Annual Meeting 2024
The Cardiovascular Research Cluster Bern (CVRC) held its Annual Meeting on January 24th, 2024, in Bern. With a combination of online presentations and on-site posters at the Sitem-Insel, the hybrid model was once again a great success.
Online presentations, attended by approximately 95 participants, were grouped into 6 sections based on cardiovascular themes and chaired by local CVRC members. There were 6 talks from local speakers and 20 flash presentations by early career investigators. As was the case last year, 50% of the speakers and chairs were women, reflecting and reinforcing the importance of gender equality in cardiovascular research in Bern. There was also an engaging roundtable discussion on the topic of “Artificial Vessels and Cardiac Organoids – Will we still need animal experimentation in the future?”
Following the online presentations, the poster session was attended by approximately 90 participants. There were 45 posters from more than 10 different institutes that stimulated discussion and fostered networking. At the apéro, it was a pleasure for the Prize Jury Committee, chaired by PD Dr. Nina Ullrich, to award four research prizes. The prize for Best Flash Presentation in the Clinical Category went to Marc Ilic (Department of Cardiology), and in the Fundamental Category it went to Saranda Nimani (Department of Physiology and Department of Cardiology). The Best Poster Prize was won by Anselm Stark (Department of Cardiology) in the Clinical Category and Matteo Zoia (Department for BioMedical Research) in the Fundamental Category. Congratulations to the winners!
The 2024 CVRC Annual Meeting was organized by Dr. Maria Arnold, Dr. med. Sarah Bernhard, Ms. Daniela Castillo, Prof. Yvonne Döring, Prof. Sarah Longnus, Prof. Katja Odening, Prof. Marco Osterwalder and PD Dr. Emrush Rexhaj.
PhD students who presented could obtain 0.5 ECTS for the CVRC Annual Meeting 2024. The scientific programme was accredited by the following societies: Swiss Society of Cardiology (SGK): 5 credits, Swiss Society of Cardiac Surgery (SGHC): 4 credits, Swiss Society of Angiology (SGA): 2 credits; it was also recognized as 1 day of continuing education for animal experimentation for researchers and study directors (VersuchsleiterInnen, Versuchsdurchführende und TierpflegerInnen) by the Cantonal Veterinary Authorities of Canton Bern.
We would like to thank everyone for their participation, their ongoing dedication to cardiovascular research, and their commitment to continued fundamental-translational-clinical partnerships and collaborations. With the CVRC and the CVRC Annual Meeting, Bern’s position as a leading center for cardiovascular research is strengthened. We look forward to the next Annual Meeting in January 2025.
Congratulations to the prize winners 2024
- Clinical Category: Best Flash Presentation Prize - Marc Ilic
- Fundamental Category: Best Flash Presentation Prize - Saranda Nimani
- Clinical Category: Best Poster Prize - Anselm Stark
- Fundamental Category: Best Poster Prize - Matteo Zoia