
Meeting Quebec, CANADA Saturday, October
22 – Wednesday, October 26, 2005 Click
here for meeting website Click here for society
website |
Asian Pacific Society of Nuclear Cardiology
Annual Scientific Meeting
Annual scientific
meeting Mumbai, INDIA Thursday,
December 1 – Sunday, December 4, 2005 Click here for meeting website Click here for Asian
Pacific Society of Nuclear Cardiology website |
International Conference on Preventive Cardiology
Foz do Iguaçu, BRAZIL Click here for the meeting
website Click
here for the World Heart Federation website |
International Society of Hypertension
21st Scientific
Meeting Saturday, October
15 – Wednesday, October 19, 2005 Fukuoka International Congress
Centre – Fukuoka, JAPAN Click
here for
meeting website Click here for International Society of
hypertension web page |
International Conference on Healthy Ageing and Longevity
3rd Annual Meeting Friday, April 28
– Sunday, April 30, 2006 Melbourne Convention
and Exhibition Centre – Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Click here for meeting
website |
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