10th Malta Medical School Conference : conference abstract book

Abstract

Once again, it is my privilege and pleasure as Chairman of the 10th Malta Medical School Conference to extend a very warm welcome to all the international and local participants. This triennial conference has become a regular, major academic activity feature in the Malta Medical School calendar and is now in its 10th edition. Since its inception in 1988, it has evolved and its success and popularity have increased due to the tireless work and dedication of many people. The importance of this medical conference, in our local scenario, is once again evident with over 800 abstracts submitted. This certainly confirms the extent and quality of ongoing academic research taking place locally in the various disciplines, as well as the growing popularity of this triennial event. It is the responsibility of our profession towards our patients to keep abreast of new developments in the various medical fields, and this conference will certainly contribute towards this. The Scientific Committee, most ably chaired by Professor P. Schembri Wismayer, has produced a vibrant and exciting scientific programme, which I am sure, will generate a lot of interest. This programme will follow the general format of the previous conferences in that it will consist of a compilation of multi-disciplinary sessions and plenary lectures. Five parallel sessions will be running concurrently throughout the whole three-day programme to be able to give adequate exposure to all our participants. Two poster sessions will also be organised. This is my third time as Chairman of the Malta Medical School Conference and once again, I was extremely fortunate to have a dedicated team of colleagues who worked assiduously together. Their enthusiasm and fervent support has made this event possible. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their excellent work and support throughout. Invaluable help was provided by Ms Christianne Mizzi and Ms Zvetlana Zerafa, the Conference Secretaries, the staff at the Medical School, competently lead by Ms Doris Mangion and various other individuals who supported and helped us with organising this event. For this I thank them all. I must also thank all the Pharmaceutical Exhibitors and Conference Sponsors without whose financial support this event would not have been possible. A particular word of thanks goes to Professor Godfrey LaFerla, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery for his continuous support and encouragement and for entrusting me with the organisation of this important conference. Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank you, the participants, who will be participating in this event. May I wish you all an enjoyable and successful conference. [excerpt from the Foreword]N/