Today marks the first day of the 2016 endMS Conference in Toronto, ON. When I think back to the first conference hosted in 2007 in Banff, Alberta, I am truly amazed at how much this meeting has grown over the years. What began as a forum for trainees to present and gather feedback on their research, has expanded into a well-established scientific meeting that brings together over 200 MS researchers and clinicians from around the world. In fact, the endMS Conference is now the largest scientific conference focused on MS in Canada.
For those of you who are not familiar with the endMS Conference, it’s held every three years in different cities across Canada, and is hosted by the MS Society of Canada, endMS Research & Training Network, and MS Scientific Research Foundation. It’s a week-long meeting wherein researchers and clinicians come together and present the latest research findings, network and collaborate with other professionals in the field. Many great ideas come from face-to-face interactions among researchers, and so the MS Society is proud to be funding a forum that encourages this engagement, as well as provides young researchers the opportunity to form relationships with peers and meet senior MS research experts.
The 2016 endMS Conference program will include scientific presentations on topics such as cognition, progressive MS, repair, and inflammation, as well as poster presentations where researchers can visually display and answer questions about their research. There is also a day dedicated to people affected by MS where they will meet with trainees and exchange perspectives on how to incorporate the personal voice in research.
Stay tuned for live conference updates posted here, on my Twitter, and MS Society’s Facebook page!