Dept. of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology
Head of Department
The Sahlgrenska Academy,Göteborg University
Bruna Stråket 11
SE-413 45 Gothenburg
Sweden
Tel: +46-31-342 72 82
Fax: +46-31-41 52 49
jan.lotvall@gu.se

The theme of this year’s EAACI Congress was “Allergy without Frontiers.” How do you apply that motto on a European and international level?
The pace of political developments in Europe in the last 20 years has been extraordinary, ranging from peace and friendship to open borders. The EAACI defines its mandate as reaching out to all Europe and beyond, and is investing in enhanced communication in the field of allergy. The annual EAACI congress is the ideal platform for disseminating science and knowledge, as well as education and training. Just as importantly, it is the place that unites people from different specialties and disciplines in the common interests of allergy, asthma, and immunology: a place where they can establish and strengthen their professional and personal networks.

What was your impression of this year’s Congress?
Basing the Congress in Warsaw at the old Palace of Culture was very fruitful. The Palace was not intended as a modern congress venue, but the meeting rooms there served their purpose ideally, and it is always pleasant to locate the Congress in the middle of a city and not in the suburbs. The meeting was of the very highest  quality scientifically, and I am very grateful to the VP of Congresses, Cezmi Akdis, as well as our Scientific Programme Committee Chairman Christian Virchow, for their hard work in compiling the excellent programme. Equally, our PCO Congrex and their manager Susanne Rothschild also did a wonderful job with the logistics.

Which themes do you consider future EAACI Congresses might cover?
Well, local organizers usually propose the Congress theme, and I am looking forward to hearing their suggestions for next year.

What challenges do you face as the new President of the Academy? And how do you plan to meet these challenges?
The EAACI is increasing in size and strength every year. The enormous growth in recent years has meant an increased workload for the leadership. We have now established our new EAACI Headquarters in Zurich, lead by Executive Director Silvia Schaller, who has put together a bright and energetic team to take on most administrative responsibilities. This is in line with our aims to make the EAACI more professional, which is a crucial step for our organisation at this time. Another key aim is to involve members and increase their democratic rights in the organisation. We are using several tools to reach this goal, one being increasing the number of democratic elections. The speed of communications in today’s society is remarkable, and increases from day to day. The EAACI plans to invest in efficient communications tools, so that we can help our members and the allergy community to find information in the most efficient and fastest way possible.

What are your plans for developing the EAACI during your Presidency?
The EAACI scientific meetings are strong, but may actually increase in number. Our yearly EAACI Congress is the jewel in our crown, but smaller topic-focused meetings may provide additional value to our membership and specialists in different areas of allergy. One such example is the Pediatric Allergy and Asthma Meeting (PAAM) in Venice in November 2009, but additional specialist meetings will be developed and organised in 2010.

How has the global financial crisis affected allergy research and motivation?
The allergy field does not seem to be suffering any downturn. We enjoy a great deal of interest from different kinds of sponsors, who seem committed to investments in this area. It is clearly important that governments are aware of the huge burden and the unmet needs in the allergy field, and therefore maintain investment in this important disease area.

Allergy as a disease keeps rising steadily: Do you think people are well informed about allergic disorders?
Public knowledge about allergy is clearly improving. But I also believe that selfmanagement plans for patients need to be improved and largely expanded.

EAACI Communications Tools

What is your opinion of the EAACI Newsletter?
Spreading information about what is going on in the EAACI is important, and the EAACI Newsletter is one way of doing this. People still appreciate printed information, but I think other communications tools will have to complement the Newsletter in the future. We are in the process of evaluating which tools serve their purpose best to benefit the EAACI membership.

What is your opinion of the EAACI website, eaaci.net?
eaaci.net is the face of the EAACI, and is one of the most important tools to communicate with members and the allergy community in general. The current format has served the EAACI very well over the last six years, but I am also excited to see that a new EAACI face, or website, is being launched in the autumn. In the area of education, the EAACI arranges at least four EAACI/GA2LEN Allergy schools every year. The next step should be to develop more online educational tools. The EAACI Allergy Knowledge Test is another interesting development, and will most likely gain greater importance in the future. Our highest priority for the EAACI in the next few years must be to develop communications, including both online communications and other media such as news coverage. We have recruited a professional communications expert, Panthea Sayah, and she is currently developing a communications strategy for the next few years. We look forward to coming back to you with more information about this shortly.

Science and research

How do you see the future of allergy as a disease and as a discipline in five to ten years?
Allergology as a clinical specialty has different origins in different European countries, and it seems quite difficult to harmonise this specialty. However, it is important to try, and the EAACI is collaborating with UEMS in this regard. Allergies still continue to increase, and the volume of allergy-associated healthcare is not going to decrease in the near future. Many different specialists treat allergy patients, and we shall have to spread our knowledge about allergy and associated diseases even further. However, medication is becoming more efficient and the understanding of allergy phenotypes is increasing. As a result, the science in this area in the next ten years is going to be crucial to find cures for different allergic diseases. This must be our long-term aim.

a) From an educational perspective (e-learning applications)...
The current EAACI website holds a vast amount of information, and perhaps we
can develop this part of the site to provide more CME courses and other types of educational material and develop more webcasts.

b) From an informational perspective (news, press releases on “hot” issues in allergy and clinical immunology, etc.)
One of my top priorities is for the EAACI to provide its members and the international allergy community with the fastest, most reliable information linked to the latest publications, preferably on a daily basis. This will require substantial investment, and we are now working to see how this could be achieved.

The EAACI has joined Facebook, following the social networking trend. Can you suggest other ways of social interaction for EAACI members and the scientific community?
Facebook, Twitter, and other social media are providing new tools for communication, and I think every approach should be assessed and used to our benefit. The Facebook EAACI group has grown from two members to 80 in just over a week, and I am confident we shall have many more members. However, we must assess how efficiently these groups communicate and if the media is used appropriately.