Third In-Person Annual Plenary Meeting for the HIPPOCRATES Consortium
The third HIPPOCRATES Annual Plenary Meeting took place in Manchester from the 19th-20th June.
The HIPPOCRATES partners were delighted to meet face to face as well as online for their 2024 Annual Plenary Meeting. Hosted by the University of Manchester at the perfectly equipped etc.venues location in the city centre of Manchester, the whole HIPPOCRATES consortium enjoyed a very productive and successful two days’ event. The meeting was preceded by a dedicated PRP workshop which offers the PRPs the opportunity at the annual meetings to discuss their experiences and involvement during the ongoing project period as well as to explore important aspects in more detail. A particular focus of this workshop was on what the PRPs considered went well and what could be improved within the HIPPOCRATES project. The HIPPOCRATES consortium was pleased to welcome so many of the Patient Research Partners (PRPs) in person at the meeting.
The main objectives of the plenary meeting were to discuss the progress, achievements and challenges of the third year, and thus also to prepare for the upcoming periodic reporting to the IHI, and plan work ahead. As an icebreaker, the first day started with a HIPPOQUIZ presented by Coordinator Prof Oliver FitzGerald of UCD, with fun questions centring around the project, partners but also the name-related animal. The actual plenary meeting then took off with the first part of the presentations on progress achieved in the work packages and work groups. Ample time was dedicated to questions and discussions for each work package and working group presentation. Day one also saw a General Assembly meeting and was rounded off by an inspiring talk by keynote speaker Prof Iain McInnes on Development Of Personalised Medicine in PsA. The work package and work group presentations were resumed on the second day. The agenda included also a dedicated PRP session for all HIPPOCRATES partners, summarising the discussions and requirements identified in the PRP workshop held on the first day, which stressed the importance to consider the PRP perspective in research. The meeting closed with a detailed summary and a HIPPO award ceremony for those who have particularly contributed to the project within its third year. Congratulations to James Rudge, Jochen Schwenk, Teresa Grohmann, Diana Marek, Christa Brettar, Phil Scordis, and Frances Mair, well deserved!
We are looking forward to another successful project year.