ISNV welcomes Igor Koralnik as the new ISNV President and Ruth Brack-Werner as Vice-President
Dear ISNV Members,
It is a great honor for us to be elected to serve the ISNV as the next President and Vice-President. We personally want to thank the outgoing President, Dr. Avi Nath, for his leadership over the past three years.
These are exciting and challenging times for our Society, which has now been in existence for 18 years since its inception in 1998. Viral infections of the nervous system remain a major health topic. A new epidemic of seasonal flaccid myelitis in children has been attributed to a viral infection. Expanding populations of patients with auto-immune diseases treated by a growing number of immune-modulatory medications are at risk of viral reactivation in their CNS. HIV-infected patients are facing the compounding effects of long standing HIV infection and aging, and eradication of HIV from the CNS reservoir has become a major topic of investigation.
During the next term, we want to strengthen the ISNV in every facet of its mission. In particular, we want to further develop the international aspects of the Society. We are therefore pleased to announce that the next International Symposium on NeuroVirology will be held in Toronto, Canada, on October 25-28, 2016. This marks the beginning of a new partnership between the ISNV and Canadian organizations. Dr. Sean Rourke, director of the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, and members of the organizing committee are already hard at work to put together a stellar Symposium. We will also reach out to other societies around the world to complement our efforts and collaborate with our members.
Staying in touch with our members and providing timely access to information will be another of our priorities. The Society now has its own blog, “Blogging Neurovirology.” We encourage you to subscribe and to receive notifications of events, news, and available post-doc and faculty positions, and to contribute with articles and information pertaining to your area. To contribute to the ISNV blog, reach out to us using the Contact Us page in the blog, or simply email Fred Krebs at fred.krebs@drexelmed.edu.
Young physicians and scientists are the present and future of the ISNV. We will further develop our mentoring efforts with special events, such as the speed mentoring session held during last year’s ISNV Symposium in San Diego. We will open a “researcher in training” section of the blog where students, residents, and fellows can write about their experiences, seek advice, and initiate networking.
Benefits of ISNV membership include a yearly personal subscription to the Journal of NeuroVirology, as well as special rates on the Society-sponsored meetings. Student and post-doctoral fellow members are also become eligible for trainee travel grants for ISNV meetings. We are looking forward to working with all of you to promote collaborative approaches and inter-disciplinary endeavors in the field of NeuroVirology.
Igor Koralnik and Ruth Brack-Werner