German Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology
Prof. Claus Bachert - Chairman
Postfach 70 04 64
DE-813 04 MUNCHEN
Germany
Tel. +49-234-302 64 44
Fax +49-234-302 64 20
E-Mail: dgaki@T-Online.de







1. How long have you been an EAACI member? How long have you been more active within the Academy?

It should be 20 years now that I am member of the EAACI, and I have served in the ENT section as well as being the editor of the EAACI Newsletter for many years. I took it over from Sergio Bonini, and succeeded to establish it as an important tool of communication within EAACI.  I actually helped Prof Paul van Cauwenberge for his EAACI congress in Brussels in 1999, and also was involved in the EAACI Munich congress in 2005 with Prof Johannes Ring. As you know, I am German and Belgian… Lately, I organized the ERAM/SERIN meeting in Brussels in November 2010, which was a great experience!


B. Field of practice / specialty

2. Do you spend more time in the Clinic or in the Lab?

Well, some people say that I spend most time in the plane… I have about 2.5 days clinic per week, with policlinic and surgeries, and have 4.5 days in the laboratory or at home to work on my research – the week has 7 days, not 5!

3. What research projects are you currently conducting?

Research is just great! I started the lab (now called Upper Airway Research Laboratory, URL) in Ghent 14 years ago, and we are now more than 20 people working on different fields, from dendritic cells, macrophages and mast cells to T-cells – all in the airways, of course. My great advantage is the human tissue which I take during my surgeries for scientific research in my lab – an ideal situation! This way, we do truly translational medicine, with a direct benefit for our patients in phenotyping disease, developing new diagnostic means and innovative therapies for the severe upper airway diseases.

4. Have there been any major achievements in your field recently?

The current paradigms are falling! Chronic rhinosinusitis was considered one disease, but we took it “in parts” – literally! And we described the effect of superantigens in the upper airways, leading to severe inflammation and “non-atopic” IgE formation. I am sure that the knowledge on superantigens will have a major impact on our management of airway diseases in the very near future! And we are already working on the therapeutic interventions…


C. Tips for physicians and researchers

5. Could you describe communication tools that could improve information channels

a. within the Academy
Well, I think that Nikos did a great job in establishing the EAACI website! This works well already, and is supported by the Newsletter – we need both.
b. to patients
I would suggest to reach the patients via our members, the allergists! Flyers in each allergist’s practice would be helpful to show the impact of EAACI and provide a link to the website for information and possibly questions.
c. to the public
EAACI should make noise for allergies – by activities such as the Allergy Day each year in different European cities and other public events. We should make sure that health administrative people recognize EAACI as the body to involve for specific questions and structural thoughts about public health – for allergic diseases, of course. This is already ongoing- just remember the interaction with the EMA about immunotherapy and PIPs.


D. Advice for young scientists

6. How should a JMA find the right career?  What points should he/she consider?

The most important thing is to look around! Meet people, visit clinics and labs, before making decisions. Spend some time in searching before you just do the obvious – which may be wrong on the long term.


E. Funding of research / Career motivation

7. What do you think of European policy measures on allergies and asthma?

I`m very happy about the support the EU gives to allergy research – think of GA2LEN, MedALL, Predicta and other FP 6 and 7 programs! The problem is rather national, with health expenses to be cut down. Allergies are often looked at as trivial, and not considered severe – a great mistake, which leads to under-diagnosis and under-treatment! This is very costly, in fact, and unfortunate to millions of patients!


F. Science and personal life

8. What is the impact of your professional life on your personal time?

My research is one of my hobbies also, thus there is no sharp border between professional and private life. As my wife also is a researcher – she was ENT specialist also – we discuss a lot about science every day – but we also love the life with all it’s facet’s! We have many children, a great garden, like swimming, and travel a lot all over the world.


G. EAACI Activities (Annual Congress, Mini-Congresses, Allergy Schools)

9. Should the Academy’s annual calendar expand to include other activities? If so, what would you suggest?

The recent Focus-Meetings – I like to call them so - such as the ERAM, the PAAM and others are excellent initiatives, but still need to find their place within the yearly activity structure. These should be fully established and scientifically extended as a great opportunity to communicate with different specialities within the field of allergy.